Excursion
Visit to the Siam Wetlands and the border lookout point "Aegibong Peace Eco Park"

The Siam Wetland in the Gimpo region is a habitat for numerous bird species of the Korean peninsula. The ongoing industrialization and concreting of agricultural land is progressing rapidly, threatening the habitat of amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and bird species. However, on the inter-Korean border, many species have found a refuge because full economic development is not possible there for military reasons.

The conservation and preservation of wetlands on the Korean peninsula forms an important field of work for HSF Korea and involves areas on both the North Korean and South Korean sides. The need for transboundary conservation is particularly evident in migratory bird flyways across the inter-Korean border, which is essential for biodiversity conservation on the Korean peninsula. The Aegibong Peace Eco Park illustrates this issue in a unique way, as its high viewpoint offers a direct view of the North Korean mainland, which is separated from South Korea by only a few hundred meters of the Jogang River.

The excursion allowed participants to experience the effects of heavily industrialized agricultural policies through the Siam Wetlands. Due to the direct vicinity to North Korea, the importance of transnational environmental protection became clear and stimulated a dialogue between the excursion participants, which benefited from the different perspectives on political, media and NGO level.