Wetland Biodiversity, White-Naped Cranes and Cooperation in East Asia

09/09/2016

Since many years Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea follows its goal to promote peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula. While a dialogue about politics is sometimes difficult, there are some topics that can be used as a platform for cooperation and exchange despite political tensions. Especially in the field of environment international cooperation is important and inevitable. This is true in particular for White-naped Cranes, a threatened species with about 5 500 individuals remaining in the wild globally.

Field visit to Mongolian steppe

In order to support the protection of White-naped Cranes in the context of international exchange and cooperation, HSF together with a delegation from North Korea participated at a workshop with the title “Strengthening Wetland Biodiversity Conservation in East Asia: Using the White-naped Crane as a Flagship Species” that took place on 12th of August in Ulaanbaatar. Participants came from Japan, North Korea, South Korea, China, Russia, Mongolia and the United States.

The workshop started with opening remarks by Nyamba Batbayar from the Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre, which hosted the workshop. He was followed Claire Mirande from the International Crane Foundation and further speakers who introduced the current status of White-naped Cranes and the work of different networks, such as the White-naped Crane network, and their role in crane conservation.

During the course of the day three more sessions took place, covering a variety of topics about crane and habitat conservation and providing a detailed understanding about the current status of White-naped Cranes in Russia, Mongolia, China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan.

The workshop was followed by a field visit to Khurkh and Khuiten River Valleys, which is a Ramsar Site around 8 hours east of Ulaanbaatar, where a research station of the Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre is located. There, the White-naped Crane Specialist Group discussed about current issues, threats and strategies to protect the species in North-East Asia. Bird observing and field work, such as the ringing of White-naped Cranes additionally helped to share experience and to get an understanding about the tasks and challenges in the Mongolian steppe.

The workshop and the field visit brought together a wide variety of organizations and persons from all countries of Northeast Asia, and it served as a perfect platform for open discussions about environmental issues and laid a profound basis for more cooperation in the future.

Please watch the video on our Facebook page:

www.facebook.com/HannsSeidelFoundationKorea/videos/1461028250590790/

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