Since Autumn 2015, the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea is implementing the project “Improvement of rural living conditions through healthy forests” with local partners and funded by the European Union (EU). After almost 3 years of implementation, the project is soon to be completed. A project visit with Peter Ross, Team Leader of the Food Security of Office (FSO) by the EU in Pyongyang, took place. All practical project sites were visited and involved staff were interviewed to assess the project.

On June 14, 2017, a workshop on forest landscape restoration took place in Pyongyang, co-organized by the Ministry of Land and Environment Planning (MoLEP), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea. Transcending afforestation, forest landscape restoration is a more comprehensive way of looking at the rehabilitation of landscapes, including forests, water and non-forested areas. In North Korea, where after decades of deforestation currently a campaign for re-forestation is underways, this is very important. For example, many small waterways are completely lacking any tree cover, leading to evaporation of water as well as to uninhibited inflow of soil, i.e. erosion, and less clean water.

A new issue of The Global Citizen has been published. The publication has decided that the theme of the ninth summer issue will be “The Fourth Industrial Revolution,” referring to a new generation of information, technological advancement, and the humanities. The Global Citizen is a quarterly publication. Dr Bernhard Seliger of Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea is a member of the Board of Editors.

Many international guests and families came to attend the annual Charity Summer Festival on June 17, 2017 which had been organized by the German-speaking parishes in Seoul. The participants were able to enjoy their day at the German School Seoul international in Hannam-Dong with Korean as well as German dishes accompanied by an entertainment program.

On June 12, a workshop on the conservation and management of intertidal wetlands and migratory waterbirds of the West Sea of Korea was held in Pyongyang, bringing together more than 60 experts from relevant ministries like the Ministry of Land and Environment Planning (MoLEP) and the Ministry of Agriculture, and institutions, like the National Heritage Administration and the State Academy of Sciences.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea has been working in North Korea since 2003 and has had a focus on topics concerning the environment and international cooperation and exchange in this field for several years.Honoring the ongoing cooperation, Dr Bernhard Seliger, representative of the HSF Korea, received the following publication regarding forest restoration and environmental protection.

Due to a continuing coopertation between the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Korea and the Ministry of Land and Environment Protection (MoLEP) for almost 15 years, the official representative of the HSF Korea, Dr. Bernhard Seliger, thankfully received an English-Korean print from MoLEP.

The Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) was launched in 2008 for enhancing and encouraging a diversity of approaches, while reducing unnecessary duplication of effort in the conceptualization and application of ecosystem services. The ESP Asia Regional Office (ARO) is established in Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea (ROK) with active support by the Gyeonggi Provincial Government in 2016.

In early June 2017 HSF conducted the 2nd Training in Mongolia for foresters from DPR Korea as part of HSF’s EU-funded project on sustainable reforestation in DPRK. The purpose of this training was to share Mongolian experiences in reforestation with representatives of the forestry sector in DPR Korea.

On November 3, a group of 16 students and their teacher from the Seoul Foreign Language High School visited Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), Korea Office. The students, currently participating in a special voluntary program focused on “Reunification”, showed high interest in the Foundation and its work worldwide and in Korea.

On 5 June 2017, World Environment Day Ms. Kim, Seungsoon and Mr. Lee, Ki-Se from Forest For Life (FFL) visited Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Korea for cooperation in the field of the environment and forestry. FFL is an organization dedicated to the environment.

Every year on the 5th of June, the world celebrates the World Environment Day, a cooperation project of several environmental organizations. Each World Environment Day is organized around a specific theme. This year’s theme is ‘Connecting People to Nature - In the City and on the Land, from the Poles to the Equator'.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea and professors and students of the Korea University cooperated for their new publication in the Korean Unification Studies by the Institute for Peace Affairs.

The Korean Institute for National Unification (KINU) hosted the KINU International Conference on “Seeking Sustainable Unification Policy and Northeast Asia in Flux” to celebrated its 26th anniversary. Therefore, KINU invited a large number of high-level administration representatives as well as international scientists from South Korea, Russia, Japan, China, the US and Germany. Dr. Seliger from Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea participated in the second panel to illustrate Germany´s perspective concerning low-key measures for a policy of détente towards North Korea.

A new issue of The Journal of Economic Integration has been published. The journal, now in its 32th year of appearance, aims to offer relevant policy implications on the ongoing process of globalization under the premise that economic integration is multi-dimensional, covering every field in economics.