The National Organizing Committee is organizing six field trips for the conference participants. All trips relate to the conference theme 'Ecosystem Services for Nature Based Solutions", and will provide unique opportunities to experience diverse Korean ecosystems.

Field trips start from Wednesday evening (two overnight-stay programs) and continue on Thursday (four one-day programs). They will all serve to help learn about local conservation activities and taste "cultural" services of Korean ecosystems in mountains, rivers, coastal areas and even sensitive boundaries with full history.

The six field trips you can choose from are:

1. Pung-do (island): a special boat trip
2. Lake Shihwa
3. Meer Forest
4. Bukhansan National Park
5. Gyeonggi DMZ (overnight trip)

 

1. Pung-do (island): a special boat trip

(max. 20 persons)

Organised by: Marine Environmental Education Center

With about 160 residents, the Pung-do (island) is located 24km away from Daebu-do, the largest island of Ansan city. It is covered with blossoming wild flowers and attracts thousands of botanical enthusiasts every spring Local people make their living by fishing and medicinal herb collection. The Ansan-city government plans to designate the whole island as a protected area for conservation.

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2.Lake Shihwa

Organised by: Shihwa Lake Savers

Gyeonggi bay where Lake Shihwa lies has been an important Korea-China fishing and trading port in the Yellow Sea throughout history, but the development in the 1970s created an artificial seawater lake surrounded by Siheung, Ansan and Hwaseong city of Gyeonggi-do (province). Lake Shihwa was notoriously called the "Death Lake" after the completion of its tidal embankment in 1994 due to severe water pollution. Lake Shihwa's case showed how reckless development projects could endanger the environment and it became a representative example to transform a polluted marine area into an internationally renowned restored area. This trip will take you to the Daebu wetland of migratory bird paradise, spectacular tidal flats of various halophytes and to mysterious traces of dinosaur footprints.

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3.Meer Forest

Organised by: National Nature Trust

Meer Forest is the exemplary conservation initiative with business in Korea. According to the agreement signed by Hyundai Mobis company, Jincheon county and National Nature Trust in 2011, 108ha-sized of Meer Forest along the magnificent Chopyung lake will be restored by 2018. Since 2015, nature trails and educational programs have been offered to experience the importance and values of forest restoration. Meer Forest is a perfect place of recreation for local people and with its rich cultural heritage of Nonggyo bridge, wish trees, and folk histories, it has over 200,000 visitors per year.

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4.Bukhansan National Park

Organised by: Korea National Park Service

Bukhansan National Park was designated as the 15th national park in Korea in 1983 and is located in the Seoul city. The park has steep rocky cliffs and a precipitous mountain dissected by many valleys. From the Paleozoic era, the granite ground rose and eroded over a long period of time and the rocks were made into fantastic formations. Bukhansan has a long history of 2000 years and boasts many historical remnants and relics. More than 100 temples are located in this mountain as well as other valuable monuments such as Bukhansanseong (Fortress wall).

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5. Gyeonggi DMZ

Overnight stay (departure at 5PM, Wednesday)

Organised by: Gyeonggi Tourism Organisation

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a 4-km-wide, 248-km-long ecological corridor covering rivers, wetlands, and arable lands in the west and rugged mountains in the east between North and South Korea. After the Korean War (1953) this corridor was blocked from human access with landmines, barbed wire fences and military threats, and it became a wildlife sanctuary providing habitats to over 68 endangered species in Korea. There have been several attempts to designate this total area as a transboundary UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, but in vain due to military tensions and political pressure. “DMZ Global Trust” is a collaborative initiative to conserve DMZ areas with governments, scientists, NGOs and citizens together. This will be a truly symbolic process to demonstrate how cooperative nature conservation can foster peace and biodiversity which consequently contributes to human-wellbeing locally and worldwide.

Accommodation - Camp Greaves 

At the Camp Greaves accommodation you will have a special experience at a former military base. The Camp was used as a military base camp by the US Armed Forces in Korea for about 50 years. Now it serves as a DMZ experience center & youth hostel.

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