Dialogue with the audience ©EAAFP Foundation

On April 15, a special screening of the film <Sura> organized by EAAFP was held at Incheon Yeonsu CGV in Songdo, Republic of Korea, to raise awareness of the protection of Sura Tidal Flat, the last piece of wetland remained in Saemanguem. About 90 participants from educational institutions, local governments, international organizations, civic groups, students, and private corporates participated in the screening jointly held with the Black-faced Spoonbill Eco Center and the production team of the film Sura. In addition, English subtitles and interpretation were provided to receive favourable responses from foreign audiences.

<Sura> is a documentary film directed by Yun Hwang about Sura Tidal Flat, the last remaining tidal flat of the Saemangeum Reclamation Site in Republic of Korea. Over the past years, area of tidal flats same as the size of two-thirds of Seoul, have been destroyed to make new dry land in Saemanguem. Many migratory waterbirds, including Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, disappeared from the site Sura Tidal Flat, where globally endangered and protected species still call it home, but now could be reclaimed at any time to build a new military airport. The movie tells the story of a citizen who loves the birds and devoted to protect the last piece of wetland Sura. In the film, citizen scientists Dong-pil Oh and Dong-joon Oh of the Saemangeum Citizens’ Ecological Survey have participated in the 2020-2022 Black-faced Spoonbill National Survey, which is part of the EAAFP-Hong Kong BFS Conservation MOU, and the 2021 Far Eastern Curlew National Survey, which is part of the Hwaseong Wetland Project.

After the movie screening, director Hwang, youth monitoring member Hyuk-jae Lee, and Senior Program Officer Hyeseon Do of EAAFP were sitting in the Dialogue with the audience to share their. To prevent the construction of a new airport, Director Hwang informed the audience of the perception of Sura mudflats and recommended that the surrounding people, especially children, experience the wild beauty of Sura mudflats in movies and on-site. Hyuk-jae Lee, a youth monitoring member, also emphasized the importance of environmental conservation through experience and left a message that future generations should help lead a society that is nature-friendly and coexists with nature. Referring to the role of corporates, Hyeseon Do urged corporates to use their resources to consider and include the environment in all areas of business.

After screening, there was a bird ecological environment education program for 25 pre-registered people. This program was conducted in the Black-faced Spoonbill Eco Center. The Namdong Reservoir symbolizes “Sura”  tidal flat in Incheon in terms of conserving endangered species like Black-faced Spoonbills, which have become scarce after the reclamation of tidal flats in Songdo and Ganghwa Island. Yet here, the government established artificial islands in the Namdong Reservoir to sustain the breeding population of Black-faced Spoonbill.

At the end of the event, participants visited Namdong Reservoir to watch the breeding Black-faced Spoonbills and other waterbirds after receiving a briefing on the ecology of the Black-faced Spoonbill (IUCN – Endangered). In addition, various migratory water birds such as cormorants, gulls, and herons living in the reservoir were observed. Since then, the participants have had time to express the appearance of Black-faced Spoonbills and wetland creatures in drawings with the hope of conservation of the Migratory waterbirds and their habitats.

Group photo at the Special Screening ©EAAFP Foundation

Participants doing birdwatching at the Namdong Reservoir ©EAAFP Foundation

Participants drawings ©EAAFP Foundation

Special screening Poster © EAAFP Foundation

The film Sura is scheduled to be officially released in theatres nationwide in June. In the future, EAAFP Foundation plans to continue various fundraising events along with related awareness-raising projects to conserve migratory waterbirds and habitats.

Watch the trailer

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