On 6 September 2018, DMZ International Forum entitled ‘Connecting People and Nature for Peace Ecosystem Conservation and Sustainable Development in DMZ areas’ co-organized by Gyeonggi Province and Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) was held at Uijeongbu Arts Center in the Republic of Korea. In the discussion session, Dr. Lew Young, Chief Executive of EAAFP, mentioned that the DMZ is an important stopping-over area for migratory birds such as cranes while the small off-shore rocky islands are important places for breeding Chinese Egrets and Black-faced Spoonbills. He said, “to designate protected areas in the DMZ, we need to work with the local community and ensure that they also receive benefits from the designation.”

At the forum, a few organizations were invited to promote their organization’s mission and activities that are related to Ecosystem Conservation and Sustainable Development in DMZ areas. The EAAFP Secretariat had a short briefing to introduce the Partnership, and the work of EAAFP to conserve migratory waterbirds and habitats. The participants were able to learn about key bird species in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, Flyway Site Network, Yellow Sea Conservation, and the Partnership’s cooperation with DPRK who recently joined the Partnership in April 2018.

Photos by EAAFP Secretariat