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STOP PRESS - South Korean Court says Saemangeum
project must stop!
We have recently received news that on 15th July,
a mid-level court in South Korea ruled that the world's largest reclamation
project, the 40,100 ha Saemangeum project on the west coast of South
Korea (a site some four times the size of Hong Kong and supporting
around 30 species of waterbird in internationally important numbers)
must stop, effective immediately. This was in response to a court case
brought by South Korea's environmental groups and 3,539 local people
against the project.
The court ruled that water in the proposed huge
reclamation reservoirs will be of too low quality for agricultural
use - rendering the project's meaning illegitimate and the costs required
to clean it up far in excess of those claimed by the government. The
Ministry of Agriculture has already announced that it will appeal.
A final ruling will be made within the next two to three months.
The decision is a historic one, as it offers
a real chance to stop finally this destructive projects. Showing respect
for historical precendents (e.g. the Shihwa reclamation project which
was completed in 1994 but cannot be used for agriculture because of
water pollution), the court's decision revealed the independence of
the judiciary and the determination of the environmental movement in
South Korea: especially admirable when South Korea's short history
as a democracy (a mere 15 years) is considered.
International opposition needs to continue and
strengthen between now and September - a time when up to 200 Spoon-billed
Sandpipers can be found staging at Saemangeum; there is a need to convince
the South Korean government to take advantage of this historic ruling.
If you have not already done so refer to more
information on Saemangeum, with addresses to send letters of concern/protest
to at: http://www.wbkenglish.com/saemref.asp
Thank you everybody for you continuing efforts!!
WBKEnglish
http://www.wbkenglish.com
For more information on the Saemangeum project,
watch the BBC World broadcast from July 7th and visit
http://www.wbkenglish.com/saemref.asp
http://www.tve.org/news/doc.cfm?aid=1190
For relevant information about this issue,
please click below:
Massive coastal reclamation
in S. Korea may impact on Hong Kong
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