"Without a preserved environment, it is not easy to generate economic wealth. Unless the environment for housing, forests and agriculture, as well as the marine environment, is adequately preserved, the balance will be broken," said the Minister of Oceans and Pesca, Kang Do-. Hyung said at a news conference with foreign correspondents in Seoul, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Kang pledged to do his best to conserve the marine environment and the diversity of ecosystems, as restoring biodiversity and reducing carbon dioxide cannot be achieved without a preserved ocean.
To conserve marine biodiversity, the ministry planned to designate 30 percent of the country's ocean as marine protected areas while pushing for the enactment of the Marine Protected Areas Law.
This is in line with the global trend, in which the international community has set a goal of designating 30 percent of its land and ocean as protected areas by 2030, Kang noted.
To address the challenges of climate change, the ministry planned to increase blue carbon, or carbon absorbed by the marine ecosystem, such as marine organisms and algae.
According to the plan, it aims to absorb around 1.36 million tons of carbon emissions by 2050. It is known that around 23 percent of greenhouse gas emissions produced globally are absorbed by the ocean.
To reduce marine plastic pollution, the ministry this year launched the so-called fishing gear deposit system, in which fishermen pay a certain amount of money, or deposit, when purchasing fishing gear and receive the deposit after returning the fishing gear used. .
Of the waste produced in the country's sea, estimated at 50,000 tons per year, discarded fishing gear and waste from aquaculture farms accounted for 75.5 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively, according to the ministry.
The country has developed and distributed biodegradable fishing gear to local fishermen since 2007, supplying more than 30 million units of eco-friendly buoys since 2015.
Through marine environmental policies, the country will create a healthy marine environment that future generations can enjoy, Kang emphasized.
South Korea will host the 10th Our Ocean Conference in the southeastern port city of Busan in April next year.
About 1,000 people, including government officials from about 100 countries and representatives from about 400 international and non-profit organizations, are expected to attend the conference where issues of marine protected areas, marine pollution, climate change, sustainable fishing, economic marine and marine safety. will be discussed, Kang added.
Kang pledged to do his best to conserve the marine environment and the diversity of ecosystems, as restoring biodiversity and reducing carbon dioxide cannot be achieved without a preserved ocean.
To conserve marine biodiversity, the ministry planned to designate 30 percent of the country's ocean as marine protected areas while pushing for the enactment of the Marine Protected Areas Law.
This is in line with the global trend, in which the international community has set a goal of designating 30 percent of its land and ocean as protected areas by 2030, Kang noted.
To address the challenges of climate change, the ministry planned to increase blue carbon, or carbon absorbed by the marine ecosystem, such as marine organisms and algae.
According to the plan, it aims to absorb around 1.36 million tons of carbon emissions by 2050. It is known that around 23 percent of greenhouse gas emissions produced globally are absorbed by the ocean.
To reduce marine plastic pollution, the ministry this year launched the so-called fishing gear deposit system, in which fishermen pay a certain amount of money, or deposit, when purchasing fishing gear and receive the deposit after returning the fishing gear used. .
Of the waste produced in the country's sea, estimated at 50,000 tons per year, discarded fishing gear and waste from aquaculture farms accounted for 75.5 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively, according to the ministry.
The country has developed and distributed biodegradable fishing gear to local fishermen since 2007, supplying more than 30 million units of eco-friendly buoys since 2015.
Through marine environmental policies, the country will create a healthy marine environment that future generations can enjoy, Kang emphasized.
South Korea will host the 10th Our Ocean Conference in the southeastern port city of Busan in April next year.
About 1,000 people, including government officials from about 100 countries and representatives from about 400 international and non-profit organizations, are expected to attend the conference where issues of marine protected areas, marine pollution, climate change, sustainable fishing, economic marine and marine safety. will be discussed, Kang added.
