Mt. Halla - Preservation

Jeju island has been acknowledged for its diverse vegetation. It has special scientific importance as habitats of plants. According to Kong (1998), there are 140 endemic or rare species in Jeju island, and 22 of those endemic and rare species are in Mt. Halla. The effort to protect this valuable natural environment has been made in both local and global scales.

*Local scale

In South Korea, plants and animals that retain academic importance or aesthetic value are preserved as natural monuments. Acknowledged for its scientific importance as home of various plants, Mt. Halla has also been a part of the preservation system. The government has put efforts to maintain the mountain’s ecosystem by designating it as a natural monument (No. 182) and naming it “Hallasan Natural Conservation Area.” For more information, please refer to Hallasan National Park Site, http://www.hallasan.go.kr/english/

*Global scale

The mountain was also designated as a UNESCO ‘Biosphere Reserve’ in December 2002 (UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). According to UNESCO website, biosphere reserves are sites established by countries and recognized under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program to promote sustainable development based on local community efforts and sound science. Once they are designated, biosphere reserves remain under national sovereign jurisdiction, yet they share their experience and ideas nationally, regionally and internationally within the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR). Mt. Halla was acknowledged for its importance as a site where new and optimal practices to manage nature and human activities are tested and demonstrated as well as  a tool to help countries implement sustainable development. For more information, please refer to UNESCO website, http://www.unesco.org/.

Thanks to Korean government and UNESCO's interests on Mt. Halla, the preservation status is good compared to other ecosystems in South Korea. Next time, I would like to talk about what individuals can do for preserving Mt. Halla. Thank you!

<References>

"Biosphere Reserves." unesco.org. UNESCO, n.d. Web. 25 November. 2012.

<http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/ecological-sciences/biosphere-reserves/>

“Hallasan National Park.” hallasan.go.kr. Hallasan National Park, n.d. Web. 28 October. 2012.

< http://www.hallasan.go.kr/english/content.php?page=0101>

Kong, Woo-Seok. “The Distributional Patterns of Alpine Plants of Mt. Halla, Cheju Island, Korea.” Journal of the Korean Geographical Society  (1998): 191 – 208. Web.