- Saemangeum
Infobox Korean name
hangul=새만금
hanja=새萬金
rr=Saeman(-)geum
mr=Saeman'gŭmThe Saemangeum was an estuarine tidal flat on the coast of the
Yellow Sea inSouth Korea . It was dammed by thegovernment of South Korea in April 2006, after a long fight between the government and environmental activists, and is scheduled to be converted into either agricultural or industrial land. Prior to 2006, it had played an important role as a habitat formigratory bird s. The completion of this seawall is likely to be a major contributor to the decline of many species. Around 400 000 shorebirds depended on the Saemangeum estuarine as an important feeding ground on the 24,000 km migration between Asia and Alaska and Russia [http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Wetlands/Saemangeum/BK-HA-Saemangeum-Mainpage.shtml accessed2008-01-28 ] , including the two endangered wadersNordmann's Greenshank andSpoon-billed Sandpiper (each species with less than a thousand surviving birds). [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6649233.stm BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Birds 'starve' at S Korea wetland ] ] A conservation organisation has accused authorities of having failed to monitor the project's impact on local wildlife in a transparent way, and carried out an independent monitoring program in 2006.The Saemangeum lay at the mouths of the Dongjin and Mangyeong Rivers, on the coast of
Jeollabuk-do . It is just south of the estuary of theGeum River . Neighboring districts includeGunsan City,Buan County , andGimje City .The project of filling in the estuary began in 1991, but was slowed by a series of court actions by environmentalists. The completed seawall is some 33 kilometers long, and replaces a coastline that was once more than 100 kilometers long. After the estuary has been completely filled, an area of about 400 km² (roughly two-thirds the size of Singapore) will have been added to the
Korean peninsula , making it one of the biggest landfills in history. [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200604/200604210003.html accessed2007-04-21 ]The estuary was originally called "Mangeum" (萬金). This name was probably formed from combining the first character of "Mangyeong" and that of "Gimje." [cite web|url=http://www.land.go.kr/landlife/landname/namecolumn/2003/08/14/211,2057,0,0,0.jsp|title=땅이름국토소례|work=Korea Landportal|date=2003-06|accessdate=2006-05-06]
ee also
*
Environment of South Korea
*Geography of South Korea
*Rivers of South Korea
*Saemangeum Seawall Notes
References
Moores, N.; Battley, P.; Rogers, D.; Park M-N; Sung H-C; Van de Kam, J.; & Gosbell, K. (2006). "Birds Korea – AWSG Saemangeum Shorebird Monitoring Program Report, 2006". Birds Korea publication: Busan.
External links
* [http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200604/200604210003.html Chosun Ilbo report on the completion of the seawall,]
2006-04-21
* [http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Wetlands/Saemangeum/BK-HA-Saemangeum-Mainpage.shtml Saemangeum reference page from Birds Korea]
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