GOYANG — Goyang, a city in Gyeonggi Province that holds the largest wetland ecosystem in the greater Seoul area, has cleared the final hurdle in its bid to cement its standing as a globally recognized wetland city.
The city said on the 16th that it had been selected as a final domestic candidate in the fourth review of cities applying for Ramsar Wetland City Accreditation, conducted by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.
Three local governments passed the review: Goyang, Goseong County in South Gyeongsang Province and Yeongyang County in North Gyeongsang Province. Goyang said it would now begin follow-up procedures in earnest to win final international accreditation at the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention in 2028.
Ramsar Wetland City Accreditation is an international certification granted under the Ramsar Convention to cities that conserve the ecological value of wetlands while linking that work to sustainable local development. It targets model ecological cities where local governments, residents and civic groups work together to conserve and use wetlands sustainably.
Goyang's Janghang Wetland, which scored highly in the review, is a 5.95-square-kilometer willow-grove wetland at the Han River estuary. Its distinctive environment, where fresh water from the Han River meets tidal flows from the Yellow Sea, makes it a key habitat for endangered wildlife such as the white-naped crane and the black-faced spoonbill, and a stopover site for migratory birds in East Asia.
Janghang Wetland has drawn a series of domestic and international conservation designations, beginning with its inclusion in the Han River estuary wetland protection area in 2006, followed by registration with the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership in 2019, designation as a Ramsar site in 2021 and selection as an ecotourism area in 2024.
The city has pursued a range of biodiversity programs, including winter feeding for migratory birds, contracts under the payments-for-ecosystem-services scheme and regular ecological monitoring. Its success in establishing a public-private conservation framework built on partnerships with companies and civic society is seen as having weighed positively in the review.
Goyang is also expanding exhibitions, education and hands-on programs for residents at the Ramsar Goyang Janghang Wetland Ecology Center, aiming to build broader public support for wetland conservation.
"This selection as a domestic candidate city is the fruit of the environmental conservation policies Goyang has pursued and the sustained efforts of our civic community," Mayor Min Kyung-sun said. "We will further strengthen cooperation with the local community to secure final Ramsar Wetland City accreditation in 2028 without any setbacks."