A massive threat to the environment - the Saemangeum Reclamation Project
On 25th May, the Korean government announced that the Saemangeum reclamation project will continue after 2 years of suspension due to the call for need for extensive analyses into the environmental impact of the project.
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A massive threat to the environment - the Saemangeum Reclamation Project
On 25th May, the Korean government announced that the Saemangeum reclamation project will continue after 2 years of suspension due to the call for need for extensive analyses into the environmental impact of the project. Although analyses from prominent scientists have turned out negative results for the project, the government has decided to resume. Social and environmental organizations who had already been for many years showing resistance against the project, have launched a series of high-level protests, criticising the government for its environment-destructive policies.
The Saemangeum area, namely the estuaries of Mankyung and Dongjin Rivers on the western side of the country, is South Korea's largest and internationally one of the most significant tidal flats. The expansive tidal flat was formed from the sediments carried down the rivers and deposited at the estuary. It is rich in biodiversity and highly productive - supporting approximately 158 species of fish, constituting for 76.9% of all fish species found in the West Sea. Saemangeum is also recognized as the main waterbird stopover. Over 20,000 shore birds stopover here has they move along the flyway between Australia and Siberia(Green Korea Report #6). It is also the basis of a large fishing industry and provides the country's major supply of Asian hard clams, providing a means of livelihood for thousands of families living in the area. The ecological values of Saemangeum for animals, plants and humans alike are beyond petty calculations.
Yet the government is ignoring all the research being done into the importance of preserving the valuable wetlands. The Saemangeum project is the world's largest ongoing reclamation project. A 33km seawall will be built, giving way to 40,100 hectares of land and a freshwater lake. It was started off as a part of a series of long-term construction of infrastructures for the development of the national economy under Park Chung-Hee regime during the 1970's. The constructions commenced in 1991. The past and present governments proclaim that the project will expand national area, obtain farmlands, help better drainage of adjacent lands and develop international harbours - a plan, which is said, will boost up the economy of west Korea.
The life-threatening effects of the project need not wait until the finish to have an impact on the ecology and the lives of the population living nearby. The farmers and fishers are already complaining that they are suffering from the rotting away of shellfish from the Kyehwa reclamation project nearby. Other areas in the western coast of Korea has already undergone extensive reclamation, under the government's campaign and promises that the drained land will be used for farming. The promises turned out to be false. The farmers did not receive a single piece of land. The formation of freshwater lake also draws out worries. Vast industrial complexes and an international harbour is planned in Saemangeum, which will most likely further pollute and destroy the ecology. The industrial area near the Sihwa freshwater lake left the lake polluted and contaminated beyond repair.
Moreover, the impact of the reclamation project is expected to go beyond the immediate local region. The industrial complex planned in the area will not only have environmental repercussions, but can become another complex of 'sweatshops' in the Asia region. Although official plans for an industrial complex has not yet been officialized, it is a well known fact that businesses are busy negotiating investments. With the spirit of neo-liberal policies of the present government, it is highly likely that it will give multinational companies the typical benefits to attract their investment, such as infrastructures, tax holidays, strict regulations of workers' activities etc..
Despite the government's propaganda on the benefits of the Saemangeum project, survey results carried out by MBC, a national broadcasting service, show that 83% of the population are against the government's decision to continue the constructions, among which 66.3% are against the project itself.
Protests against the decision to resume the Saemangeum project has swept the nation. Immediately after the announcement to resume constructions, 1,445 activists from various civic, environment and religious groups publicized a statement criticising the government's decision, saying that the decision was made through the most undemocratic way and called for immediate cancellation. Those within the project's assessment team had raised questions on the process of the decision, saying that the official assessment papers were altered and forged. The professors involved in the assessment team and major environment groups such as the Korean Federation for Environment Movement(KFEM) and Green Korea are in the process of taking legal procedures against the alleged forgery, and 53 citizen members who were participating in various environment-related presidential and government committees have resigned from the respective bodies. In the meanwhile, activists hung banners from mountain peaks, from high statues in centre of Seoul and then gathered on the International Environment Day on 5th June nearby the government complex, proclaiming president Kim Dae-Jung as an 'anti-environment president'. Hundreds of activists clad in black, symbolizing death, started off a week of action against the Saemengeum project, including a million-person joint signature campaign. It also became one of the major slogans during the peoples' demonstrations throughout June. University students have also joined in the protests. Student groups have organized a summer camp where hundreds of students are planning to visit Saemangeum to demonstrate. The world's biggest reclamation project is also gaining international attention and solidarity. Several international environment groups sent messages of solidarity. On 22nd June, chairman of Friends of Earth International, Ricardo Navarro, visited Korea and participated in the one-person relay rally in front of the government complex. He also handed in a letter of protest to president Kim Dae-Jung.
"The most important problem of the Saemangeum project is that it is threatening the environment and the lives of fishermen and farmers. Also, it is being politically used by the Kim Dae-Jung government, who happens to come from the Cholla province, to stir support for the next year's presidential elections. As you know, a lot of people are turing their backs on him due to his neo-liberal policies and he is sweet-talking about the effects of the project to win this supporters back," says Sujin Lee, a member of Korea Ecological Youths(KEY), in an interview with PICIS. "There were efforts to gain funding from the World Bank in the beginning, and we know that the drained land will not be used for farming but for an EPZ. The project will be a disaster for the environment and those living there, a destruction by greed of the few. It must be stopped."
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