National parks, protected areas and biodiversity conservation in North Korea: opportunities for international collaboration

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

National parks and protected areas represent one of the best ways to safeguard nature and preservebiodiversity, especially endemic and endangered species. Currently, more than 110 countries have someform of protected areas within their borders. North Korea’s comprehensive network of national parksand protected areas are rich in biodiversity and ecological value; however, contemporary research on theintegrity of North Korea’s protected lands is incomplete. In this paper, we utilize a remote sensingapproach to explore North Korea’s protected area system and investigate the current state of biodiversityconservation. We find that several key biodiversity areas have experienced severe tree loss and habitatfragmentation since 2000, indicating that the effectiveness of national park governance andmanagement toward guarding against biodiversity loss is inadequate. To address the issue of biodiversityconservation, we recommend pathways for international cooperation aimed at enhancing conservationefforts and comment on the steps North Korea can take to achieve the United Nations Convention onBiological Diversity’s Aichi Targets and Sustainable Development Goals.

참고문헌 (Reference)

1 우형택, "국제 기준에 근거한 남북한 자연보호지역의 실상 비교" 한국환경과학회 11 (11): 1-14, 2002

2 "World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)"

3 "United Nations List of Protected Areas"

4 Ouellete DJ., "Understanding the"Socialist Tourism"of North Korea Under Kim Jong Un : An Analysis of North Korean Discourse" 16 : 55-81, 2020

5 BirdLife International, "TheWorld Database of Key Biodiversity Areas" Developed by the KBA Partnership: BirdLife International, International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Amphibian Survival Alliance, Conservation International, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Global Environment Facility, Global Wildlife Conservation, Nature-Serve, Rainforest Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Wildlife Conservation Society and World Wildlife Fund

6 Nam S., "The development of the environmental policy in the democratic People’s Republic of Korea" 27 : 1322-1342, 2003

7 Sobrevila C, "The Role of Indigenous Peoples in Biodiversity Conservation: the natural but often forgotten partners" The World Bank 2008

8 IUCN, "The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species"

9 Rose RA, "Ten ways remote sensing can contribute to conservation" 29 : 350-359, 2014

10 CBD, "Strategic Plan 2011-2020"

11 Aide TM, "Real-time bioacoustics monitoring and automated species identification" 1 : e103-, 2013

12 PackSM, "ProtectedAreaDowngrading, Downsizing, and Degazettement(PADDD)in the Amazon" 197 : 32-39, 2016

13 Saura S, "Protected area connectivity : shortfalls in global targets and country-level priorities" 219 : 53-67, 2018

14 UNEP-WCMC, "Protected Area Profile for Democratic People’s Republic of Korea from the World Database of Protected Areas"

15 Díaz S, "Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change" 366 : 1327-, 2019

16 McCarthy C, "North Korea’s commitment to international conservation"

17 Shim E, "North Korea: Tourist visits in 2018 reached 200,000" UPI

18 KCNA, "Ninety-Million saplings Produced at Central Nursery. One Earth. Protecting 50% of our lands and oceans"

19 CBD, "Long-Term Strategic Directions To The 2050 Vision For Biodiversity, Approaches To Living In Harmony With Nature And Preparation For The Post-2020Global Biodiversity Framework"

20 Sinmun Rodong, "Let the Entire Party, the Whole Army and All the people Conduct a Vigorous Forest Restoration Campaign to Cover the Mountains of the Country with Green Woods"

21 NASA, "Land-Cover, Land-Use Change Program" Deforestation in North Korea

22 Kim DH, "Land Cover Classification of North Korea Utilizing MOD13Q1 Data" 2009

23 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Investing in Nature: The Economic Benefits of Protecting Our Lands and Waters"

24 Schwartz KR, "Integrating in-situ and ex-situ data management processes for biodiversity conservation" 5 : 2017

25 McKenna P., "Inside North Korea’s Environmental Collapse"

26 Williams SH, "Incorporating connectivity into conservation planning for the optimal representation of multiple species and ecosystems services" 34 : 934-942, 2020

27 Pimm SL, "How to protect half of Earth to ensure it protects sufficient biodiversity" 4 : 8-, 2018

28 Hansen MC, "High-resolution global maps of 21stcentury forest cover change. 2013. High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change" 342 : 850-853, 2013

29 Wilson EO, "Half-earth: our planet’s fight for life" WW Norton & Company 2016

30 Kim RE, "Green diplomacy, an opportunity for peace-building?" 46 : 86-96, 2016

31 Raven PH., "Engaging North Korea through biodiversity protection" 2 : 2013

32 Rodrigues ASL, "Effectiveness of the global protected area network in representing species diversity" 428 : 640-, 2004

33 UNEP, "DRP Korea: State of the Environment"

34 CBD, "Country Profiles: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea"

35 Baines G., "Conservation of Biodiversity at Mount Myohyang in the DPR Korea" United Nations Development Programme 2004

36 Pimm SL, "Connecting habitats to prevent species extinctions : conservation biologists are creating links between forest fragments where the most animals with small ranges live" 107 : 162-170, 2019

37 UNESCO, "Biosphere Reserves, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea"

38 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform, "Biodiversity and Ecosystems"

39 McCarthy C., "Assessing local indigenous knowledge and information sources on biodiversity, conservation and protected area management at Khuvsgol Lake National Park, Mongolia" 7 (7): 1-11, 2018

40 Urban MC., "Accelerating extinction risk from climate change" 348 : 571-573, 2015

41 Woodley S, "A review of evidence for area-based conservation targets for the post-2020 global biodiversity framework" 5 : 31-46, 2019

42 CBD, "5th National Report on Biodiversity of DPR Korea"