South Korea's tidal flats gain UNESCO World Heritage expansion with four new sites

Goheung tidal flats [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

Seosan tidal flats [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

Yeosu tidal flats [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

Muan tidal flats [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

The tidal flats of Yeosu, Goheung, Muan and Seosan have been added to South Korea's UNESCO World Heritage site "Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats," completing a second-phase expansion recommended when the site first received its designation in 2021.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced Saturday that the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee formally confirmed the expansion.

The decision extends the boundaries of the Getbol site, first inscribed in 2021, by incorporating the tidal flats of Yeosu, Goheung, Muan and Seosan into the protected zone. The site now comprises six component areas: the Boseong-Suncheon-Yeosu-Goheung tidal flats, the Sinan-Muan Tando Bay tidal flats, the Muan Hamhae Bay tidal flats, the Gochang tidal flats, the Seocheon tidal flats and the Seosan tidal flats — up from the original four components of Seocheon, Gochang, Sinan and Boseong-Suncheon.

The World Heritage Committee determined that the Getbol site meets the inscription criteria for biodiversity conservation and the protection of endangered species. It particularly recognized the site's role as a critical habitat within the Yellow Sea ecosystem and the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), noting its contribution to the conservation of internationally significant migratory waterbirds and diverse marine life.

The expansion also marks the fulfillment of follow-up measures the committee called for at the time of the original 2021 inscription, when it recommended adding ecologically connected tidal flats in a second phase and establishing an integrated management system.

Black-faced spoonbills and Eurasian spoonbills [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

A flock of sandpipers [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

Bar-tailed godwit [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

The ministry said it had worked with related ministries, local governments, communities and the Korean Tidal Flats World Heritage Inscription Promotion Group to assess the heritage value of candidate sites, designate wetland protection areas, improve management frameworks and respond to reviews by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It has also moved to strengthen conservation infrastructure by pursuing construction of a tidal flat World Heritage conservation center in Sinan-gun and expanding cooperation with the Wadden Sea Secretariat in Europe.

Oceans and Fisheries Minister Hwang Jong-woo said the expansion "is all the more meaningful in that it represents international recognition of our faithful implementation of the recommendations made at the time of the 2021 inscription." He added that the ministry would work with related ministries, local governments and communities to systematically conserve and manage the Korean tidal flats.

adastra@heraldcorp.com