▲ Garolim Bay Tidal Flat

The 8th popularly elected administration of Chungcheongnam-do Province, "Strong Chungnam," has embarked on a full-fledged effort to list Garolim Bay, a natural haven for marine life, as a World Heritage site.

If the listing is decided in the second half of next year, it is expected to not only boost ecosystem preservation and management and increase international attention, but also provide momentum for the creation of a National Marine Eco-Park, a project that the province is focusing on.

The province announced on the 7th that it recently submitted an application for listing to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee through the Cultural Heritage Administration to register Seosan Garolim Bay as the second phase of the World Heritage 'Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats'.

UNESCO designates and preserves heritage sites with 'Outstanding Universal Value (OUV)' worldwide.

Currently, 'Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes' and 'Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats' are listed as World (Natural) Heritage sites in Korea.

The Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats, encompasses 1284.11㎢ of tidal flats in Seocheon, Gochang, Sinan, and Boseong-Suncheon. At the time of its listing, the 44th World Heritage Committee issued recommendations including △expansion and listing in the second phase △expansion of buffer zones △strengthening of the integrated management system △and suppression of development activities.

Accordingly, the province applied for the second phase listing of the Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats, this time including Seosan Garolim Bay (64.67㎢) along with Yeosu, Goheung, and Muan in Jeollanam-do.

Garolim Bay is an area with a unique semi-enclosed marine environment and extensive tidal flats, and is recognized for its high value in terms of biodiversity conservation.

In particular, the Seosan tidal flat located on the east side of Garolim Bay is an important stopover point on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), and is the world's largest habitat for the Chinese Egret, a first-class endangered wild animal and an IUCN Vulnerable (VU) species, with over 5% of the global population residing there.

In addition, more than 600 species of tidal flat organisms live there, including legally protected species such as the Uca lactea and Ellobium chinense. It is also famous as the only inland habitat in Korea for the spotted seal, an endangered wild animal and a natural monument.

The second phase listing of the Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats, will be finally decided at the 48th World Heritage Committee meeting to be held in July next year, after an evaluation by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a professional review body.

If Seosan Garolim Bay is expanded and listed as a World Heritage site, the province expects that it will be easier to conserve biodiversity and manage it sustainably, and that international interest in Garolim Bay will increase.

It is also expected to be an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of natural heritage conservation through regional economic revitalization and community participation.

A provincial official said, "The province will cooperate with Seosan City and the Cultural Heritage Administration so that Seosan Garolim Bay can be listed as a World Heritage site, and at the same time, expand and establish international networking."

Meanwhile, the Garolim Bay National Marine Eco-Park project, which is being promoted by the province, aims to systematically preserve and manage the marine ecosystem of Garolim Bay, located between Seosan City and Taean County, and to revitalize the region through orderly and proper use.

The province's plan is to transform Garolim Bay, which belongs to the world's top five tidal flats, the southwestern coast of Korea, and is the first and largest marine protected area in the country, into a luxury ecological space where nature and humans, the sea and life coexist in harmony.

The province established a comprehensive plan in December last year after Governor Kim Tae-heum announced a 'bigger plan' related to the Garolim Bay National Marine Eco-Park in July last year.

Garolim Bay has an area of 159.85km2, a coastline length of 162km, a tidal flat area of 80km2, and there are 4 inhabited islands and 48 uninhabited islands in the sea area.

Department Cultural Heritage Division, Cultural Heritage Preservation Team, Marine Policy Division, Marine Ecosystem Restoration Team

Phone number 041-635-2454, 2765