On the 17th, the Korea Forest Service held a seminar and an award ceremony for a youth English presentation contest at the National Assembly building to commemorate the ‘World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought’.
This event was held in collaboration with the offices of National Assembly members Jung Hee-yong and Lee Won-taek. The theme was ‘Restore the Land, Unlock the Opportunities’.
The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is an international observance designated by the United Nations, marking the adoption of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) in 1994. It was established to share the severity of desertification and drought issues and seek solutions.
The seminar was attended by Lim Sang-seop, the head of the Korea Forest Service, National Assembly members Jung Hee-yong and Lee Won-taek, and ambassadors from Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, among other domestic and international experts. They shared their countries’ policies on drought response and the achievements made so far.
The UNCCD Secretariat introduced ongoing international cooperation projects with Korea, such as dryland afforestation projects and the Peace Forest Initiative. They also emphasized the growing severity of global drought and land degradation.
On the same day, the award ceremony for the youth English presentation contest was held, where a total of nine middle and high school students received awards. The grand prize winner of the Korea Forest Service received a 500,000 won prize, the UNCCD Secretary-General’s best awards went to two recipients with each receiving 400,000 won, and the six recipients of the Korea Forest Love Youth Union’s excellence awards received 200,000 won each.
Lim Sang-seop, head of the Korea Forest Service, commented, “Through this event, we hope to widely promote the importance of preventing desertification and drought, and to foster future generations as leaders in forest preservation.”