Ministry to protect environment in border areas

The Environment Ministry decided to push ahead with an environmental preservation policy in the inter-Korean border area with a view to ecological protection and the effective utilization of the natural resources in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and Military Armistice Line.

The ministry made the decision to cope with rising pressure for the development of border areas due to the enactment of the Border Area Support Law in January 2000 and the mood of inter-Korean detente, which is leading to growing worries over potential damage to ecological resources.

The ministry decided to wind up surveys on the overall ecological conditions, animals and plants in the green areas. It will draw up an ecological map based on the findings and strictly enforce environmental impact assessment and prior ecological adaptability systems.

The subject areas cover 9,501.3 square meters and encompass the DMZ, the North Korean border area and the southern and northern parts of the buffer zones.

In particular, during the first half of next year, the ministry will classify these areas into five categories -- reserve area, conservation area, quasi-conservation area and rearrangement area -- and enforce graded supervision of them.

Reserve areas will be permanently preserved even after unification for academic research purposes. In the case of conservation areas, development will be restricted, and for quasi-conservation areas, development will be curbed except for inevitable usage. In the rearrangement area, ecological parks and ecological tourism spots will be built and also developed for tourist courses leading to Seorak and Geumgang Mountains.

However, development will be continuously prohibited within 10 kilometers of the rivers used for water supplies and within 5 kilometers of reservoirs used for irrigation. Development will be also curbed in national and provincial parks, as well as natural environment preservation areas.

Meanwhile, the ministry disclosed that it would form an ecological survey team and start an on-the-spot inspection from Sept. 25. in order to minimize the impact on the environment of the projects for the restoration of the Seoul-Gaeseong Railway and an adjacent highway.

yongari@donga.com