Dr Nial Moores, Nationwide Director, Birds Korea
(With thanks upfront for letting me know if there are any factual errors or misrepresentations within the publish beneath, in order that they are often swiftly and wholly corrected!, and for sharing some other helpful supplies that you just may need…)
Already, airports are underneath development on chicken vital Ulleung Island and on Heuksan Island. If the remaining proposed new airports within the Republic of Korea (ROK) proceed as deliberate, then they’ll instantly impression a minimum of 5 – 6 extra of the nation’s most bird-rich and vital areas. The significance to birds of those proposed airport places is already well-known to Birds Korea members, both from birding journeys or via posts through the years on the web sites and weblog: Saemangeum and the adjoining Geum Estuary (most of which is now designated because the Seocheon Getbol World Heritage serial property); Gadeok Do, and the Nakdong Estuary; Jeju Second Worldwide, and the Seongsan coast; Seosan, by Lake A; Baengnyeong, by the reclamation lake; and even maybe a brand new Gyeonggi worldwide airport inside the Hwaseong Wetlands…
Attempting to evaluate the potential threats to birds and impacts on their populations that may be brought on by every of those new airports, individually and together, requires a whole lot of examine, together with studying via massively lengthy and infrequently vaguely-worded Environmental Affect Evaluation (EIA) studies and making an attempt to digest as a lot skilled literature regarding birds and airports as is out there. Previously few weeks, due to the generosity of Nicola Crockford of the RSPB within the UK, this consists of literature regarding a just lately cancelled airport in Portugal which actually must be shared as broadly as doable. It’s because the proposed airport was going to be constructed subsequent to considered one of Western Europe’s most vital estuaries for shorebirds however was cancelled due to the estimated impacts of noise on shorebirds which might be brought on by over-flying plane. The authorized case towards the proposed airport additionally highlighted the inter-connectivity of websites alongside a Flyway, demonstrating that actions in a single nation can forestall success of conservation measures in one other. The cancellation of the airport in Portugal subsequently has some relevance to an evaluation of impacts at all the proposed airports right here – and explicit relevance to the proposed New Saemangeum Airport.
The tidal flats of the Yellow Sea kind the guts of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) and on the flip of this century, Saemangeum was the Yellow Sea’s most vital identified shorebird web site. Because the seawall grew longer, numbers of shorebirds began to fall, and so they collapsed following seawall closure in 2006 (Moores et al 2016; Lee et al. 2018), Now, the Geum Estuary is crucial remaining web site for migratory shorebirds within the ROK. As a welcome conservation response to large-scale reclamation of a lot of the coast, a lot of the Geum Estuary was first designated as nationally protected Wetland Conservation Space, then as Ramsar web site, and extra just lately as a part of the Getbol, Korean Tidal Flat, World Heritage serial property – with Pure World Heritage websites broadly understood to fulfill the very highest world commonplace amongst Protected Areas.
In line with the EIA report (EIASS 2021), as at the moment proposed the New Saemangeum worldwide airport will probably be constructed inside the northern a part of the Saemangeum reclamation space. Primarily based on waterbird knowledge inside EIASS (2021) and from Winter Census knowledge gathered underneath the auspices of the nationwide Ministry of Atmosphere between 1999 and 2023, if the airport proceeds it can inevitably consequence within the destruction of what’s nonetheless – inside 3km of the runway – an internationally vital wetland for waterbirds, as outlined by Ramsar Conference standards (Ramsar 2024). It’ll additionally consequence within the destruction of a excessive tide roost web site, used presumably throughout highest excessive tides by shorebirds that forage at low tide inside the adjoining Geum Estuary. The excessive variety of Gray Plover Pluvialis squatarola 개꿩 reported in EIASS (2021) within the space closest to the proposed runway space means that these will probably be birds that forage at low tide totally on tidal flats inside the Seocheon Getbol, Korean Tidal Flat, World Heritage serial property somewhat than the buffer zone.
As well as, the proposed airport space is continuously used or overflown by many 1000’s of Nice Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 민물가마우지 and geese. Flying from this airport will subsequently entail a considerable threat of chicken strike, particularly contemplating the identified historical past of chicken strikes within the space already.
Importantly too, the runway of the proposed New Saemangeum airport is depicted in one of many figures in EIASS (2021) (beneath) as reaching to inside 5.0km-5.5km of the southern boundary of the Seocheon Getbol, Korean Tidal Flat, World Heritage Serial Property (from right here on, “Seocheon Getbol WH”). Use of Google Earth means that the true distance of the runway from the Seocheon Getbol WH, nonetheless, would possibly maybe be nearer to 7km or 7.5km (?). Both manner, plane will probably be flying low on strategy and take off over the Geum Estuary, with figures in EIASS (2021) displaying plane flight paths will probably be instantly over the western aspect of the Seocheon Getbol WH. Along with the somewhat excessive threat of chicken strike, there’s additionally the difficulty of the impression of noise on shorebirds. At the very least one determine in EIASS (2021) signifies noise ranges of as much as 70db on the fringe of the Geum River channel – inside about 500m of the Seocheon Getbol WH designated buffer zone and 1km of the property itself (EIASS 2021). Wright et al (2010) assessed that between 5% and 47% of waterbirds present a powerful destructive response to noise ranges inside the 55–65 db noise interval; and that the chance of birds displaying a powerful destructive response will increase to 47-80% as soon as noise ranges exceed 65db.
Disturbance from human actions, together with consequently from plane over-flights, is already identified “to have a excessive energetic price to shorebirds and will compromise their capability to construct enough power reserves to undertake migration”; and “disturbance that renders an space unusable is equal to habitat loss and may exacerbate inhabitants declines” (Far Jap Curlew Process Drive / EAAFP 2017).
The apparent query subsequently is: How would possibly a rise in disturbance brought on by a rise within the variety of over-flying plane going to and from the proposed New Saemangeum Airport impression migratory shorebirds and different globally threatened waterbirds within the Seocheon Getbol WH?
van der Kolk et al. (2020) state that, “overflight of enormous plane may cause birds to take flight, and substantial will increase in shorebird each day power expenditure when uncovered to such plane disturbance have been recorded, even when the airport has been operational for many years”; and “to make correct impression assessments of disturbance on biodiversity, it’s essential to watch your entire disturbance panorama and quantify the cumulative impression of all related disturbance sources over a spread of species and websites, over longer durations of time, and protecting a spread of climate situations, seasons and instances of the day.”
At the moment, the close by Gunsan Worldwide airport reportedly has as much as six flights a day. I’ve not had time to recheck the roughly 1,600-page EIA report back to see whether or not it reveals flight paths, and whether or not these are typically low over the Seocheon Getbol WH. Actually, I don’t keep in mind seeing such plane throughout my analysis within the outer components of the Geum Estuary. There may be additionally an air base subsequent to the prevailing airport, with often frequent flights by jets, together with noisily over the Seocheon Getbol WH. There are additionally occasional fly-overs of the overall space by helicopters, and a few helicopters used to (nonetheless now?) conduct coaching flights over the tidal flats earlier than they had been designated as Seocheon Getbol WH. Disturbance ranges are subsequently already excessive – and are most likely already negatively impacting shorebirds. Nevertheless, none of those current sources of disturbance are even thought-about by EIASS (2021).
The New Saemangeum airport is initially proposed to hold one million or extra passengers yearly (so maybe initially 10-15 flights a day?). Though not indicated wherever within the EIA report, it appears affordable to imagine that after the Saemangeum reclamation space is totally built-up (it’s at the moment nonetheless largely “vacant”), then the variety of plane every day might be anticipated to extend considerably: why else make investments a lot cash constructing a brand new worldwide airport proper subsequent to an current one?
The EIASS (2021) does comprise a whole lot of good waterbird depend knowledge from the Seocheon Getbol WH, as the entire property is inside the 13km radius known as for within the growth of Wildlife Hazard Administration Plans by ICAO (2020). Nevertheless, I couldn’t discover any analysis within the EIA report or supplementary data aimed toward assessing impacts on shorebirds and different threatened waterbirds that may be brought on by elevated noise ranges as plane descend into and ascend out of the proposed New Saemangeum airport.
A full and detailed evaluation of such impacts is required. The Seocheon Getbol WH, considered one of 4 tidal flat WH properties nationwide, accommodates a lot of the Geum Estuary. It’s the greatest remaining web site within the ROK for e.g., the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea 넓적부리도요 and in addition helps 1000’s of worldwide Endangered Far Jap Curlew Numenius madagascariensis 알락꼬리마도요 and Nice Knot Calidris tenuirostris 붉은어깨도요. The previous species is listed in Australia as Critically Endangered, and has been the main target there of some intensive and expensive conservation initiatives; and declines within the latter species had been noticed in Australia, following the closure of the Saemangeum sea-wall (Far Jap Curlew Process Drive / EAAFP 2017; Rogers et al. 2009).
Now, these similar and lots of extra threatened migratory waterbird species are explicitly acknowledged by the UNESCO Committee and the IUCN as forming a part of the “Excellent Common Worth” (OUV) of the Seocheon Getbol WH, and of the pure World Heritage properties elsewhere within the ROK and alongside the Chinese language coast (see e.g., World Heritage Criterion X and the World Heritage Nomination Textual content p.98-99).
The worldwide / world worth of the Seocheon Getbol WH is additional affirmed by research utilizing leg flags (colored tags placed on the legs of shorebirds) led by e.g., the Australasian Wader Research Group and the World Flyway Community, supported by an growing variety of research using transmitters (e.g. Lilleyman et al. 2020). There at the moment are many 1000’s of information of “marked” birds and these assist to verify that waterbirds’ migrations join the Seocheon Getbol WH to different websites; and that the Seocheon Getbol WH is a part of a community of internationally vital protected and unprotected areas inside the Yellow Sea, and north to NE Russia and Alaska and south to Australia and New Zealand. This community is now, after all, identified extra popularly because the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
Importantly, in stark distinction to the New Saemangeum airport EIA report, analysis in Portugal was performed through the EIAs on the anticipated impacts on shorebirds of over-flying plane if the brand new Lisbon Worldwide Airport had been to be constructed, as proposed subsequent to the Tagus Estuary. And subsequent, larger high quality analysis on the impacts of noise on shorebirds was then performed and used to underpin a lot of the authorized problem to the identical airport, after it was authorised in 2020. Just like the Geum Estuary, the Tagus Estuary is an internationally vital wetland, with a lot of the estuary included inside a nationwide Protected Space system. What these difficult the airport made clear was that the rise in noise to be brought on by plane would lead to shorebird declines.
Catry et al. (2022), whereas acknowledging the dangers of chicken strike entailed in finding airports close to estuaries, assessed that noise brought on by overflying plane following the implementation of the brand new Lisbon airport would “result in a lack of as much as 30% of the conservation worth of the Tagus estuary when it comes to intertidal feeding areas of wintering birds alone. The worldwide impression will probably be larger when results on supratidal roosts, in addition to on passage birds, are additionally thought-about. The Tagus estuary, which is internationally vital for six of the ten species included in our evaluation, is only one of a community of already depleted websites alongside the EAF [East Atlantic Flyway]. Thus, destructive impacts on chicken populations on the Tagus estuary could have repercussions and undermine conservation efforts elsewhere. The plight of shorebirds on the Tagus estuary is thus a matter of worldwide conservation concern.”
This analysis was then adopted by extra detailed evaluation by Nightingale et al. (2023), who evaluated the extent of noise disturbance on Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa 흑꼬리도요 utilizing the Tagus Estuary, and estimated “disturbance impacts on as much as 68.3% of particular person Black-tailed Godwits general, significantly exceeding the estimates of 0.46–5.5% within the airport’s Environmental Affect Assessments which derived from depend knowledge.” Furthermore, Nightingale et al. (2023) additionally highlighted that as a result of Black-tailed Godwits are migratory, the airport growth would impression transboundary conservation efforts and impression negatively on conservation efforts alongside the Flyway. It’s because the “impression footprint doesn’t merely equal the spatial extent of the impression itself, but in addition encompasses all extra areas utilized by impacted people… by representing actions between websites in a community, practitioners can achieve a extra correct image of how the consequences of a localized impression or safety could also be felt at related websites.”
This skilled evaluation was supported by a extreme critique of the under-estimated threat of chicken strike by Luit Buurma (“Flight Security and Chicken Conservation Mutual exclusion of a brand new Lisbon airport and the Tagus Estuary Nature Reserve”); and by a profitable authorized problem introduced by ClientEarth, which included an evaluation by the RSPB of prices to ongoing conservation efforts within the European Union. This evaluation concluded that the proposed airport will, “severely (undermine) previous and future worldwide conservation efforts and the big investments these efforts entail. We present that failing to contemplate the worldwide penalties, together with injury to the integrity of the Natura 2000 community, is a serious omission that doesn’t align with worldwide agreements aimed on the conservation of migratory species” (Verhoeven et al. 2023).
Authorized frameworks for the conservation of biodiversity within the EU are after all very totally different to these within the ROK. Along with stronger nationwide laws, there are additionally regional frameworks, together with Natura 2000 and the Conference on Environmental Affect Evaluation in a Transboundary Context (or Espoo Conference). An vital distinction from the ROK may also be discovered within the capability and power of civil society, with among the world’s main specialists working not solely in universities however in NGOs too. The legality of the brand new Lisbon airport was subsequently challenged on the idea of sturdy knowledge and proof gathered by researchers from inside Portugal who had been then supported by specialists inside nationwide member organisations of BirdLife Worldwide. In that manner, plaintiffs might harness experience from throughout a continent to convey a authorized problem led by ClientEarth, an environmental regulation charity, with 300 employees and places of work in London, Brussels, Warsaw, Berlin, Beijing, Madrid and Los Angeles (see: https://www.clientearth.org/).
Within the ROK, we nonetheless would not have strong nationwide inhabitants estimates for the overwhelming majority of chicken species (why not?); there is no such thing as a apparent guideline on how a lot destructive impression is appropriate / unacceptable when brought on by a selected growth mission (why not?); and EIA studies for airports don’t embrace commentary on the impacts of initiatives on species on the inhabitants degree (e.g., expressed in clear proportion phrases) (once more, why not?). As well as, researchers and lecturers seldom publish analysis that goals to evaluate the impacts of particular growth proposals and there are not any giant skilled NGOs specializing in biodiversity conservation. As an alternative, as giant growth initiatives proceed to be proposed conservation of biodiversity has to rely upon a reasonably fast, largely closed formal EIA course of. In line with Ro (undated), “Initiatives topic to EIA underneath the Environmental Affect Evaluation Act don’t bear a definite screening process. As an alternative, the scoping course of for EIA is performed by a delegated Environmental Affect Evaluation Affiliation. An EIA company or enterprise operator conducts an intensive survey and initiatives impacts primarily based on the outcomes of deliberations of an Environmental Affect Evaluation Council. An Environmental Affect Assertion (EIS), also known as a draft EIA report, is ready primarily based on the gathered outcomes”.
Within the case of the Saemangeum New airport, fieldwork and the EIA report apparently took lower than a 12 months to finish. A brief interval (for many EIA studies within the ROK, little greater than a month) was allotted to conduct a proper assessment of the EIA report. Till just lately, this assessment function legally fell solely inside the remit of the Korea Environmental Institute (KEI), although extra just lately, as many extra EIAs are being performed, this remit has been expanded additionally to incorporate 4 analysis institutes inside the Ministry of Atmosphere (Ro undated). Fortuitously, there’s substantial institutional experience within the ROK; and there’s sturdy proof that this assessment course of has helped to cut back the impacts of some growth initiatives (Ro undated). Certainly, the assessment for the New Saemangeum airport EIA report did appropriately spotlight many main points. Nevertheless, it didn’t, to the perfect of my understanding, embrace any commentary on noise disturbance to waterbirds within the Seocheon Getbol WH.
With so many EIA studies to course of in such a short while interval, it appears affordable to surprise if the skilled reviewers within the ROK actually have the time and alternative to maintain updated with world greatest follow, and to name for the same commonplace of excellence within the EIA studies that they assessment. For now, responses given to the assessment within the Supplementary sections of EIA studies counsel that growth proponents are free to dismiss most of the reviewer’s issues with out being compelled to elucidate acceptable mitigation measures.
Presumably consequently, regardless that “skilled opinions advocate for consistency with the precautionary precept” (RO undated), a meta-analysis of 288 EIA studies discovered that there was, “a considerable want for enchancment in present mitigation methods” (Kim et al. 2024).
So by the use of abstract: if the New Saemangeum airport is constructed as proposed, then one shorebird roost will probably be misplaced and there will probably be an elevated variety of giant plane over-flying the Seocheon Getbol WH. Primarily based on obtainable proof, simply as in Portugal, the resultant enhance in noise will then probably trigger elevated ranges of disturbance to threatened migratory waterbirds. Any lack of roost websites and any enhance in disturbance might be understood to be a possible menace to the OUV of the Seocheon Getbol WH. ROK authorities have already said formally that, “The central and native governments will work collectively to dam any growth that may injury the OUV of the nominated property.” (World Heritage Nomination Textual content, Part 7D, Supplementary Particulars). It is very important notice use of the verb “would possibly” on this sentence. And likewise to ask, why has this airport plan been allowed to proceed?
If nationwide biodiversity is to be conserved, then internationally vital wetlands, whether or not or not they’re designated as Ramsar websites, must be protected. The Nationwide Biodiversity Technique and Motion Plan (an ongoing dedication derived from accession to the Conference on Organic Variety) ought to be sure that. Article 35 of the Pure Atmosphere Conservation Act, additionally stipulates that, “The Authorities shall formulate and implement measures for conservation and sustainable utilization of organic variety and organic assets, correct administration of organic assets, and implementation of the Conference on Organic Variety, the Conference on Worldwide Commerce in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and the Conference on Wetlands of Worldwide Significance, Particularly as Waterfowl Habitat, and many others. (hereinafter known as the “Conference on Organic Variety, and many others.”) to which the State is a signatory.”
The ROK has subsequently made a transparent authorized dedication to conservation of biodiversity on the nationwide degree, and internationally to the upkeep of populations of migratory waterbirds although accession to the intergovernmental Ramsar Conference. Designation of the Getbol, Korean Tidal Flat, World Heritage serial properties primarily based largely on the OUV of migratory waterbirds can also be a proper recognition by each central and native authorities that the ROK is liable for defending these migratory birds when they’re in Korea – as a result of these birds have worth to the nation and to the world as an entire. Any lack of OUV won’t solely have an effect on the ROK; it can additionally impression different websites in different nations that these birds rely upon at different instances of the 12 months.
As soon as once more, as said by Nightingale et al. (2023) an “impression footprint doesn’t merely equal the spatial extent of the impression itself, but in addition encompasses all extra areas utilized by impacted people.” EIA analysis and studies, EIA critiques and nationwide legal guidelines should begin to settle for and replicate this actuality.
References
Catry, T., Ventura, F., Dia, M. P., Santos, C. D., Martins, R. C., Palmeirim, J. M. & Grandeiro, J. P. 2022. Estimating the conservation price of the projected new worldwide Lisbon airport for migratory shorebirds of the Tagus Estuary, Portugal. Chicken Conservation Worldwide (2022) 32: 232-245. Revealed by Cambridge College Press on behalf of BirdLife Worldwide. doi:10.1017/S0959270921000125
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