Forests, Rivers, Air and Animals of North Korea Assessed

NAIROBI, Kenya, August 30, 2004 (ENS) - The status and quality of North Korea's environment has been assessed for the first time.

Priority issues for the conservation of forests, water, air, land and biodiversity in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) were identified in detail.

A visit by UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer to Pyongyang in 2000 was the initial impetus for the assessment and the report was completed in late 2003.

A high level North Korean delegation traveled to UNEP headquarters in Nairobi to introduce the assessment on Friday with representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Officials from 20 North Korean government and academic agencies produced the report with training and guidance from UNEP's assessment office in Bangkok and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in the North Korean capital Pyongyang.

Pyongyang, capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(Photo courtesy World's Biggest Cities)

"By bringing together the available environmental information and identifying priority issues, the report will help strengthen monitoring and assessment, policy setting, action planning and resourcing in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," Toepfer said.

Toepfer and the head of North Korea's delegation to Nairobi, Dr. Ri Hung Sik, the Secretary-General of the National Coordinating Committee for Environment, signed a framework agreement to guide joint activities that will strengthen the country's capacity for environmental protection.

This includes a project with the UNDP to improve quantitative environmental assessment and monitoring, utilizing information technology and integrating 10 national institutions with environmental responsibilities.

North Korea and the UN agencies are hoping to attract the funding to respond to the country's environmental problems. The assessment report contains 16 project proposals - from awareness campaigns to major technology overhauls - to help the donor community respond to the issues.

While the report acknowledges a scarcity of research and data on which to base reliable environmental assessments, some facts are now known.

North Korea's population is now estimated at 24.4 million people, 60 percent of whom live in urban areas.

Three-quarters of the country is forested, but almost all of that forest is on steep slopes. A growing population and the conversion of hilly land to agricultural production have taken a toll on forests.

Forested areas expanded from the 1950s with national planting campaigns, but over the past 10 years forests have declined in extent and quality due to timber production and a doubling of firewood consumption. Wildfires and insect attacks associated with drought also have degraded forested lands.

In response, the government has encouraged community, youth and children's groups to establish tree nurseries and to participate in campaigns such as the National Tree Planting Day each March 2.

Rich in water resources, North Korea is struggling to maintain water supply and quality. Eighty percent of total surface water is used for hydropower generation, and pollution is a worsening problem.

"A surprise was the fact that most buildings in PY have been refurbished and repainted. the roads and footpaths very very clean. There were no blackouts or air raid drills while I was there," notes Peter Crowcroft, who visited April 13-20, 2004. (Photo courtesy Peter Crowcroft)

Construction of the West Sea Barrage and low flows due to drought have weakened natural purification of the river, leading to seasonal red and blue tides in the Taedong's lower reaches, the report explains.

The lower Amnok River, on the boundary of North Korea and China, is also affected by industrial effluent and domestic sewage.

The report calls for "urgent investment" in domestic sewage and industrial treatment, and in water storage, purification and supply systems.

The government is strengthening legal control on effluent from factories by applying the polluter pays principle and has initiated mass media campaigns for water conservation.

But more needs to be done, the report concludes. Establishment of a national pollution monitoring system in the major river system, promotion of efficient technology for the effluent treatment, and establishment of a municipal waste water treatment plant equipped with the latest energy efficient technology are all recommended.

The country's reliance on coal for power generation, manufacturing and domestic heating has created serious urban air pollution problems, though comprehensive monitoring or studies of its effects on human health have not been carried out.

North Korea is projected to increase is use of coal five-fold by 2020. The report calls for investment in clean coal combustion and exhaust gas purification technologies, energy efficiency, and renewable energy alternatives.

Self-sufficiency in food production has been a national policy aim, but major crop yields fell by almost two-thirds during the 1990s due to land degradation caused by loss of forest, droughts, floods and tidal waves, acidification due to overuse of chemicals, as well as shortages of fertilizer, farm machinery and oil.

Vulnerable soils require an expansion of restorative policies and practices such as flood protection works, tree planting, terracing and use of organic fertilizers.

Recognizing such issues, the North Korean government has adjusted its legal and administrative framework, the report states, designating environmental protection as a priority over all productive practices and identifying it as a prerequisite for sustainable development.

The country is inhabited by several critically endangered species, including the Amur leopard, Asiatic black bear and Siberian tiger. To conserve these species, North Korea has signed international environmental agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Once the Asiatic black bear, Ursus thibetanus, ranged from western edge of Afghanistan across Pakistan, eastward over northern India and southern Tibet, northern Indochina and northeastern China, and into Russia, Korea and Japan, according to the Central Tibetan Administration website.

An Asiatic black bear, known also as a Himalayan black bear, Ursus thibetanus, in a zoo (Photo credit unknown)

The government has adopted national laws on forests, fisheries, water resources and marine pollution, the report notes, but the authors say still more legislation is needed. "More environmental laws and regulations need to be formulated or the current laws need to be upgraded," the report says.

To align socio-economic progress with sustainable development, improved mechanisms for environmental management and greater financial investment in the environmental sector are required.

North Korea and UNEP jointly recommend a study on environmental science and technology that is focused on the country's identified problems, and monitoring and statistical systems to assess the state and quality of the environment at the country level.

Until more data is available, the information that has emerged from this assessment, the authors state, "will be used as a basis for preparing national policies and plans."

Find the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) State of the Environment Report at: http://www.rrcap.unep.org/