Busan Declaration on Joint Yellow Sea Tidal Flats Conservation Adopted... Korea, China, and Now North Korea Open Doors to Cooperation

First Implementation of "Collaboration" as the New 6th Strategic Objective by the World Heritage Committee
From Korea and China to North Korea’s Tentative List... Joint Technical Meeting Within 12 Months

"The Yellow Sea should be viewed as a single ecosystem."

Jennifer Jo, Secretary-General of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), is presenting cross-border conservation cooperation strategies for the Yellow Sea tidal flats at the side event "Flying Beyond Borders" of the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee held on the 25th at BEXCO in Busan. Photo by Heeyoon Kim

Room 102, Exhibition Hall 1, BEXCO, Busan, afternoon of the 25th. As the official side event of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, "Flying Beyond Borders," began, the screen displayed a map of the Yellow Sea connecting the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese coast. The presenters explained the protected areas of each country, but they all repeatedly emphasized "connectivity," "flyway," and "collaboration." This reflected a shared awareness: migratory birds do not recognize national borders, and neither do tidal flats end at the boundaries.

The conclusion of the two-hour-long presentations and discussions immediately led to a single declaration. On this day, the 48th UNESCO World Heritage Committee adopted the "Busan Declaration on Cooperation for the Conservation of the Yellow Sea Tidal Flats and Coastal Wetlands." The declaration outlines international cooperation principles for considering Korea's tidal flats, China's Yellow Sea-Bohai Bay Coastal Wetlands for Migratory Birds, and the West Coast coastal wetlands included in North Korea’s tentative list as one ecological corridor and preserving them together.

This declaration is more than just a joint statement. It is the first case in which the World Heritage Committee put into policy the addition of "Collaboration" as the sixth strategic objective—after the existing five Cs (Credibility, Conservation, Capacity Building, Communication, and Communities)—during this session. While the "Busan Declaration" set a new direction for the World Heritage framework, the Yellow Sea Tidal Flats Busan Declaration is the first example of translating that direction into a real action plan.

The declaration states that the Yellow Sea coastal wetlands should be recognized as a single ecosystem, and that participating institutions and relevant countries shall build a voluntary and non-binding cooperative system for joint conservation. It does not address political or jurisdictional issues, but instead focuses on sharing scientific and technical knowledge and management experience.

Muan Mudflat. Korea's Mudflat World Heritage Registration Task Force

Specific areas for cooperation were also outlined. These include joint management of the Yellow Sea coastal wetlands and greater inter-country collaboration; joint monitoring of tidal flats and migratory bird populations; data sharing; research on wetland ecology and climate change response; control of the invasive Spartina species; development of restoration technologies; and sharing of experiences in World Heritage management and sustainable tourism. The participating institutions, under the support of UNESCO and the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), will assign technical representatives and hold the first technical coordination meeting within 12 months to develop a concrete implementation plan.

The seminar on this day also embodied the spirit of the declaration. Jennifer Jo, Secretary-General of the EAAFP, described the Yellow Sea tidal flats as a key axis of the East Asian-Australasian migratory bird flyway. Jinny Choi, Secretary-General of the Korea’s Mudflat World Heritage Registration Promotion Team, explained that the recent second-phase extension of Korea’s tidal flats inscription has enhanced the ecological integrity of the World Heritage site.

Next, Wu Qizhang, Director of the Yancheng World Heritage Centre in China, and John MacKinnon, independent UNESCO expert, each reported on the status of conservation along China's Yellow Sea coast and North Korea’s West Coast wetlands, emphasizing the need to manage the entire Yellow Sea as one ecological corridor. In the subsequent panel discussion, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM), World Coastal Forum (WCF), and Hanns Seidel Foundation participated to discuss ways to promote cross-border cooperation.

Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, stated, "Since the initial inscription in 2021, the expanded listing has significantly strengthened the World Heritage representation of the Yellow Sea ecological corridor," adding, "Transboundary cooperation will contribute not only to ecological connectivity but also to building the peace that UNESCO pursues."

Heo Min, Administrator of the National Heritage Administration, said, "This second-phase inscription of Korea’s tidal flats is the result of faithfully implementing the 2021 recommendations of the World Heritage Committee, further strengthening both the biodiversity value and the integrity of the heritage," and emphasized, "As the Yellow Sea tidal flats have taken shape as a venue for multinational cooperation, we will continue to work with the international community to ensure systematic preservation, management, and sustainable use."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.