Green Policy Conflicts in Korea

Boosting the green economy is a goal for many nations; the efforts of South Korea include tidal power plants and a new "green city" in Incheon Metropolitan City. Ironically, both of these "green" initiatives in South Korea require a significant loss of tidal-flat wetlands that host tens of thousands of migratory birds. This presentation is about the conflict between two different green efforts: "green growth" (including the tidal power plants and the new city development) versus "habitat preservation". Can we still call these plans green? What a real green plan for Incheon and South Korea should be from an environmental planning perspective? Given the crisis of climate change and dependence on fossil fuels, this conflict of "greens" will increasingly occur around the world, so we will discuss the implications for prudent policy-making and planning in comparable cases.

Speaker: Ye Kang Ko

Room 315 A