Stopping the disastrous embankments of coastal wetlands by implementing effective management principles: Yellow Sea and Korea compared to the European Wadden Sea

Abstract The large-scale dimension of wetland reclamations in the wider Yellow Sea region is reviewed with particular emphasis on the Korean coast, followed by positioning the current protection strategy of the Korean tidal wetlands in a multi-dimensional protection framework as established in the ecosystem based management of the Wadden Sea in northwestern Europe. While roughly half of the Korean tidal flats (∼2400 km 2 from the 1970s through the 2000s) have been embanked, only a fragmented total of ∼220 km 2 has received protection status. In the Wadden Sea also about one half of the coastal wetlands had been embanked. However, this long history came to an end in the 1980s, and almost all remaining wetlands are under high protection status, now designated as a World Heritage Site. Prior to the designation of the Getbol (in Korean meaning an extensive mud flat) Protected Areas (GPAs) field surveys under the Korean Survey and Monitoring Program (SMP) were performed to archive an inventory of the available tidal wetlands. After the designation of a GPA, monitoring for that area was commenced under the SMP. Sediment composition and macrozoobenthos received particular attention in the surveys in terms of parameters and frequency. While the Korean SMP aims to carry out inventories, the Trilateral Monitoring and Assessment Program (TMAP) in the Wadden Sea aims to identify spatio-temporal changes in habitats and selected species populations. The current Korean GPAs are exclusively designated to tidal flats. In contrast to the Wadden Sea, where the protected area consists of salt marshes, tidal flats and the adjacent shallow waters, there is poor awareness of the significant role of the tidal channels in the functioning of the Getbol ecosystem. Broadening the current GPAs to a comprehensive ecosystem entity to ensure natural development, is the next challenge. Following the ‘success story’ of the Wadden Sea, the Korean tidal wetlands should be designated as one integral protected area. A supposed offshore boundary for the arrangement of a full scale ecosystem unit is proposed here as a leverage point for the future protection of what can be called then the Korean ‘ Getbol Sea ’. The Korean SMP is advised to incorporate the habitat classification and to improve the monitoring and its frequency, methodologically as well as financially, without losing the overall assessment. Scaling up the sciencepolicy interactions via policy-making processes is strongly recommended. As in the Wadden Sea, we further suggest international cooperation in the protection of all coastal wetlands in the entire Yellow Sea region.