Restoration or Devastation?

摘要

A wetland a couple of hours' drive west of Seoul may be about as close as it gets to unspoiled nature in South Korea. Baweenupgoobi's 230-plus hectares of sand dunes and gravel bars hug a bend in the South Han River, whose clear, shallow waters join the North Han and flow through Seoul. In winter, the wetland is etched with ponds and rivulets; summer rains swamp the land, as evidenced by debris lodged high in willows. The habitat offers a niche for migrating waterfowl and unusual plants, including a rare type of chrysanthemum. "These plants have evolved in harmony with seasonal flooding, and the wildlife have adapted to it," says Jeung Mingull, an ecological geneticist at Kongju National University in Gongju.