0408 - Nordkorea 2015 - Kumgang Gebirge (22569775329)

The environment of North Korea comprises the diverse ecosystems of the part of the Korean peninsula controlled by the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

. This includes alpine, forest, farmland, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Since the 1980s, the environment has been reported to be in a state of "crisis", "catastrophe", or "collapse". Pollution and deforestation are key problems. However, this has been contested by some accounts. In addition, North Korea has some environmental programs to mitigate the problems.

Overview

More than 80 percent of North Korea is mountainous with cultivation largely confined to coastal strips in the east and west. According to a

United Nations Environmental Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

report in 2003,

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of forest that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/square miles). Around a third of the world's surface is covered with forest, with closed-canop ...

s over 70 percent of the country, mostly on steep slopes. However, other studies have suggested that, due to

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

, forest cover was only about 50%. There are nine rivers and numerous smaller waterways. The environment is correspondingly diverse, consisting of

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

, forest, farmland,

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does incl ...

, and

marine ecosystems Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the su ...

. Due to its geological history, the country has a range of vegetation, from the subtropical, temperate and frigid zones, which are able to coexist due to the combined effects of oceanic and continental climates. The climate has pronounced seasonal variations, with warm summers and snowfall in winter.

Biodiversity

In 2003, animal and plant species in North Korea were reported to be "profuse". Four percent of the

higher plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They a ...

species were reported to be endangered, vulnerable, rare, or in decline. Eleven percent of

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with ...

species were reported to be critically endangered, endangered, or rare. In 2013 a delegation of visiting scientists reported major environmental devastation. They described an absence of wildlife and said that the "landscape is basically dead". This situation was described as "so severe it could destabilize the whole country". However, a group of birdwatchers from the Pukorokoro Miranda Naturalists' Trust, New Zealand, visited the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour ter ...

shore of Mundŏk County in

South P'yŏngan South Pyongan Province (Phyŏngannamdo; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its ca ...

province in 2016 and reported that the mudflats there were a haven for bird life. The relative lack of development there compared to nearby China and South Korea had provided a refuge for several internationally important birds on their migration along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway - such as the critically endangered

Eastern curlew The Far Eastern curlew (''Numenius madagascariensis'') is a large shorebird most similar in appearance to the long-billed curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown in color, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown ...

, the

Eurasian curlew The Eurasian curlew or common curlew (''Numenius arquata'') is a very large wader in the family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across temperate Europe and Asia. In Europe, this species is often referred ...

and the

bar-tailed godwit The bar-tailed godwit (''Limosa lapponica'') is a large and strongly migratory wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, ...

Flora

The

flora of North Korea The flora of North Korea has much in common with that of other areas of the northern hemisphere. 2898 species have been recorded, of which 14% are endemic. Four are classified as threatened. The native plant communities in the lowlands have large ...

has much in common with that of other areas of the northern hemisphere. 2898 species have been recorded, of which 14% are endemic. Four are classified as threatened. The native plant communities in the lowlands have largely disappeared with cultivation and urbanisation. Native

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

forest communities are located in the highlands. The forest types are mainly subarctic (

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

) and cool-temperate forest.

Environmental problems

Pollution

In 2003, air pollution in

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

, largely due to combustion of coal, was reported to be unacceptable. This is somewhat mitigated by the high use of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

in urban areas. In 2003, the pollution of rivers and streams was reported to be "severe" due to a decrease in investment in environmental protection and the improper discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluent. The quality of the

Taedong River The Taedong River (Chosŏn'gŭl: ) is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthenin ...

, which flows through

, was reported to be "deteoriating", exacerbated by the construction of the

West Sea Barrage The Nampho Dam or West Sea Dam, also known as the West Sea Barrage or West Sea Lock Gate, is a tidal barrage located 15 km west of the special city of Nampho, North Korea. It is a large, eight-km-long system of dams, three lock chambers, an ...

. A survey conducted in 2017 found that 93% of sanitation facilities were not connected to a sewage system. Rather, the human waste was used as fertilizer on fields, creating the potential health risk of spreading intestinal worms. North Korea produces large quantities of

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

and other pesticides.

Deforestation

Cultivation, logging, and natural disasters have all put pressure on North Korea's forests. During the economic crisis of the 1990s, deforestation accelerated, as people turned to the woodlands to provide firewood and food. This in turn has led to soil erosion, soil depletion, and increased risk of flooding. Based on satellite imagery in 2013, it has been estimated that 40 percent of forest cover has been lost since 1985. The

in 2003 reported a much smaller rate of depletion. A

forest restoration Forest restoration is defined as “actions to re-instate ecological processes, which accelerate recovery of forest structure, ecological functioning and biodiversity levels towards those typical of climax forest” i.e. the end-stage of natural ...

policy has been in place since 2012, especially on hillsides around

and in

South Pyongan Province South Pyongan Province (Phyŏngannamdo; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Pyongan Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Korea. Its c ...

. However deforestation appears to continue in remote areas. New crop cultivation of slopes exceeding 15 degrees has been banned to help prevent erosion and landslides. In 2018, North Korea had a

Forest Landscape Integrity Index The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...

mean score of 8.02/10, ranking it 28th globally out of 172 countries. Satellite analysis of North Korean land in 2019 indicated forests accounted for 45%, farmland for 27% and grasslands for 13%. In recent years, forest cover has been growing at 0.2% every year up to 45% in 2019, with forests reemerging especially around Pyongyang, although in some rural areas, deforestation has still occurred, due to wood being an easy source of fuel in the countryside.

Environmental programs

In response to the deforestation problem, North Korea has implemented a tree planting program. In 2016, the

Korean Central News Agency The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) is the state news agency of North Korea. The agency portrays the views of the North Korean government for both domestic and foreign consumption. It was established on December 5, 1946 and now features onli ...

reported that the Central Nursery under the Ministry of Land and Environment Protection had produced 90 million saplings over the past five years for distribution around the country. Official pronouncements have labeled illegal forest destruction as "treachery" and threatened perpetrators with the death penalty. In 2017,

Kim Il-sung University Kim Il-sung University, founded on 1 October 1946, is the first university built in North Korea. It is located on a campus in Pyongyang, the nation's capital. Along with the main academic buildings, the campus contains 10 separate offices, 50 l ...

announced the opening of a new Forest Science Department. In 2018, North Korea made an agreement with the South on forestry co-operation. The North Korean government has ratified the

Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that (part ...

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

and has been co-operating with international efforts to combat climate change. It has invested in the development of solar and other renewable energy technology. In 2017, the Foreign Ministry condemned the US government for withdrawing from the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (french: Accord de Paris), often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change. Adopted in 2015, the agreement covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and ...

. North Korea has participated in international environmental projects, such as the conservation of the

red-crowned crane The red-crowned crane (''Grus japonensis''), also called the Manchurian crane or Japanese crane (; the Chinese character '丹' means 'red', '頂/顶' means 'crown' and '鶴/鹤' means 'crane'), is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cran ...

. In 2017, Pyongyang hosted a workshop on the conservation of wetlands and migratory waterbirds, attended by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, the

Hanns Seidel Foundation The CSU-associated Hanns Seidel Foundation (german: Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung) is a German party-associated and taxpayer-money funded political research foundation. It was founded in November 1966 after most of the other party-associated foundations ...

, and the East Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership. While recycling of materials in North Korea has always been a practice, a new law in 2020 gave it a much higher profile and required organizations to recycle. A national recycling plan stipulated the minimum recycling quantity for certain materials, and placed requirements at the province, county and city levels. Economic reasons are a strong driver of this effort, reducing some imports.

Gallery

File:DPRK rice.jpg, A North Korean agricultural landscape File:1169 - Nordkorea 2015 - Myohyang Berge - Freundschaftsausstellung (22786096760).jpg, Myohyang Mountain File:Countryside, North Korea (6647247605).jpg, North Korean countryside File:Forested_slopes_around_Kaesong,_North_Korea.jpg, Forested slopes around

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

File:Landscape with Mountains in North Korea.JPG, Mountains in North Korea File:0031 - Nordkorea 2015 - Pjöngjang nach Wonsan (22574756869).jpg, North Korean river File:Hwanghae-Province-Scenery.jpg,

Hwanghae Province Hwanghae Province (''Hwanghae-do'' ) was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon era. Hwanghae was located in the northwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Haeju. The regional name for the province was Haeseo. History In 139 ...

scenery File:Yalu River Delta, North Korea.jpg, Yalu River Delta File:North Korea(36).jpg, North Korean coastline File:West Sea Barrage (5063141563).jpg, West Sea Barrage

References

External links

* {{Asia in topic, Environment of

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

Environmental issues in North Korea