Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats

Why this place matters

UNESCO’s assessment of its heritage significance, adapted in formatting from the source dataset.

Brief synthesis

The Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats is a serial property comprising six component parts in two main clusters: Boseong-Suncheon-Yeosu-Goheung covering all tidal flats in the Yeoja Bay (15,809 ha); Shinan-Muan Tandoman (117,570 ha); and the nearby Muan Hamhaeman (4,200 ha); as well as three smaller areas: Gochang (5,531 ha); Seocheon (6,809 ha) and Seosan (6,467 ha). Collectively, these areas encompass a total property area of 156,386 ha, complemented by a terrestrial and marine buffer zone measuring 105,303 ha, all located on the eastern shoreline of the Yellow Sea on the southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula. The shallow Yellow Sea, lying between the Korean Peninsula and China, hosts one of the world’s largest and most productive tidal flat ecosystems supporting millions of migratory waterbirds at the heart of the globally significant East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). The property collectively supports very important feeding and breeding areas of globally important populations of threatened migratory waterbirds in the EAAF, and overlaps with Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA), Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA), Biosphere Reserves, Ramsar Sites and EAAF Partnership Network Sites.

These tidal flats also include an exceptional diversity of tidal invertebrate life and encompass key ecosystems contributing to high primary production. The livelihoods of many human communities along the southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula depend on the harvest of marine resources, often based on traditional knowledge and practices. Anthropogenic activity has transformed significant areas of the coastal wetlands. However, the Tidal Flat Act adopted in 2019 halts any further reclamation of tidal flats and action plans under this legal framework have been progressively restoring affected tidal flats.

Criterion (x):

The property contains some of the most important and significant natural habitats for in situ conservation of the outstanding biodiversity of the Yellow Sea region, including a number of threatened and endemic species. Reflecting its habitat diversity (including islands, rocky shores, beaches, sand flats, mud flats and salt marshes), some 2,454 plant and animal species have been recorded. The property encompasses many of the critical stopover sites for several globally threatened species of migratory birds, along the EAAF, one of the world’s most important yet jeopardized flyways. Many of the estimated 50 million waterbirds of the EAAF depend on the Yellow Sea’s coastal wetlands to stage on their annual migration between nesting areas in eastern Asia to as far north as Siberia and Alaska, and non-breeding areas to as far south as Australasia.

The property supports a total of 216 bird species, among which are 114 waterbird species, 44 shorebird species and 24 globally threatened species. There are also 16 migratory waterbird species that at times have over 1% of their global population in the property. The remarkable concentrations of migratory waterbirds using the six component parts include important numbers of globally threatened species and species limited to the EAAF. These include the Spoon-billed Sandpiper; Far Eastern Curlew; Black-faced Spoonbill; Great Knot; Nordmann’s Greenshank; Hooded Crane; Saunders’s Gull; and Chinese Egret.

The property also supports 114 species of fish and two species of marine mammals as well as an exceptional diversity of tidal flat organisms including 472 benthic diatom species, 170 macroalgae species, 123 halophyte species and 1,349 species of macrobenthos. 53 of the tidal flat species are endemic to the Yellow Sea.

Integrity

The property exists in the context of high human population density and a history of land use change on the Yellow Sea coast including significant coastal reclamation. However, the selection of component parts is such that the negative impacts of coastal development projects and anthropogenic activities within the property area that could result in potential habitat loss or degradation remain low under current conditions. The property therefore includes the least affected tidal flats and associated wetlands in the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula. The component parts and their buffer zones have been delineated based on the inclusion of important ecological sites.

They are of sufficient size to support the safeguarding of the property from external threats. The Phase II extension of the property has added areas of high conservation value, several of which are contiguous with the first phase of the inscription thereby enhancing connectivity. The terrestrial and marine buffer zones have also benefited from redesign and enlarging to further safeguard the property from external threats and improve their functionality. While the reconfigured boundaries of the six component parts provide protection for migratory birds by including feeding, breeding, and roosting areas, there remains scope for additional component parts to be added.

The State Party and other expert stakeholders have identified further critical areas that may hold potential to extend the serial property subject to the support of local people and authorities. It is equally important to support cooperation across the wider Yellow Sea ecosystem and the EAAF to coordinate conservation approaches for the entire flyway. As the component parts are situated in landscapes shaped by intensive use, potential threats from developments in the surrounding areas need to be monitored carefully and adverse impacts avoided or mitigated as needed. In particular, threats such as pollution from inland areas and internationally from marine sources, coastal wind farm developments, declining fishing stocks as well as the impacts of climate change require close monitoring and attention.

Protection and management requirements

The Republic of Korea has full ownership of the property including the marine buffer zones. The component parts of the serial property are protected by law as Wetland Protected Areas (WPAs) under the Wetlands Conservation Act (WCA) or Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) under the Conservation and Management of Marine Ecosystems Act (CMMEA). Various other laws and regulations govern the property and buffer zones, effectively restricting damaging activities. The Tidal Flat Act of 2019, and increasing awareness of the value of coastal ecosystems, has triggered a shift in national policy from coastal reclamation to tidal flat protection and restoration.

This provides a mechanism, supervised by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries that further supports ecologically based coastal management within and outside the property with long-term measures to restore mudflats on the southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula degraded by past developments. Continuous attention is needed to ensure that there is no further development that would have negative impact on the attributes of conservation significance in each component part of the property. The WCA and CMMEA mandate property management plans that are implemented and revised every five years. The responsible managing government agency is the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries which collaborates with Regional Environmental Offices and Wetlands Centres along with local governments in the property’s management.

The Korea Heritage Service also plays a key role in joint management with the Ministry and local governments. An Integrated Management Plan and Monitoring System, regularly monitors and assesses existing and potential threats, and local communities are engaged and educated in the conservation and use of the getbols. Coordinated management is delivered through an established integrated management system which ensures multi-stakeholder participation and coordination across government, civil society and other actors. The Getbol World Heritage Integrated Management Committee plays a central role acting as a conduit to the various provincial and local level authorities involved in the protection and management of the property.

The management system, whilst complex and covering a number of different geographies, effectively establishes an overall architecture involving both national and local authorities. The property has adequate financial and technical resources, including staffing in all authorities involved, enhanced by World Heritage inscription. Utilization pressures such as fishing and tourism activities may have a negative impact on the property. The Tidal Flats Act and the Fisheries Resources Management Act support the sustainable use of resources and promote ecotourism through community participation to achieve both economic value and conservation goals.