Les marais d’Upo, l’une des plus belles zones humides de Corée du Sud

Part of the Nakdong River floodplain, Upo is both beautiful and internationally important, and one of only two South-Korean Ramsar sites. Designated in 1998, Upo is a relict area of floodplain wetland, supporting local farmers, fishers and a rich and representative biodiversity. It is also home to the Upo Wetlands Centre, a small but leading wetland conservation NGO. Threatened by numerous development projects, critical to migratory bird populations, included in several government initiatives, and visited by large numbers of nature-lovers and sightseers, Upo can be considered a test case for the management of inland wetlands in South Korea. This sector is really important for several rare species, such as the Oriental White Stork (lost as a breeding species to South Korea in the 1980s), the Lesser White-fronted Geese, and the spectacular Baikal Teal.
In addition, a wide range of other species typically associated with flood plains has also apparently undergone very significant declines: most species of bittern, the once-widespread Watercock, and most geese, especially the shallow-lake preferential Eastern Taiga Bean Goose.