한국 습지보전법의 문제점과 개선방안

Abstract

The 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands was held in Changwon, Repubic of Korea(Date: 28 October - 4 November 2008). This Convention, called Ramsar Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. Wetlands play key roles in the provision of food and clean water. Wetlands control floods, stabilize shorelines, and protect us from storms. Soils and plants in wetlands help purify water from heavy metals and other pollutants. If we destroy the wetland, our generation will face serious environmental problems. Fortunately, this fact is arousing a nation’s sympathy of the importance of wetlands. In legislative reflection, the Wetlands Conservation Act was established in 1999. This act was legislated to effectively preserve and manage wetlands and pursue international cooperation in accordance with the Ramsar Convention. But this act has been several problems which include a legislative system, definition of “wetlands”, basic principles of conservation of wetlands, state and local government relationships, formulation of basic plan for conservation of wetlands, designation of Wetlands Conservation Area, restriction of activities in Wetlands Conservation Area, etc. Now, at the time of ‘The 10th Ramsar Convention’, we should have a new understanding of the importance of wetlands, repair the Wetlands Conservation Act and wetlands management system. This Paper aims to review the legal subject of the Wetlands Conservation Act and to find the improvement of it.