Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu pledged Sunday that the Korean government would actively coordinate with the global community’s movement to raise the importance of biological diversity.

His remarks came a day before the opening of regular sessions of the 12th meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity at the Alpensia Convention Center in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, on Monday.

Though the Pyeongchang meeting kicked off on Sept. 29, participants discussed the seventh meeting of the conference of the parties to the Cartagena Protocol on biosafety from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3.

“As the chair, (South Korea) will attain an environmentally friendly conference and take the initiative in upgrading the value and preservation of biodiversity,” Yoon said in a statement.

He said the global forum in Pyeongchang would be an opportunity to generate public attention and voluntary participation.

The biodiversity summit is to convene from Oct. 12-14, aimed at identifying the role of local governments in accomplishing global biodiversity goals.

An international symposiums on environmental cooperation, the International Workshop on the Payment for Ecosystem Services in the Demilitarized Zone, is to be held Thursday. It is aimed at building environmental cooperation between the two Koreas and an international cooperative system through the valuation of and compensation for ecosystem services in the DMZ.

In addition, the Korea-China-Japan Trilateral Policy Dialogue is slated for Saturday. Environment ministers of the three countries plan to discuss measures to build cooperation and exchange information in the field of biodiversity conservation between South Korea, China and Japan.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)