A global gathering among subnational governments around the globe to discuss strategy and action plans for biodiversity kicked off in the eastern city of PyeongChang on Monday, bringing together some 500 government officials, environmentalists and businesspeople from around the world.

The Biodiversity Summit for Cities and Subnational Governments
2014 was organized as part of the Convention on Biological Diversity, informally known as the Biodiversity Convention, which was adopted at the U.N. Conference on Environment and Development held in Brazil in 1992 to address environmental problems facing the planet.

"The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the center of the Korean Peninsula is an area of uncommon species," Gangwon Province Gov.
Choi Moon-soon said in a welcoming address. "This zone, I hope, will serve as a symbolic site for biodiversity, the environment and peace."

The DMZ, a 4-kilometer-wide and 250-km-long cease-fire buffer zone at the inter-Korean border, is a wild habitat with over 5,000 animal and plant species, including 106 endangered species.

During the summit, a "Pyeongchang Road Map" and a "Gangwon Declaration" containing the results of the conference will be adopted to promote and achieve U.N. sustainable development goals.

"The Pyeongchang Road Map to be adopted during the summit will show our dedication and will to implement the Biodiversity Convention, and South Korea is working to foster biodiversity across the nation and carry out the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing." Jeong Yeon-man, vice environment minister, said in a keynote address.

The Biodiversity Convention is a multilateral treaty handling all aspects of biological diversity, including genetic resources, species and ecosystems, and one of the three U.N. conventions aimed at protecting the environment along with the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to Combat Desertification.

The Nagoya Protocol also calls on member nations to set out 20
action plans by 2020 to promote biodiversity in five sectors.   

The Gangwon Declaration is expected to include the South Korean government's interest in the preservation of biodiversity in the DMZ and its efforts to promote the importance of endangered species in the area.

Gangwon Province and PyeongChang County will serve as a chairman country for two years. (Yonhap)