South Korea, Vietnam agree cooperation on biodiversity and conservation

South Korea and Vietnam agreed to expand their collaboration on environmental projects on Monday and they will cooperate further on biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of biological resources.

South Korea’s Environment Minister Yoon Seong-kyu and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Quang met in Vietnam’s capital, Ho Chi Minh City (pictured), this week to discuss the agreement.

The two ministers also agreed to cooperation in the management of national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, according to officials.

The agreement comes as an international protocol, referred to as the “Nagoya Protocol,” came into force earlier this month and will promote the equitable sharing of natural resources.

South Korea is already assisting Vietnam with five environmental projects, including one for developing an automatic water-quality monitoring system.

The two ministers agreed to collaborate with the intention of maximising the commercial potential of those projects.

The two countries also decided to expand cooperation in sectors such as joint research on the purification of dioxin-contaminated soils in Vietnam and education of environmental officials.

Lim Hyeong-seon, an official in charge of overseas cooperation projects at the South Korean environment ministry, said: “This agreement between Vietnam, a country with rich biological resources, and South Korea with its specialised knowledge and technologies, would be of great help to South Korea in securing useful biological resources and new growth engines.”