KPSG NEWSLETTER

KOREAN PLANT SPECIALIST GROUP

Volume 8

(December 1999)

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Content

COVER PHOTO: Last sunset of the year at the Pyonsan Beach, where the home of Abeliophyllum distichum. Photo on 31 December, 1999 by Professor Dr Chong-Min Park of Chonpuk National University, Chonju, Korea.

GROWING CONCERNS OF PLANT CONSERVATION ACTIONS IN KOREAN NGOS

Yong-Shik Kim, Chair

Korean Plant Specialist Group, IUCNs SSC

Alike the trees were frequently mentioned in the Bible, for example, in the Genesis, the Koreans has long been worshiped and admired the plants and nature itself. The biodiversity conservation since Rio Conference in 1992 has been the humans mutual responsibility to secure the life of the species and their habitat. Dr Peter R Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanic Garden mentioned recently that the plants of the world envisaged from the extinct in the wild. The present situation of plant conservation in Korea is no exception from this point of view. Fortunately the Rio Conference was the turning point to make focus the Korean plant conservation with the mental changes and bring public attention in the country.

Under the backgrounds to the growing concerns of global issues for biodiversity conservation, the IUCN SSC's Korean Plant Specialist Group (KPSG) was born in the spring of 1997 after the SSC Meeting in Montreal. The group was started with 10 members from the botanical gardens and arboreta, government officials and academic staffs, which is now grown up to over 30 members. As we expect that the role of NGO bodies for plant conservation in Korea will surprisingly much more important in the coming millenium. The NGO bodies for plant conservation should find their way to integrated approaches what is the best to maximize the efforts, collaboration and contribution. Also the government should not neglect to consider this major currents towards the conservation action. As one of the major NGO bodies for plant conservation in Korea, the role of the KPSG will definitely important in the next millenium. We will need much more responsibilities to pursue and achieve the basic philosophy for plant conservation according to the regulations of the IUCNs SSC.

The KPSG had privileged to accept the Environmental Fund that was raised in commemoration of the state visit to Korea by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. We held a plant conservation workshop at the National Arboretum (former the Kwangnung Arboretum) in early October. This workshop also tokens the born of National Arboretum of Korea. The meeting brought the mutual growing concern to the plant conservation, and this inflamed the need of integrated collaboration to plant conservation in Korea. The conservation research fund raised by the Chicago Zoological Society made accelerate the groups activity of the year. The augmented KPSG will act as the vital messenger to enlarge the activities such as the Red List compilation having more responsibility in the upcoming biological century.

The Korean Plant Specialist Group held a conservation workshop at the National Arboretum (former the Kwangnung Arboretum), on 4th - 5th October, 1999, towards the next millenium. This workshop was supported by the Environmental Fund which raised when the state visit to Korea of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, and partly supported from the Ministry of Environment and the Office of Forestry. British Ambassador, Mr Stephen Brown, as the host support for the grant, graced the inaugural function, addressed the participants, offering support for the endeavor and wishing for fruitful deliberations. Abstract for the presented papers are in the below.

IUCNs SPECIES SURVIVAL COMMISSION AND ITS PLANT CONSERVATION STRATEGY (Dr Wendy Strahm, Plants Officer, IUCN the World Conservation Union, Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland: This year, the Species Survival Commission celebrates its 50 years of existence as a Commission of IUCN the World Conservation Union. This Commission, composed of experts on species ranging from elephants to shrews to conifers to lichens, has for its mission to conserve biological diversity by developing and executing programmes to save, restore and wisely manage species and their habitats. To do this a structure of some 110 Specialist Groups, comprising a network of nearly 7,000 scientists, field researchers, government officials and conservation leaders from 188 countries, now exist. These Specialist Groups focus on taxonomic groups of species (either global or in a specific region, such as Orchids or Korean plants), or on particular conservation issues (such as Invasive Species, Re-introductions, or Sustainable Use). They provide advice on their species of concern, make interventions, produce and implement Action Plans, spread information through newsletters, workshops, and the internet, as well as provide input to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and to policy documents destined for International agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity. This paper provides background information on the work of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, and covers issues where botanists can contribute to global conservation programmes.

PRESENT STATUS AND PROSPECT FOR COLLECTION AND CONSERVATION OF CROP GENETIC RESOURCES IN KOREA (Dr Wan-Sik Ahn, National Seed Management Office, RDA): The Republic of Korea is a peninsular extending south ward from the northern part of the Sino-Japanese floristic biogeographical region covering South Siberia, Japan, North China, Manchuria and some part of the Himalayas(Good, 1974). There fore, the flora of the Korean peninsula is presented high diversity compare to other countries. The national seed management acts are now amending auspisus under Rural Development Administration(RDA) recently on July 1999. The Genetic Resources Council (GRC) advice on developing national strategies for germplasm activities such as recommendation of financial surport and cooperation between research institutions. The Germplasm Specific Advisory Committee(GSAC) such as plant, animal and micro organism are developed. The Genetic Resources Division, Seed Management Office of the RDA plays a basic role in planning and supporting the national program on the conservation and use of crop genetic resources, while the other research institutions have to be as a qurators and users. The RDA Gene Bank (RDAGB) was established in 1988 and it is belong to the National Seed Management Office (NSMO). Korea government has emphasized preservation systems and management of crop genetic resources from 1985 and established seed storage facilities for the capacity of 154,000 accessions by the IPGRI standards in 1988. There are some other seed storage facilities at the RDA affiliate crop research institutions for the duplications and working collections of crop germplasms. Germplasm collection for landrace has been conducted extensively before the establishment of RDAGB and up to now. Out of total 1,777 species 142,038 accessions in the RDAGB, there are 108,717 accessions for food crop germplasms, 13,301 accessions for horticultural and ornamental crops, 16,953 accessions of medicinal and industrial crop germplasms and 3,613 accessions of other crop germplasms are preserved. Also, 492 species and 10,285 accessions of tuber and/or vegetatively propagating plants are conserved in the field. There are 52,276 accessions (36.8%) of landraces were collected and conserved in the RDAGB. Among them 57 crops 5,171 accessions were collected by the 8,000 of extension workers through out the Korean peninsula during 1985. The exchange and/or access of plant genetic resources among the countries are unusual due to occurring the nationalism after the biodiversity convention in 1992. The reciprocity of memorandum of understanding(MOU) for the exchange or joint exploration mission might be one method for the more easily circulate and/or access of plant genetic resources between countries, Education and training of specialist for the collection and use of plant genetic resources are needed urgently. For the long term conservation of the native plants, the storage characteristics of the seeds must be carried out like "Orthodox" or "Recalcitrant". On Farm Management(OFM) should be one way of the best methods for the dynamic evolution and in-situ conservation of crop landraces.

THE NEED FOR INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN PLANT CONSERVATION: IUCN'S RED LIST PROGRAMME (Dr Wendy Strahm, Plants Officer, IUCN the World Conservation Union Rue Mauverney 28, 1196 Gland, Switzerland): The world is undergoing a period of unprecedented change. The forces of economic and financial globalisation, the revolution in information technology, the increase in wealth in large areas of the world, and of poverty in others, are all having major impacts on human societies, most of which are finding it hard to adapt at such a rapid pace. The pressures that are forcing human societies to adapt and change are also having serious impacts on the environment. Increasing human populations, and increasing consumption, are leading to a shrinkage in the worlds living natural resource capital. There are impacts on climate change, sea levels, the extent of ultra-violet radiation, the health and extent of natural ecosystems, the availability of agricultural land, pollution, and the survival of species. A recent assessment by experts suggests that global extinction rates are now between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural (or background) rate (May & Lawton, 1995). Estimates from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species indicate that the levels of threat faced by species are much higher than was previously thought. This paper examines the need for the international community to work together to halt the current trend of species loss. The use of the IUCN Red List, and its associated Species Information Service, as tools to monitor and help prioritise species conservation actions is discussed.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH ON PLANT CONSERVATION BETWEEN THE UK AND LEBANON (Dr Sawsan Khuri and S. N. Talhouk, Department of Agricultural Botany, School of Plant Sciences, The University of Reading, Whiteknights PO Box 221, Reading, RG6 6AS, UK & Dept of Crop Production and Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, The American University of Beirut, PO Box 11-0236, Beirut, Lebanon): The climate and vegetation of Lebanon are characteristic of Mediterranean type ecosystems and the country is recognised as a hotspot for plant biodiversity. The dense forests that used to cover much of the country have been severely reduced as a result of centuries of overexploitation. More recently, several years of war and the need for urban and agricultural expansion since its cessation, have further damaged remaining natural habitats. Environmental awareness is increasing in the country, and there are now several governmental and non-governmental efforts for conservation planning and implementation. However, this is hindered by a lack of sufficient scientific resources to support the research that is needed to formulate sustainable strategies for conservation. There is thus the need for Lebanese scientists to collaborate with colleagues outside Lebanon. There are many Lebanese immigrants residing in European and American countries who are academics or have strong links to academe, and they have had an important role in initiating such collaborations. This paper will describe these interactions, using a European funded collaborative project on the Cedar of Lebanon as an example.

KOREAN PLANT CONSERVATION: STATUS AND PROBLEMS (Mr Sang-Hoon Kim & Chol-Hwan Kim, Ministry of Environment): Korea has gone through various incidents such as Japanese colonisation, Civil War, and rapid industrialisation since 1960s onward in the 20th century. These incidents have impacted on its natural environment including plants and vegetation. To data, economic development has received more spotlights than the environmental protection in Korea. And nature conservation has been relatively neglected in priority-setting process among environmental issues in comparison with other issues related to water pollution or waste disposal. It is estimated that 190 family/over 4,000 taxa of vascular plants including pteridophyte are inhabited in Korea. According to Korean Plant Atlas, total 3,200 taxa of plants are inhabited in Korea, among which 16 family/over 220 taxa of pteridophytes, 8 family/over 50 taxa of gymnosperms, and 139 family/over 2,200 taxa of dicots and 26 family/over 730 taxa of monocots among angiosperms are recorded. The endemic plants in this country are broadly estimated 10-40 taxa of pteridophytes, 5-20 taxa of gymnosperms, 40-170 taxa of dicots and 300-900 taxa of monocots among angiosperms. Recently, endemics are distributed six genera and over 480 taxa in Korea. The flora of vascular plants in Korea is regarded as abundant in numbers and peculiar in its character, compared to other countries with similar size of their land. The first nationwide ecosystem survey had been conducted by the Ministry of Environment(MOE) from 1986 to 1990, and the Green Naturality Map of Korea was made thereof. As the survey is sometimes criticized by its credity, in 1997 the MOE has launched the second nationwide survey and expected to complete it by 2002. According to the survey, the entire land in this country is segmented by 11 macro-regions and 206 sub-regions. The survey cumulates quantitative data of rare plant species in Korea including endangered species listed by the Natural Environment Conservation Act(NECA). The '98 amendment of NECA designates 6 endangered species and 52 protected species in plants. The major threats to the reduction of plant species in Korea are as follows ; 1) cultural tradition and lenient legal system to plant gathering, 2) over-collection of plants for food, medicine and decorative purpose, 3) deterioration of plant diversity owing to land development for roads, industrial use, etc., 4) simplification of forest ecosystem and reduction of biodiversity in mountains by afforestation and forest management, 5) export of rare plant species. And the following are considered to be basic counter-measures against these threats; 1) fabricating of regulatory measures and reenforcing monitoring of over-gathering of wild flora, 2) developing inventory of species that are often used for medicine, decorative purpose and export, 3) restraining of large-scale land development and minimisation of environmental impacts through application of environmental impact assessment, 4) forest management taking into account the ecological consequences, 5) capacity building for research on plants - manpower, infrastructure, research institution, budget, etc.

PLANT CONSERVATION AND THE ROLE OF THE OFFICE OF FORESTRY (Dr Yu-Mee Lee, National Arboretum, Chikdong-ni, Sohul-myon, Pochon, Korea): The plant conservation strategies and activities of the Office of Forestry were discussed. The Office of Forestry have been carry out various kinds of works such as the preparation of plant conservation category, conservation of rare and endangered plants, both in situ and ex situ conservation, and restoration, as well as the construction of the D-base system for conservation management. The effective plant conservation could be achieved by the enthusiasm and securing the enough budget. The newly born of the National Arboretum of Korea will do as the core centre to conserve the plant and their ecosystem, and needs close cooperation with the related institutions and scientists.

STATUS OF THE DESIGNATION OF NATURAL MONUMENTS: PLANTS (Mr Wi-Su Lee, Monument Division, Cultural Heritage Bureau, Cultural Properties Administration, Taejon 302-701, Korea):

The on-going conservation status and policies to the Korean natural monuments was discussed. Also historic status of the natural monuments since Japanese ruling periods was also mentioned. As the growing concern to protect the national treasures, discussions, in detail, for both conservation policy and management system were introduced. The systematic approach in collaborating with the local government and other relevant institutions is one of the main priorities to conserve them.

PLANT CONSERVATION AND THE NATIONAL PARKS AUTHORITY: STATUS AND PROBLEMS (Dr Jang-Gun Oh, National Parks Authority): The Korean national park was established in 1967, and holds over 75 percent of plant species diversity of the country in 20 national parks. The present plant conservation polices and the main activity is targeted preventing from the destruction from various types of threats from human's activities. The conservation efforts for preventing from illegally mass collection from the visitors, plant resources protection plan, and habitat management and restoration works were introduced in detail.

THE ACTIVITIES AND THE ROLE OF THE KACN FOR PLANT CONSERVATION IN KOREA (Dr Jung-Soo Seo, Korean Association for the Conservation of Nature): The Korean Association for Conservation of Nature (KACN) has been established since 1963 and is legally supported based on the Natural Environment Conservation Act. More than 2000 experts are participating in various studies and surveys in natural resources. The KACN also publishes 4 different periodicals annually with a total of 1,451 papers including 200 papers related to plants and its ecology. Booklet and publicity booklet for the general public have published since 1970, and 'List of endangered fauna and flora' is evaluated as an original publication to identify endangered, rare and threatened species in Korea. Restoration activities including translocation and transplant of plants contribute the species conservation and multiplication. This paper reports the current status of the KACN and accomplishments of researches and activities for plant conservation emphasizing the importance of the NGO's activities.

NGO'S CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES TO PLANT ECOSYSTEM (Mr Jae-Chuel SEO, Green Korea United): This report contains the plant eco-system conservation activities of Green Korea United which is non-governmental environmental organization in Korea. This reports suggest the contents and ways of conservation of eco-system and plant eco-system through various issues which are related to plant eco-system directly or indirectly. In 1999, Green Korea United committed to protecting the natural environment and creating a sustainable society on the Korean peninsula through various activities such as the Nakdong Jeongmaek Environmental Survey, monitoring of the forest road project problem, monitoring of the forestation and wood-cutting project problem, campaigns against foreign sale of the Yomichi Botanical Garden in Cheju Island, campaigns against construction of artificial hydro-electric power-plant in Mt. Jumbong and alpine eco-system conservation activities in Mt. Jiri National park. With these activities we want to indicate endangered Korean plant eco-system situation and suggest ways of conservation.

CONSERVATION OF RARE AND ENDANGERED PLANTS IN CHEJUDO ISLAND: STATUS AND CONSERVATION (Mr Bong-Chan Kim & Jung-Kun Koh, Pyonggang Botanic Garden & Hallasan National Park Authority): The plant diversity of the Chejudo Island has distinct vertical distribution patterns, and this makes very diverse island ecosystem. The urbanization, expanding of the tourist facilities, as well as illegal mass collections and habitat destruction by the visitors around the mountain trails brought the rapid decreasing of the plants. Although the local government and NGOs of the island has been carried out the conservation activities such as restoration works in the Mt Halla area, the systematic approaches for conservation both for the plant species and their habitats are must be considered thereafter. Some conservation strategies for long-term ecological monitoring plan should be established, as well as keeping the plants from illegal mass collections and habitat destruction. Especially the habitat conservation of the species, for example, Diapensia lapponica var. obovata of the Diapensiaceae is urgently needed. The restoration works in the area has been neglect to keep the field records before and after the works. Over use and improved maintenance skills for ecosystem conservation should be prepared.

STUDIES ON THE RESOURCE VALUE OF KOREAN NATIVE WATER PLANTS (Mr Byong-Hoon Oh, The Korean Study Group of Water Plants): The relevance of conservation of water plants in view of the Korean situation was discussed. The aquatic ecosystem such as the Woopo Marsh, the communities of Phrgmites communis both Ulsookdo Island and the Kumgang Estuary should be conserved against the projected development works. The habitats for the rare species such as Hydrocharis dubia, Persicaria amphibia, Ottelia alismoides, Ranunculus kazusensis, and Euryale ferox, etc., as well as one of the Korean endemic, Nymphaea minima are envisaged threatened from the development. The basic field investigations to record the distribution patterns both at the national and local levels with running the data base system for aquatic ecosystem management will be the major task. The facility for ex situ conservation of water plants should be provided in the botanic gardens and arboreta. The mass propagation of water plants for industrial uses is also needed.

CONSERVATION OF ENDEMIC, RARE AND ENDANGERED PLANTS IN ULNUNGDO ISLAND (Mr Eui-Shik Jeon, Association of the Korean Botanic Gardens and Arboreta): Ulnung Island is one of the hot spots for the plant diversity of Korea. The twenty one species such as Bupleureum longidadiatum, Cotoneaster wilsonii and Abelia insularis, etc. are categorized as an endangered species in the island. The author has been failed to find out the species, Bupleureum latissimum in the island over the 30 years. The native species populations of the island showing dramatically decreased, while the habitat size both of the alien species and the naturalized population are increasing. Such phenomenon may be caused by the industrial development and mass collection both for the food or medicinal purposes. The island plant ecosystem could be conserved by the recognition of its importance, from the point of view, in the plant biogeography and the disturbances from the local peoples and tourism. Also the restoration works for some specific species should be applied in the near future.

PLANT CONSERVATION STATUS AND PROBLEMS IN MT SORAK (Mr Mun-Pyo Hong, Taejin Middle School, Kosong-gun, Kangwon-do): The plant diversity of the Mt Soraksan summarized as 106 families, 464 genus and 1,255 taxa including varieties and forms. This mountain has 12 rare and endangered plant species that is categorized by the MoE, while 71 plant species by the Office of Forestry. The conservation management plan of the area should be prepared which is to support by the regular field works for plant investigation. The on-going national parks management policies of the area which concomitant modification of the plant ecosystem should be regarded.

PLANT CONSERVATION AND THE ROLE OF CONSERVATION BIOLOGY: LESSONS FROM CONSERVATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM (Dr Alastair Culham, Centre for Plant Diversity and Systematics, School of Plant Sciences, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AS. Tel. + 118 931 6390. Email: a.culham@reading.ac.uk): While climate can not be controlled, man can alleviate the selection pressures on species at the edge of their range by long term planned management of plant communities. The general lesson is that conservation requires ecological and sometimes genetic research and then long term conservation planning. There are no short term solutions.

SOME PROBLEMS OF GENETIC STUDIES ON THE KOREAN RARE PLANTS (Dr Chang, C. S., W. Kim & T. Y. Park, Department of Forest Resources, Seoul National University, Suwon 441-744, Korea & Department of Environmental Education, Teacher's University of Korea): Since some endemic plants seem to be adapted to a narrow set of environmental conditions, which might limit the genetic diversity, an analysis of population genetic structure is necessary to evaluate fully the impact of rarity on genetic variation. Nationally listed as endangered species, Abeliophyllum distichum, Berchemia berchmiaefolia, Leontice microrhyncha, Bupleurum euphorbioides and Abies koreana were found in only a few populations. The objective was to assess patterns of genetic diversity within the endangered five taxa and to make conservation recommendations based on genetic data. The reduced level of genetic variation in B. berchemiaefolia is consistent with the occurrence of a genetic bottleneck during the Korean War. Levels of allozyme variation found within populations were lower than the average value for animal-pollinated or widespread tree species. Leontice microrhyncha differed dramatically in their observed levels of genetic variation from other taxa, because there were apparent differences in their life history characteristics (selfing) that might account for these genetic differences. Levels of allozyme variation maintained by Abeliophyllum distichum was usually high for endemic species. Compared with species with similar traits, A. distichum maintained relatively higher genetic diversity probably due to floral heteromorphism and preferred outcrossing. With the exception of GOT enzyme that was polymorphic in Mt. Chiri populations of Abies koreana, it is indicated that all of the analyzed loci were monomorphic. Bupleurum euphobioides maintained higher genetic diversity due to outcrossing, but at individual loci, there was a prevalent deficiency of heterozygosity in B. euphorbioides. Probably inbreeding between local neighborhood would be frequent because two species were pollinated by small fly species which might be less effective as a pollen dispersal, and their visits were extremely scarce and under control of weather condition. Since much of the species to species variation in genetic diversity is due to the specific ecological and evolutionary history of a species, any management plan should develop based on historical changes in population size and distribution as a means of better predicting amounts and patterns of genetic diversity.

PROPAGATION AND CONSERVATION OF RARE AND ENDANGERED PLANTS IN KOREA (Dr Ahn, Young-Hee, Department of Horticultural Science, Biological Resources Science, Chungang University, Ansung, 456-756, Korea): For effective propagation of rare and endangered plants, we need proper method. In case of the seeds of Ligularia taquetii and Phacelurus latifolius, after stratification in 5¡É, light condition of 25¡É was effective in germination. In case of Viola seoulensis, regardless of pretreatment and light condition, 25¡É condition was effective with germination rate 95%. In case of semigreen-wood cutting propagation, the use of humidifier in the closed moist room is effective, in case of plant which rooting is difficult, in vitro cutting is also appropriate. In case of the plant which grafting propagation is needed such as Malus asiatica, heating system raise adhension rate. For long preservation in laboratory of plant germplasm, cryopreservation is idealistic. The methods are vitrification, slow freezing, cell dry and artificial seed.

SETTING OF NATIONAL ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR CONSERVATION OF RARE AND ENDANGERED PLANT SPECIES (Dr Seung-Hoon Chun, Department of Landscape Architecture, Kyungwon University, Songnam, Korea): A necessity of setting of national assessment criteria for conservation of rare and endangered plant species, current status, and some application examples both of domestic and foreign countries were reviewed. Four problems such as the speed and extent of environmental change, increasing size of threatened species and absence of available information, present and future lack of resources necessary to conserve the related species, people's perception of the problem, were urgently imposed on priority setting. Five principles considering simplicity, flexibility in data requirement and application, spatial and temporal scales, etc., for setting of assessment criteria in Korea were suggested. Also the assessment factors based on the above principles and three guidelines of distinctiveness, utility, and threat were discussed. So most significant tasks to be considered in setting of national assessment criteria in Korea is to develope a draft plan for evaluation system, and to determine through discussion with all decision-makers. Also accumulation of base line data based on national standard format is urgent problem.

PLANT CONSERVATION STRATEGY OF KOREA (Dr Yong-Shik Kim, Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Natural Resources, Yeungnam University, Kyongsan 712-749, Korea): A review of the plant conservation of Korea was outlined. As the relative high plant diversity of Korea is envisaged from the various kinds of threats from the human activities, the integrated approach to achieve the conservation of plants and their habitats in Korea is the major concern to be managed. One of the most significant tasks to be considered in plant and their habitat conservation of Korea is to establish the integrated systematic approaches, for the proper allocation of the limited plant conservation scientists in the country and the fund-raising and so on, among the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Culture. The set up of the Korean Plant Conservation Task Force which to support the effective conservation decision-making among the ministries will be one of the effective and powerful capacity building for the conservation of plants and their habitats. The collection management of raw data from the wild in the long-term basis, based on the standard format at the international, national and local levels, is also inevitable and fundamental to support the conservation strategy for the plant conservation.

CONSERVATION NEWS IN KOREA

KOREAN PLANT CONSERVATION WORKSHOP was held, hosted by the Korean Plant Specialist Group at the National Arboretum, sponsored by British Embassy, Seoul, Ministry of Environment and the Office of Forestry during 4-5 October 1999. Nineteen plant specialists from Korea, UK and Switzlerland contributed to it and more than 70 participants received benefits of mutual discussions. With the inaugural speech by British Ambassador, Mr Stephen Brown, the relevant papers on plant conservation was presented. The workshop was followed by field trips to the Chollipo Arboretum Foundation in the western coast, restoration site of Berchemia berchemiaefolia in Kunsan and Tokyusan National Park, Chollapuk-do. The KPSG restructured, during the workshop, with increased to 30 members.

NATIONAL ARBORETUM OF KOREA was opened on the 2nd of July 1999, inherited from the Kwangnung Arboretum, which is affiliated under the Office of Forestry. The arboretum is organized with 3 departments; field collection, conservation and management. The staffs were reinforced to 40 officers, and the part-timers and volunteers will support the diverse works to staffs in the arboretum. With the start of the national arboretum of Korea, we hope to activate the cooperation and collaboration with other botanical institutes towards the mutual achievements.

The KOREAN ASSOCIATION OF CONSERVATION OF NATURE had examined to two Harmful Invasive Plant Species distributing in Kangwon-do Province and appointing in Ministry of Environment during 1999. As a result they are confirmed that the Ragweed distributing in the whole country of South Korea and the Buffalo-weed distributing both in Kangwon-do and Kyonggi-do and zone of the Capital City of Seoul.

IUCN/WCPA-EA-3 SEOUL CONFERENCE was held, hosted by Professor Dr Bo-Myong Woo, in Seoul during 8-10 September 1999. Nearly 200 participants including 55 delegations from the foreign countries was attended the conference. The 38 conservation papers were presented. The field tour to the wetland in the Kanghwa Island, Kyonggi-do province made fruitful time.

THE FOURTH NORTH EAST ASIA REGIONAL MEMBERS MEETING OF IUCN was held at the Press Center, Seoul on 11th September 1999, hosted by Professor Dr Chung-Il Choi, Chair of the IUCN Korea. The 34 delegations from 5 countries including Korea attended for the meeting. The country reports of China, Japan, Mongolia and Korea were presented.

DONATIONS TO THE KOREAN PLANT SPECIALIST GROUP by the Chicago Zoological Society(CZS) and the Samsung Everland, Inc., Korea. The CZS support US 3000 Dollars to conservation research of Kirengeshoma koreana, which belongs to the Saxifragaceae, for the year of 1999. This fund will be contribute to obtain the genetic information of the species. The Samsung Everland, Inc., based in Seoul confirmed to support one million Won (approximately 850 US dollars) to the KPSG Workshop which will be held in 17-18 January, 2000, and expect to be increased the donation step by step to the KPSG. The generous donations from two institutions just followed by support from the British Embassy, Seoul will improve the KPSG more conservation activities.

MEMBERS OF THE KOREAN PLANT SPECIALIST GROUP

COLLABORATIVE MEMBERS