Asia Institute Seminar
The Great Green Wall and the Fight against Desertification in China
Report to the Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
Thursday, June 28, 2012
6:30-7:30 PM
Speakers:
Ambassador Byong Hyon Kwon
President of Future Forest
(former Korean Ambassador to China)
Dr. Kwak Sang Soo
Senior researcher
Korea Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology
Moderator:
Emanuel Pastreich, Director of Asia Institute
Desertification is emerging as a central security issue for the world, and specifically for Northeast Asia in the current age. Climate change resulting from a diverse set of human activities is changing the ecosystem of Northern China, leading to the spread of deserts with profound implications for the region and the world. As the yellow sands from Mongolia and Northern China reach all the way to the United States, we must rethink the threat posed to the world by the misuse of land and dangerous misconceptions about the economy.
This seminar highlights the achievements of Future Forest and the project known as the “Great Green Wall,” an innovative approach to stopping the spread of the Kubuchi desert in Northern China through a combination of tree planting, land fixation technology and education in sustainable land management for local people that has proven the skeptics wrong. The “Great Green Wall” is an example of innovation in governance, education, agriculture and technology worthy of emulation and benchmarking that will be highlighted at RIO +20.
Place: The Asia Institute
GCS International Building 115-3 Kwon-nong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
GCS International Building 서울시 종로구 권농동 115-3
(Come out of exit 4 of Anguk Station and head straight for 400 meters; GCS building is across the street from the entrance to Changdok Palace)
Phone: 02 741-2274 (010 3444 1598 for Emanuel’s cell)
Asia Institute Seminar 2012.06.28.pdf2
