May 22 is International Day for Biological Diversity.

Biodiversity is of great significance in the sustained development of the economy and environmental protection in each country and plays an important role in the global efforts for protecting ecological environment.

However, since the mid-20th century, the ecosystems have been seriously destroyed by the rapid population growth, excessive exploitation of natural resources and worsening environmental pollution. And the decline in biological resources poses a serious threat to the existence of humankind.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was adopted at the United Nations conference on environment and development held in June 1992, with the result that the protection of biodiversity in individual countries and regions and its sustainable use began to be promoted as an international undertaking.

At the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity held in December 2022, the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework was adopted, and the Kunming-Montreal Global 2030 Goals was set.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a signatory to the CBD, is faithfully implementing the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework.

It is taking practical measures such as scientific researches to identify the important areas of biodiversity in the country and expand them by stages.

In recent years, it has revised and supplemented relevant laws and regulations in keeping with actual conditions, including the law on environmental protection, the law on the protection of useful animals, the law on the protection of nature reserves, and the law on the protection of scenic spots and natural monuments.

Based on the overall survey of the reserves in the country, it has made clear the present distribution features of animals and plants under protection, and designated their functional areas in a rational way.

In particular, the work to survey and designate the functional areas is going on in the Mt Paektu Biosphere Reserve and other international biosphere reserves, migratory bird (wetland) reserves, wild animal reserves, plant reserves, marine resources reserves and others. And the work to set ecological channels is making headway on a nationwide scale.

The state also makes vigorous efforts to map out mid- and long-term green growth plans and carry them out so as to promote the protection of biodiversity in the country and the sustained economic development.

Since 2019, it has joined the international efforts to protect biodiversity by surveying and estimating the amount of waterbird resources wintering in the country and submitting the results to relevant international organizations on a regular basis.

Ri Chung Song, PhD and director of the Biodiversity Institute under the State Academy of Sciences