Archive for December, 2009
IMD 2009 Speech
This speech was given by KMPL president Shawn James Morrissey at the International Mountain Day seminar, December 11, 2009. Thank you. On behalf of the other organizers, I’d like to thank everyone for coming today. This is the third time we’ve held this seminar marking International Mountain Day, and just like myself, it seems to be getting better with age. IMD was designed as a way to bring awareness to the necessity of montane environments. Mountains provide incalculable sustenance to living things. They are ecosystems that function within the greater ecosystem of our Planet Earth. They are roughhewn and harsh places, but they just as equally sensitive and fragile. Without mountains, the water cycle wouldn’t function, deserts wouldn’t exist, and Earth would be devoid of a vast percentage of its biodiversity. Read more →
The 2009 IMD Seminar: Success!
The year 2002 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of the Mountain. The purpose of this designation was to raise awareness of the significance that mountain ecosystems have on the global environment, as well as human culture and society. Due to the success of this designation, the UN decided to appoint a day in which these relationships can be annually underlined. Since 2003, December 11 has been celebrated as the United Nations International Mountain Day. The Korean Mountain Preservation League and its colleagues and partners have hosted seminars since 2007 to mark UNIMD. South Korea is nearly 75% mountainous, home to an ancient culture derived from these mountains, and greatly dependent on this montane ecology. UNIMD, therefore, is of particular significance to Korea. Read more →