Korea Federation for Environmental Movements

Description

The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements is a non-profit federation of environmental groups in South Korea.

It was founded on 2 April 1993 as a merger of eight local anti-pollution and environmental groups, growing out of citizen movements that followed the country’s 1987 democracy struggle. It is the South Korean member of Friends of the Earth International, which it joined in 2002. The federation runs a network of regional offices across the country.

KFEM campaigns on climate and energy, nuclear power, waste and resource circulation, oceans, rivers and wetlands, ecological conservation, chemical safety and international solidarity. Its history includes stopping a planned nuclear waste site on Gulup Island, opposing dam and canal projects on Korea’s major rivers, campaigning against coal power and new nuclear reactors, and pushing for restoration of the four major rivers. It also works on plastics regulation, marine protected areas and legislation to phase out coal, combining research, public campaigns, litigation support and policy advocacy.

Internationally, it takes part in Friends of the Earth’s global campaigns and has worked on desertification prevention in northeast China and wetland conservation projects in Brazil. It holds special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.