Introductory Address

Dear members of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society,

My name is Moon-ki Park and I have been recently appointed as the 20th president of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society (KENSS). Since the foundation of KENSS in April 1992, I believe the remarkable development of the Society standing shoulder to shoulder with other prestigious societies given the Society’s history is not long can all be attributed to the enthusiasm and efforts of the members of the Society. In particular, there is no doubt that the persistent and sincere interest and contribution of several senior members and junior members who have shown exemplary dedication to the development advancement of the society have served as the cornerstone of what the Society has achieved to date. The decrease in the school-age population and changes in the economic structure across the globe and in national policies are some of the challenges that the environmental division of enterprises and universities face today, placing them into increasingly difficult circumstances. However, in recent years, climate change has emerged as one of the key global issues to be prioritized and environmental problems such as global warming, fine particulate matter, energy supply call for multidisciplinary and convergence-based approaches.

There are a number of environment-related academic societies under the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Science and ICT, with many of them specialized in their respective fields. Under these circumstances, KENSS has the distinct contribution in the environmental sector with publication of its monthly online journal, which facilitates comprehensive understanding of environmental issues over extensive scope, mutual information exchange, and application to a diverse areas of environment-related industries. No doubt this accomplishment would have been impossible without the concerted efforts of the members of the Society. KENSS should serve as a channel and place of gathering with willing participation and discussion of all members. The on-going shaping of the Society will be responsibilities of all members as well as the executive board of the Society. There are a variety of items in our agenda such as internationalization of our journal, maintaining the continuity of the Society and further development, acquisition of future growth engines and financing. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that with insightful advice from the Society’s advisory members and inputs from the senior and peer members, all these challenges can be overcome, leaping to the next stage of development.

With valuable support from our members, I will endeavor to actively collect opinions and feedback of the members and develop the ideas accordingly so that we can together shape the Society of our future.

With best wishes for the development of the Society and the success of our members,

Thank you.