The Citizens’ Institute for Environmental Studies (CIES) is a specialized research institute of the Korean Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM), which opened in 1993.
We are promoting various activities on the side of nature and afflicted citizens, with the advocacy of ‘through the eyes of the citizens and the power of science.’
The CIES is one of the NGO research institutes with the longest history in South Korea, with its 30th anniversary in 2023. With the dedication of many people, including former directors and researchers, it has grown into an environmental research institute that represents civil society. The value that our institute places importance on is ‘through the eyes of the citizens and the power of science’, which means to look at environmental issues from the perspective of citizens with a scientific basis. Our research center has been striving to protect the values of nature in various fields such as the Taean oil spill incident, asbestos pollution, marine protected areas, Antarctic/high seas protection, wetland conservation, ecosystem monitoring, whale protection, eradicating IUU fishing activities, protection of the four major rivers and so on.