KT said on Sunday it installed automated weather observation equipment based on KT communications technology at Wondong Wetland in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, to support environmental research by the National Institute of Ecology to mark World Wetlands Day.

The automated equipment installed at Wondong Wetland is the first case of KT applying its own IoT communications technology at a wetland site for biodiversity conservation. KT and the National Institute of Ecology signed a business agreement in August last year to preserve biodiversity, which is rapidly declining due to climate change.

The solar-powered automated equipment enables low-power, remote communications. It can continuously observe key weather elements such as temperature, rainfall and humidity and transmit data in real time. The accumulated weather data will be used by the National Institute of Ecology for analysing ecological changes in wetlands and for research related to wetland biodiversity.

With the installation, Wondong Wetland now has a foundation to continuously observe weather and environmental information needed for ecosystem research. KT plans to gradually expand field-based biodiversity conservation activities, including removing ecosystem-disturbing species and improving habitats for protected species, in cooperation with the National Institute of Ecology and Yangsan City.

World Wetlands Day is an international commemorative day established in 1997 to mark the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty on wetland protection signed in Ramsar, Iran, on Feb. 2, 1971.

Oh Tae-sung (오태성), head of KT's ESG Management Promotion Office and an executive director, said KT will continue to expand activities to respond to climate change and conserve biodiversity by working with specialised organisations based on digital technology.