Youn Yeo-Chang
Ecological Economics, Seoul National University

Since Korea divided into two states not only the socio-economic but also ecological systems have evolved in different paths. South Korean forestry has experienced transition to sustainable one which provides a sound basis for green growth of national economy. The forest land has been rehabilitated with participation of people and backup of economic development during the 1970~80s. The economic development enabled the households, which used to rely on wood fuels for heating until 1960s, to substitute fuel wood with fossil fuels and atomic energy. The urbanization shifted population to urban centers away from forest lands and helped restoration of forest ecosystems once seriously damaged by overexploitation by people. The Government adopted a new policy of economic development in 2008 when the President announce a new vision of low-carbon economy as the main strategy of national development. The policy is called “low carbon green growth strategy(LCGGS)”. The Government proposed a bill for implementing the new economic strategy to the National Assembly. The Assembly passed the Act of Low-Carbon Green Growth in 2009. The Act was followed by another Act on Trading of Carbon Emissions Credits. The spirit and principles of the law have been laid down by the international agreements for mitigating climate change by reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs), namely UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol. The green growth strategy supported by the two Acts has been implemented by the Government and it is expected to continue in the coming years. The LCGGS requires the forest sector to play an important role in sequestration of CO2 and maintaining the carbon stock so that the national carbon emission level can be lowered substantially. The LCGGS also demands forest policy to actively provide ecosystems services to the people for their health and leisure. The Government enacted a law for promoting the forest function of absorbing and maintaining CO2. The government is preparing a national inventory systems for forest carbon which can be used for accounting the reduction of greenhouse gases emissions by land use, land use change and forestry activities. It is expected to see forest owners to be compensated for improving the forest carbon stock by sustainable forest management with the legal and technological supports. If the forest service of regulating GHGs emissions is acknowledged and realized with payments either by means of subsidy or via emissions trading, this could improve the financial performance of forestry and foster forest investment in S. Korea. The LCGGS shed a new light onto forestry in S. Korea of which the main value is appreciated for ecosystems services rather than production of forest products. The forest policy should be coordinated with participation of multiple stakeholders for new forestry with forest services incorporated in decision-making of forest management, especially by private forest owners which constitutes two thirds of forest lands.