Minister Nam Sung-hyun of Korea Forest Service proposed the utilization of forests as money-making resources, breaking the mold of only preserving them.
Minister Nam said in an interview with a vernacular economic daily on Sept. 27, “Forests worth 220 trillion won in public interest values are the face of the territory and a depository of resources, and now that the nation’s forest afforestation is successful, forests that need to be protected ought to be preserved and forest resources circulation management of planting, cultivating, cutting and utilizing trees for sustainability should be normalized.”
“Forest business management of advanced countries involves wisely coping with climate change, preserving forest biological diversity and utilizing forests,” Minister Nam said.
He referred to the ushering in of an “Era of Forest Renaissance.”
Currently, there are 100 laws regulating the use of mountainous areas, which account for 66 percent of the nation’s total forest area.
There are 2.18 million private forest owners and forestry industry people wanting to invest in forest management, but could not do so because of a heap of restrictions, he said.
The infringement of private property rights should be compensated, and forest owners should be encouraged to invest in their own forests after drawing up scientific forest management plans, Minister Nam said, so now is a time when a sustainable forest management era should be ushered in for preservation and utilization.
2021 Status of Production of Top 10 Forest Production Centers. (Photos: KFS)
Short-Term Forest Product Production Increases 5.5 Percent in 2021
The nation saw gross forest product decline but short-term forest product production rise, it was revealed.
The outcomes of the 2022 forest item production survey, announced by Korea Forest Service on Sept. 6, showed that gross forest product for the year 2021 dropped to 7,198.2 billion won, a 13.1 percent plunge, or a drop of 1.087.3 billion won compared to the previous year. It was due to a decline of net timber production.
But as fruit-bearing and landscaping tree production rose on the back of weather conditions and rising construction economy, short-term forest item production of nuts, jujubes, walnuts, wild edible greens and medicinal herbs increased 5.5 percent or a rise of 122,5 billion won to 2,332.2 billion won last year.
In particular, landscaping trees, such as royal azaleas shoot up 14.7 percent on the back of the expanding of gardens and urban woods.
Fruits such as nuts, astringent persimmons, and walnuts and mushrooms such as pine mushrooms surged 11 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively.
By region, Gyeongsangbuk-do topped the list of short-term forest item production by earning 544.1 billion won, followed by Jeollabuk-do with 306.9 billion won, Chungcheongnam-do with 301.8 billion won and Gangwon-do with 290.3 billion won.
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