Abstract
The forests in the Republic of Korea (ROK) successfully recovered through the national forestation program as did the ecosystem services associated with them. With this positive experience, it is instructive to investigate the economic viability of the forestation program. In this study, we estimated the changes in the key ecosystem services (disaster risk reduction (DRR), carbon sequestration, water yield enhancement, and soil erosion control; 1971–2010) and the monetary investment of the forestation (1960–2010) in the ROK, at a national scale. These benefits and costs were estimated by biophysical and monetary approaches, using statistical data from several public organizations, including the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Meteorological Administration, combined with model simulation. All monetary values were converted to the present value in 2010. The net present value and the benefit-cost ratio of the forestation program were 54,316 million $ and 5.84 in 2010, respectively, in the long-term. The break-even point of the extensive investment on the forestation appeared within two decades. In particular, the enhancements of DRR and carbon sequestration were substantial. This economic viability was ensured by the subsidiary implementations (e.g., participation of villagers, shifting energy source, and administrative regulation). Early and extensive investment in forestation is recommended for economic viability and successful implementation of the program. Our study is expected to provide a scientific rationale for implementing forestation program in other countries.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 40-46 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Ecosystem Services |
| Volume | 29 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 Feb 1 |
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Keywords
- Carbon sequestration
- Disaster risk reduction
- Economic viability
- National forestation
- Soil erosion
- Water yield
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Global and Planetary Change
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Ecology
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Cite this
Economic viability of the national-scale forestation program : The case of success in the Republic of Korea. / Lee, Jongyeol; Lim, Chul Hee; Kim, Gang Sun; Markandya, Anil; Chowdhury, Sarwat; Kim, Sea Jin; Lee, Woo-Kyun; Son, Yo Whan.
In: Ecosystem Services, Vol. 29, 01.02.2018, p. 40-46.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Economic viability of the national-scale forestation program
T2 - The case of success in the Republic of Korea
AU - Lee, Jongyeol
AU - Lim, Chul Hee
AU - Kim, Gang Sun
AU - Markandya, Anil
AU - Chowdhury, Sarwat
AU - Kim, Sea Jin
AU - Lee, Woo-Kyun
AU - Son, Yo Whan
PY - 2018/2/1
Y1 - 2018/2/1
N2 - The forests in the Republic of Korea (ROK) successfully recovered through the national forestation program as did the ecosystem services associated with them. With this positive experience, it is instructive to investigate the economic viability of the forestation program. In this study, we estimated the changes in the key ecosystem services (disaster risk reduction (DRR), carbon sequestration, water yield enhancement, and soil erosion control; 1971–2010) and the monetary investment of the forestation (1960–2010) in the ROK, at a national scale. These benefits and costs were estimated by biophysical and monetary approaches, using statistical data from several public organizations, including the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Meteorological Administration, combined with model simulation. All monetary values were converted to the present value in 2010. The net present value and the benefit-cost ratio of the forestation program were 54,316 million $ and 5.84 in 2010, respectively, in the long-term. The break-even point of the extensive investment on the forestation appeared within two decades. In particular, the enhancements of DRR and carbon sequestration were substantial. This economic viability was ensured by the subsidiary implementations (e.g., participation of villagers, shifting energy source, and administrative regulation). Early and extensive investment in forestation is recommended for economic viability and successful implementation of the program. Our study is expected to provide a scientific rationale for implementing forestation program in other countries.
AB - The forests in the Republic of Korea (ROK) successfully recovered through the national forestation program as did the ecosystem services associated with them. With this positive experience, it is instructive to investigate the economic viability of the forestation program. In this study, we estimated the changes in the key ecosystem services (disaster risk reduction (DRR), carbon sequestration, water yield enhancement, and soil erosion control; 1971–2010) and the monetary investment of the forestation (1960–2010) in the ROK, at a national scale. These benefits and costs were estimated by biophysical and monetary approaches, using statistical data from several public organizations, including the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Meteorological Administration, combined with model simulation. All monetary values were converted to the present value in 2010. The net present value and the benefit-cost ratio of the forestation program were 54,316 million $ and 5.84 in 2010, respectively, in the long-term. The break-even point of the extensive investment on the forestation appeared within two decades. In particular, the enhancements of DRR and carbon sequestration were substantial. This economic viability was ensured by the subsidiary implementations (e.g., participation of villagers, shifting energy source, and administrative regulation). Early and extensive investment in forestation is recommended for economic viability and successful implementation of the program. Our study is expected to provide a scientific rationale for implementing forestation program in other countries.
KW - Carbon sequestration
KW - Disaster risk reduction
KW - Economic viability
KW - National forestation
KW - Soil erosion
KW - Water yield
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85035011091&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85035011091&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.11.001
DO - 10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.11.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85035011091
VL - 29
SP - 40
EP - 46
JO - Ecosystem Services
JF - Ecosystem Services
SN - 2212-0416
ER -