Authors: Kyung Joon Lee, Jacob Bathanti
The preservation and restoration of forests is an important environmental goal. Healthy forests control erosion, regulate water flows, and mitigate flooding. Forest products provide a source of income for local residents. The Republic of Korea presents a noteworthy case of forest restoration. Since at least the 1800s, forests in the densely-populated Korean Peninsula were under pressure as land was cleared for farmland.
Yet since 1967, this trend has reversed, making the Republic of Korea one of relatively few countries to achieve such a reversal. Forest stocking volume in the Republic of Korea increased approximately twelve-fold between 1970 and 2010, from 69 million m3 in 1970 to 800 million m3 in 2010 (Korean Forestry Service, cited in Seo 2018). Forest stocking volume reached approximately 924.8 million m3 by 2015 (Chowdury 2018).
This case study, prepared by Professor Kyung Joon Lee, and delivery note (adapted by Jacob Bathanti from the original case study), examine how the Republic of Korea achieved this.
