Need for Forest Policy Transition Raised in the Climate Crisis Era

A call has been made for South Korea's forest policies to shift from focusing solely on the economic benefits derived from timber harvesting to a comprehensive evaluation of the diverse benefits forests provide, especially in the face of the climate crisis.

Professor Emeritus Yoon Yeo-chang of Seoul National University's Department of Forest Sciences pointed out that forests are under threat from climate change, and the existing policy centered on tree planting has reached its limits. He noted that two-thirds of domestic timber use is concentrated in short-lived applications, limiting carbon storage potential. Furthermore, the forest biomass production market is not economically viable without subsidies and relies heavily on Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).

Professor Yoon presented the transition tasks for forest policy in the climate change era, including resolving the REC dependency structure, strengthening ecological sustainability, establishing a hierarchy for timber utilization, diversifying forest income, and building integrated governance. He emphasized that forest policy objectives should be redesigned to shift from expanding supply to focusing on long-term storage and ecosystem services.

National Assembly Member Im Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea added that sustainable directions must be explored to ensure the protection of forests' public value while fostering the development of local communities and the forestry sector.