Gyeonggi-do Invests 91.8 Billion KRW in Forest Welfare... Promotes New Afforestation of 862ha

Expansion of 11 Forest Welfare Facilities and Operation of 20 Wildfire Suppression Helicopters 추진

Stock photo [Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gyeonggi Province is investing 91.8 billion KRW this year in forest policy projects with the goal of 'realizing forest welfare for the happiness of residents.'

On the 3rd, the province announced, "This year, we plan to set and promote five policy goals to meet the rapidly increasing demand for forests."

According to the province, the five policy goals are ▲ sustainable use of forest resources ▲ expansion of forest welfare services ▲ forest protection and rapid response to forest disasters ▲ increase in forest income and creation of green jobs ▲ response to climate change.

To promote the cultivation and expansion of forest resources, afforestation projects covering 862 hectares and forest tending projects covering 7,530 hectares will be implemented for timber production, forest disaster prevention, and fine dust reduction.

As demand for forest recreation and welfare services has increased recently due to COVID-19, 11 new forest welfare facilities will be established, including natural recreation forests (Hwaseong, Gwangju), Suwon Arboretum, Cheonggyesan Forest Bathing Area, wood culture experience centers (Icheon, Anseong), sharing woodworking shops (Goyang), forest leisure sports (Dongducheon, Yongin), and infant forest experience centers (Anyang, Paju).

During the dry weather in spring and autumn, preventive and guidance activities will be strengthened, and 20 firefighting helicopters and 1,005 firefighting personnel will be operated to reduce the average damage area per fire to below 0.3 hectares over the past five years.

Additionally, forest pest control, including pine wilt disease, will be carried out over 11,573 hectares, and to minimize human and property damage caused by landslides, 5.6 billion KRW will be invested in vulnerable residential landslide areas to construct 15 check dams, conserve 6 km of streams, and restore 1 hectare of mountain slopes.

In particular, efforts will focus on creating about 130 public jobs in the forestry sector through expanding forest tending and forest product collection, and deploying forest service helpers.

Furthermore, to respond to climate change, approximately 8.7 billion KRW will be invested in five projects related to forest biomass fuel, including pellet boiler distribution, modernization of wood industry facilities, and environmental improvement of molded charcoal. The province also plans to promote green resource revitalization and systematic management by creating a 42.9 km trail and garden belt within the Gwangneung Forest Biosphere Reserve.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.