Korea Forest Service, 48 Million Tree Planting Marks the First Year of Carbon Neutrality

Park Jong-ho, the Commissioner of the Korea Forest Service, is introducing the key initiatives of the Korea Forest Service for this year at the Government Complex Daejeon on the 8th. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service is making this year the inaugural year of carbon neutrality by implementing the planting of 48 million trees. The total target for tree planting by 2050 is 3 billion trees.

The Korea Forest Service announced the ‘2021 Core Promotion Tasks’ including this plan. According to the Korea Forest Service on the 9th, the core promotion tasks for this year are ▲ implementation of the 2050 carbon-neutral forest sector strategy ▲ execution of the K-Forest promotion plan ▲ establishment of a Korean-style forest disaster management system.

First, the Korea Forest Service plans to plant 48 million trees this year to expand carbon sinks by approximately 725,000 tons.

Previously, the Korea Forest Service specified the strengthening of the forest’s carbon absorption function in the long-term low-carbon development strategy. The core is to realize carbon neutrality by planting 3 billion trees by 2050.

Carbon neutrality is the concept of absorbing the emitted carbon dioxide to make the actual emissions ‘0’. The Korea Forest Service envisions offsetting about 22 million tons (7% of the total) of the annual domestic carbon emissions through forests.

Tree planting will be carried out by improving the uneven age distribution of domestic forests through increased timber harvesting and species renewal, and by introducing and developing ‘climate species’ to prepare for the climate crisis era. Trees over 30 years old with low carbon absorption will be replaced with species such as Tedaso pine and Mokbaekhap, which have excellent carbon absorption capacity and environmental adaptability.

The Korea Forest Service plans to expand and reorganize urban forests such as fine dust blocking forests, urban wind corridor forests, and child-safe green forests to expand new forest carbon sinks, while also establishing a stable timber supply system.

In addition, the Korea Forest Service supports the visible achievements of the government-led ‘Korean New Deal’ through the ‘K-Forest promotion plan,’ which encompasses the introduction of digital and non-face-to-face technologies in the forest sector, revitalization of the forest industry in the low-growth era, and establishment of income safety nets for forestry workers.

Furthermore, the agency will focus its capabilities on strengthening public safety by intensifying preventive activities according to the causes of forest fires and building region-customized infrastructure to fundamentally block forest fire occurrences.

Park Jong-ho, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, “We will do our best to actively promote this year’s major work plans to create conditions where all citizens can safely and equally enjoy the benefits of forests.”

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