Gwangju City Expands Creation of 'Fine Dust Blocking Forest'

Planting of Over 30,000 Evergreen Trees and Others in 3 Locations Including Namgu Hyocheon 1 District

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 31st that it will expand the creation of ‘fine dust blocking forests’ that can block and absorb fine dust in urban areas to address environmental issues caused by the increase in fine dust.

The forest sites cover 1.5 hectares across three locations: the buffer green space in Hyochon 1 District, Nam-gu, and the green areas around Jingok and Pyeongdong Industrial Complex in Gwangsan-gu. A project budget of 1.5 billion KRW will be invested by June this year. The detailed design service began in December last year, and preliminary procedures such as contract review have been completed. Construction will begin in earnest next month.

The forest will be planted with about 30,000 trees, including evergreen trees such as pine, holly, and Ilex cornuta, which provide fine dust blocking functions throughout the four seasons and also enhance the landscape, as well as deciduous trees with large leaves that are highly effective in blocking and absorbing fine dust, such as Japanese snowbell, zelkova, and Quercus dentata.

Shin Jae-wook, head of the City’s Parks and Greenery Division, said, “Once the fine dust blocking forest is established, it is expected to block the inflow of fine dust into residential areas, supply clean air to the city, and reduce environmental problems such as urban heat island mitigation, microclimate regulation, and noise reduction.” He added, “We will closely consult with the Korea Forest Service to expand the project to improve the environment in areas where fine dust may be generated in large amounts, such as around waste disposal sites and roads within residential areas.”

Meanwhile, Gwangju’s terrain is a basin surrounded by mountains, which is unfavorable for air movement, causing inconvenience in daily life due to fine dust in spring. Accordingly, since 2019, Gwangju has invested 7.1 billion KRW to create fine dust blocking forests over 26.5 hectares in 15 locations including Cheomdan and Pyeongdong Industrial Complex, Hanam and Suwan Districts, and Cheomdan 2 District.

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