Forest Service to Absorb 23.6 Million Tons of Carbon by 2050 Through Mountain Forest Development

Expected changes in greenhouse gas absorption and emissions through the 'Carbon Neutrality Promotion Strategy' in 2050. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service has announced a finalized implementation strategy to achieve carbon neutrality (carbon zero) by 2050. Forests have been regarded as a key carbon sink in the process of pursuing carbon neutrality, making the finalized implementation strategy particularly meaningful in terms of preparing proactive measures.

On the 6th, the Korea Forest Service finalized and announced the "2050 Carbon Neutrality Forest Sector Implementation Strategy." The strategy includes major policy directions in the forest sector aimed at responding to the climate crisis and achieving the national carbon neutrality goal.

The implementation strategy presents four core tasks aimed at contributing to carbon neutrality through establishing a virtuous cycle management system that involves planting, nurturing, and utilizing trees, as well as conserving and restoring forests.

First, based on the implementation strategy, the Korea Forest Service plans to expand new afforestation by creating forests on idle lands and increasing urban forests, while placing emphasis on expanding new carbon sinks through forest restoration projects in North Korea and international forest cooperation.

Additionally, the strategy aims to activate sustainable forest management centered on economic forest cultivation complexes and timber production forests. By comprehensively considering carbon absorption capacity and ecosystem impacts, seeds and seedlings will be selected and produced, then planted in appropriate locations to effectively enhance the carbon absorption function of forests.

In terms of forest utilization, the strategy focuses on expanding the use of high value-added domestic timber to enhance carbon storage and substitution effects. Forest biomass, a renewable energy source, will be gradually supplied through a small-scale and decentralized supply system, establishing a virtuous cycle system that balances forest conservation and utilization.

To reduce carbon emissions through forest protection, the strategy adopts measures to expand protected forest areas and promote restoration projects of key forest ecological corridors to preserve carbon sinks, while minimizing damage from land conversion, wildfires, landslides, pests, and other disasters.

Through these four core tasks, the Korea Forest Service plans to establish a foundation by 2050 to achieve a carbon absorption volume of 23.6 million tons and utilize 3 million tons of forest biomass in the energy transition sector.

Notably, the implementation strategy also includes interdisciplinary joint research on advancing forest carbon statistical calculations and forest ecosystem surveys.

This will quantify changes in forest carbon absorption to enable feedback on performance and track the actual impacts of sustainable forest management on forest ecology, landscape, and disaster sectors. The interdisciplinary joint research will be conducted under a governance system involving public-private cooperation for each task, which is also part of the Korea Forest Service’s plan.

Choi Byung-am, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, stated, "Korea is one of the few countries where forest conservation and utilization have been harmoniously achieved following successful forest greening. However, the fact that about two-thirds of domestic forests consist of trees planted in the 1930s and 1940s highlights the urgency of addressing the imbalance in tree age distribution through the establishment of successor forests (sustainability)."

He added, "Reflecting the current state of domestic forests, the Korea Forest Service will strive to establish a virtuous cycle forest management system that balances new afforestation with the protection and utilization of existing forests, thereby contributing to the government’s carbon neutrality efforts."

Meanwhile, the government declared "2050 Carbon Neutrality" as a national vision in October last year and has been pursuing follow-up measures, including the establishment of a "2050 Carbon Neutrality Scenario." In December last year, a joint "2050 Carbon Neutrality Implementation Strategy (draft)" was announced by related ministries.

The implementation strategy announced by the Korea Forest Service is a detailed plan finalized as an extension of the draft strategy prepared last year.

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