Gyeongbuk Province Prepares 16 Tasks in 4 Major Strategies for 'Forest Transformation' to Overcome Wildfire Damage

Final Report Meeting on Basic Plan for Forest Transition Study

Results Derived from Review of Science Cluster, Mountain Ecology Center, and Leisure Sports

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Gyeongbuk Province held the final report meeting for the ‘Forest Transformation Project Basic Plan Research Service’ on the 8th at the provincial government conference room.

About 30 people attended the report meeting, including officials from the provincial wildfire area development task force (TF), Uljin County, and the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Research Institute, which conducted the service.

They analyzed the conditions of the wildfire-affected area in Uljin and derived four major strategies and 16 detailed tasks for overcoming the damage and regional regeneration.

On the 8th, at the Gyeongbuk pledge report meeting of the Presidential Transition Committee’s Special Committee on Regional Balanced Development held at EXCO in Daegu, the Forest Transformation Project was announced as a special project.

In this service, the province derived the review results of the forest science cluster, mountain ecological park, leisure, and job projects that it had conceived for forest transformation to overcome the Uljin wildfire damage.

They prepared four major capacity-building strategic projects and 16 tasks to promote comprehensive forest transformation, including productive restoration of ecology, economy, and culture in the wildfire-affected area, and concretized the basic plan of detailed projects.

The four major capacity-building strategic projects were set as ▲ Strengthening wildfire response capability (improving wildfire prevention system and response capability) ▲ Strengthening forest restoration capability (establishing field-centered forest ecosystem restoration R&D infrastructure) ▲ Strengthening forest cultural power (overcoming disasters and improving quality of life through forest culture) ▲ Strengthening mountain village economic power (establishing a practical livelihood base for mountain village communities).

Also, as 16 detailed task projects, they derived ▲ Wildfire response capability strengthening projects (3 cases)1) ▲ Forest restoration capability strengthening projects (2 cases)2) ▲ Forest cultural power strengthening projects (4 cases)3) ▲ Mountain village economic power strengthening projects (7 cases)4).

Among these, as leading projects, they proposed the construction of the National East Coast Wildfire Prevention Center, National Mountain Ecological Park, National East-West Trail Center, and Geumgang Pine Timber Resource Center, and are promoting the enactment of the Uljin-Samcheok Wildfire Special Act.

It is expected that if forest science zones and mountain ecological parks utilizing the wildfire-affected areas are created, it will contribute to revitalizing the local economy through the establishment of scientific management infrastructure for forests destroyed by wildfires as well as forest job creation.

Since the 14th of last month, under the direction of Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk Province, a TF team consisting of six groups was formed to prepare development plans for wildfire areas, discovering and promoting various policy projects for the prompt restoration of the Uljin wildfire-affected area and regional economic recovery.

The province plans to strive to secure central government funding so that the detailed tasks of the Forest Transformation Project derived from this service result can be promoted as national projects.

Gyeongbuk Province Deputy Governor Kang Seong-jo emphasized, “We will actively promote the Forest Transformation Project to solve the problem of residents’ loss of income sources, create jobs, and further enable the affected area to be reborn as a forest science cluster and East Coast forest tourism mecca where people and nature coexist.”

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