Haenam-gun Plants 2 Million Trees, the Best Carbon Absorbers

Haenam-gun Geumgang Reservoir Trail (Photo by Haenam-gun)

[Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] On the 13th, Jeonnam Haenam-gun announced that it is accelerating the pace of securing carbon sinks through the planting of 2 million trees during the 8th term of the elected government.

Haenam-gun has selected the planting of 2 million trees as a key task for realizing Haenam-type ESG and responding to climate change, and plans to progressively plant trees over an area of 848 hectares within the jurisdiction.

This project, which will plant 400,000 trees annually until 2026 to reach 2 million trees, will significantly expand carbon sinks throughout the county through afforestation projects, urban forest creation, and street tree planting.

The creation of forest resources will promote sustainable forest management by considering economic and geographical factors such as expanding carbon sinks, increasing timber production and forest income, and native species and growth environments.

The afforestation project will develop 227 hectares this year through economic tree planting, large tree planting, and regionally specialized afforestation, and will continue afforestation projects on 100 hectares annually until 2026. In particular, 15 hectares of tulip trees and 5 hectares of oak trees, which have the highest carbon absorption rates, will be planted to greatly expand carbon sinks.

The fast-growing tulip tree is expected to have a dual effect by being used as biomass to replace fossil fuels through lumber harvesting and sawdust byproducts.

According to the National Institute of Forest Science, carbon absorption sharply decreases after 20 to 30 years of tree growth, so afforestation projects will replace old forests with young ones and help produce and expand timber, the only carbon-absorbing material.

After the afforestation projects, the county plans to support the growth of healthy forest resources through continuous forest care projects such as mowing afforestation sites, removing kudzu vines, and nurturing young trees.

Additionally, it is actively engaged in creating customized urban forests by region, such as school forests and village forests, as well as planting street trees and creating distinctive scenic forests. From 2022, a 60-hectare azalea scenic forest has been created over three years in the Heukseoksan Natural Recreation Forest area, and from 2023, a 200-hectare crape myrtle forest will be created over five years in areas including Hwawon Peninsula Mokpogu Lighthouse and Osiano Tourist Complex.

Myeong Hyun-gwan, the mayor of Haenam-gun, said, “To realize Haenam-type ESG in the 8th term of the elected government, we have actively taken steps to expand forest resources as carbon sinks. Together with all residents, we will accelerate the creation of valuable forests and green environments through planting 2 million trees and continuous management.”

Haenam=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun alwatros@asiae.co.kr

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