Abstract
We evaluated the status and problems of golf course developments in the southern coast of Korea. It's adjacent waters supports nursery and fishing grounds for commercially-important fisheries species, and various sites are designated and protected as marine protection area(MPA), fisheries reserve, or clean area(blue belt) for producing shellfish. We proposed key assessment items for environmental impact assessment(EIA) and checklists in selecting golf course locations. For the protected areas, we suggest that it is essential to limit golf course establishment while setting a minimal distance from the coast to secure a buffer zone for mitigating the environmental impacts. To efficiently utilize existing regional coastal management plans, it is necessary to diagnose how a golf course development will potentially modify geomorphology and scenery, amplify pollutant loads from non-point sources, and disrupt the functions of coastal ecosystem. Especially, continued monitoring and assesssing input loads of hazardous materials originating from agricultural chemicals should be obligatory. Finally, measures for improving the QA/QC analysis were discussed to enhance reliability of environmental data with respect to golf courses and adjacent coastal waters.
