• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.321-349
• /
• 2016

According to the recent observation by NOAA(US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), 2015 is the warmest year based on global average temperature since 1880. The air temperatures in the Arctic have been rising at almost twice the global average and the extent and thickness of sea ice in the Arctic have declined. And the warming process in the Arctic is accelerating rapidly. These impacts of drastic change in sea ice caused by climate change in the Arctic threaten the eco-system service and biodiversity in the Arctic. This study intends to estimate the economic value on changes in eco-system services and biodiversity of the Arctic caused by climate change. The result of the valuation indicates that the total benefit from improvement of ecosystem in the Arctic ranges from 318.6 billion won to 715.9 billion won per annum. Replication scenarios can be explored into two broad categories in future studies: scenarios in consideration of conflicts of different stakeholders and scenarios based on wider or narrower definition of biodiversity in the Arctic.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.31 no.6
• /
• pp.369-377
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to explore whether open spaces with land use characteristics of forest green areas can have different influence on the urban heat reduction depending on the location distribution, through the case of Gangneung-si downtown area. As a research method, the InVest Urban Cooling Model, which is a thermal phenomenon analysis model, is employed based on the most recent data available in 2018. In order to focus on the effect of location distribution of open space in the city, the downtown area is set as the observation area, not the entire city. The analysis of the land use location distribution scenarios shows that large-scale forests or clustered forests are more effective in reducing atmospheric heat in the region than several small-scale forests.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.20 no.5
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2017

Recently, due to worldwide industralization and urbanization, natural environment has been severly damaged and global warning is worsening. Heat wave, torrential rainfall, typhoon and other natural disasters continuously occur due to global warming. Policies such as carbon emission regulation are taken into effect to solve such problems. Such global trend has affected interest to natural ecosystem and developed as a concept of ecosystem-services. This study particularly focused on ground water storage capacity among various ecosystem-services such as climate control and soil formation. It is because Korea suffers from drought and flood every year. Therefore, this study aims to understand objective numerical value of ecosystem-services value regarding ground water storage capacity of biotop classes based on relationship among precipitation, amount of evapotranspiration, and runoff of 7 regions of Chilgok-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do and to convert the value into economic value. The study calculated ground water storage capacity based on relationship among precipitation, amount of evapotranspiration, and run off. Calculated amount of each capacity was 29.26 million ton($30.2mm/m^2$), 430.46 million ton($140.4mm/m^2$), 11.30 million ton($150.1.0mm/m^2$), 33 milion ton($3.0mm/m^2$). Economical value of ecosystem-service by each biotop classes appeared 4,128,800 thousand KRW ($21.32KRW/m^2$) for agricultural biotop, and 60,403,600 thousand KRW ($98.52KRW/m^2$) for forest biotop, 1,572,800 thousand KRW ($104.4KRW/m^2$) for grassland biotop, and 47,600 thousand KRW ($2.18KRW/m^2$) for bare ground biotop. The result of this study like above, it will be used as important evidentiary material to preserve natural resource effectively from various development business and policies that damages natural eco-system. Also, it is judged that ecosystem-service value by each land coverage will be used as important material for preparing legalistic institution such as establishing natural environment preservation plan, budget for alternative forest resource creation cost.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.15 no.5
• /
• pp.85-102
• /
• 2012

Industrialization and modernization of the $20^{th}$ century have brought convenience to human life. However, such development produced unintentional global environmental issues such as destruction of natural ecosystem through excessive use of the natural environment beyond its capacity. The United National (UN) recognized such global environment issues and coordinated with worldwide experts to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the global ecosystem, "Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)", to resolve the issues. The UN conducted the MA primarily to comprehend the correlation between the ecosystem and human welfare. The results demonstrated that the ecosystem provides various direct and indirect benefits to human. This new concept was introduced as the "ecosystem services". Introduction of the ecosystem services highlighted the significance of the ecosystem and led to increased research and active discussions among experts from various discipline over the recent 10 years. It has been considered that the ecosystem service concept could be incorporated in policymaking process, as primary criteria to assess and weigh the benefits of using natural resources against the effects on value of the ecosystem. The current policymaking process is affected by the contradicting logics of modernization and preservation of ecosystem. The ecosystem services concept could be the answer to forming a rational policymaking process, allowing for nature preservation while wisely using the available natural resources. The general consensus has been formed on the need of incorporating the ecosystem services concept in the policies and globally various researches on the ecosystem services have been actively conducted. However, introduction of the ecosystem services concept is still at a very early stage and research on real application of the ecosystem services is yet almost nonexistent. Also there are no clear and agreed definition, classification scheme and value appraisal methodology regarding the ecosystem services. Therefore, this research explains the basic concept of the ecosystem services and highlights specific issues for further researches, as further researches on real application of the ecosystem services would find ways for the ecosystem services approach to be valuable in the policymaking process.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.69-76
• /
• 2019

Ecosystem services are contributing to human welfare by enabling us to maintain our survival and quality of life. A metod of quantifying ecological functions is needed. We discussed the introduction and applications of ecosystem services to applied ecological engineering. The concept and assessment system of ecosystem services were applied to the economic valuation of river, the construction of blue-green-white network in urban area, ecological restoration, and integrated water management in Korea. The conceptual framework and assessment of ecosystem services can be used to promote value of ecological protection and restoration, helping stakeholders understand the benefits of ecosystems and increasing applications of the applied ecological engineering.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.49-58
• /
• 2021

Rural and agricultural landscapes are important forms of land use in maintaining biodiversity. In addition humans are provided with various public functions from ecosystems and agricultural ecosystems. But the creation of a facility horticultural complex can be a space that can undermine the public interest function of the agricultural ecosystem. Therefore, this study aims to quantify the function of ecosystem services that land use changes affect biodiversity in Korea's rice paddy fields. The area subject to the study was selected as the largest agricultural complex in Korea due to rice paddy fields and land use changes, and field agriculture was also carried out simultaneously. The survey was conducted only in the fields of vegetation, insects, amphibians, and birds, four areas of biodiversity that are believed to have a high impact on changes in land use in agricultural landscapes. The valuation of ecosystem services in four areas of biodiversity derived from this study was evaluated as non-market value. As a result of quantitative evaluation, about 25 species of vegetation were reduced due to changes in land use. The diversity of about 40 species of aquatic insects that inhabit rice paddies among insects has disappeared due to the creation of a horticultural complex. Birds and amphibian reptiles were also found to have decreased diversity and populations. This research is expected to be used in various ways to develop policies to enhance ecosystem service functions.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.225-235
• /
• 2021

To attain the long-term benefits of forest restoration in North Korea, it is important to present the economic value of reforestation. This study as aimed to evaluate the economic value based on cost-benefit analysis from the ecosystem services perspective. The benefits of reforestation were classified into ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water supply, soil erosion control, and disaster risk reduction, and were converted into economic values to calculate comprehensive benefits. In the forest restoration scenario, an "independent forest restoration scenario (IFS)" and a "cooperation-based forest restoration scenario (CFS)" were composed in consideration of recent afforestation performance and forest policy, and the difference in the quantity of afforestation was derived as a scenario despite the same restoration period. In the IFS, it is estimated that over the next two decades, 800 thousand ha of the forest will be restored at a cost of KRW 3,829 billion, resulting in a benefit of KRW 6.87 trillion. The present benefit net value is KRW 3,39 trillion. In the CFS, it is estimated that the benefits of KRW 18,890 billion will be generated by restoring 2.2 million ha of the forest at a cost of KRW 10,053 billion. The present benefit net value is KRW 8,359 billion. In both scenarios, BCR had an economic feasibility value greater than 1, but there was a big difference in the expected benefits. In conclusion, forest restoration can have higher benefits than cost, and its value could be enhanced through forest cooperation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.1-16
• /
• 2024

The riparian area plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance between the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The Korean government has recognized the importance of protecting riparian areas and has taken steps to purchase land and create ecobelt to reduce non-point source pollutants(NSPs) that can negatively impact water quality. However, selecting the catchment area and calculating the pollution load can be challenging due to the small area of the purchased land and the limitations of low-resolution DEMs. To address these challenges, this study proposes the use of unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) to create a high-resolution DEM and calculate the pollution load through land cover analysis. This approach can provide a more accurate representation of the land use status and help to identify areas that are contributing to NSPs. The quantitative comparison of the difference in water quality improvement ecosystem services according to the scenarios of additional catchment areas shows that even land purchased for the same amount of money may have different ecosystem service values, and this was quantitatively calculated. This can be used to prioritize future land acquisition. Overall, this study's approach could provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of ecobelt in reducing NSPs and inform future efforts to protect riparian areas in Korea and beyond.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.401-412
• /
• 2016

The sustainable operation and development of ports is a key industry for Korea's national economy. It is increasingly more important to resolve conflicts with local communities due to port environmental problems such as air pollution, water pollution, noise and ecosystem destruction while securing port competitiveness through infrastructure expansion. In case of the Busan New Port development project in Korea, construction has been temporally suspended due to conflict with local fishermen over marine sand mining for construction. A primary reason for this is the absence and limitation of qualitative port environmental impact assessment methodologies in Korea. This includes the current investigation of fisheries damaged by ports. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to propose economic valuation methods for assessing environmental impacts that are essential for efficient port environmental management and for sustainable port operation and development in Korea. To do this, this study examines the overall port environmental problems and their effects (damages) through the analysis of environmental policies and case studies of domestic and overseas ports. Then economic valuation methods are suggested for total economic values (TEV) of damaged environmental goods and services. Among the proposed methods, Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA), as a more scientific data based method, was applied to estimate marine ecosystem service damages from the designation of Busan New Port Anchorages. Finally, based on the study results, more efficient port environmental management will be achieved through the institutional adoption of the proposed economic impact assessment methods for port environmental damages.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.341-351
• /
• 2019

Background: Standing biomass, litter production, rate of litter decomposition, amount of litter on forest floor, and amount of soil organic carbon distribution were investigated from March 2016 to November 2018 in order to evaluate the ecosystem value through organic carbon distribution in the Pinus densiflora forest at Namsan, Seoul Metropolitan City. Results: The amount of organic carbon in the Pinus densiflora forest was 261.09 ton C ha^-1 during the research period, and fixed organic carbon in plant through net photosynthesis was 3.2 ton C ha^-1 year^-1. The organic carbon in plant was 62.77 ton C ha^-1 (24.04%), in litter on the forest floor was 3.65 ton C ha^-1 (1.40%), and in soil was 194.67 ton C ha^-1 (74.56%). The value of plant, litter on forest floor, and soil organic carbon distribution were each 6,277,000 won ha^-1, 365, 000 won ha^-1, and 19,467,000 won ha^-1. The value per ton of fixed organic carbon in plant through net photosynthesis was 320,000 won ha^-1 year^-1 and the value of ecosystem services stored in carbon in the Namsan forest ecosystem was about 26.1 million won ha^-1 for 3 years. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that the pine forests of Namsan rapidly decompose leaves due to the high atmospheric temperature and accumulate a large amount of organic carbon in the soil to provide climate control regulatory service function.