SOUTH KOREA

The vast majority of forests on the Korean peninsula were cleared between 1910 and 1945 to supply the Japanese demand for timber and local fuel needs. South Korea began a large-scale reforestation programme following the founding of the Korea Forest Service in 1967. Since then, 4 million ha have been planted or rehabilitated and forests now cover over 6 million ha, or 65% of South Koreas total land area.

The Forest Law divides forest land into three categories ' productive, protected and convertible, reflecting the key objectives for forest management. A national forest plan is developed every 10 years for managing forest resources, and local governments are required to set up local plans based on the national goals. However, achieving consistent management standards is difficult as over 70% of forest land is privately owned with more than 2 million people owning titles to the forests.

The timber harvested is generally poor quality and harvesting costs are high. The planted forests are still immature and not, as yet, of economic significance. South Korea is, therefore, one of the largest importers of timber in the region. The country has a processing industry, which has been accused in recent years of importing illegal timber from Papua New Guinea.

The government provides financial support for planting and special loans as incentives for forest management. It also provides training for private forest owners, and supports cooperative management projects. There is a plan to significantly extend forestry cooperatives, with the aim of ensuring targets for sustainable forest management are met.

DOCUMENTS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
22/08/2003	Indonesia-Korea Memorandum of Understanding Press release detailing the Memorandum of Understanding on illegal logging signed between Indonesia and ...	Indonesian Ministry of Forestry
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NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
21/05/2012	China, Korea, Japan Forestry Agreement is great news for Environment says FRA FRA has stated that the signing of a sustainable forestry agreement between China, the Republic of Korea ...	openPR
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09/02/2012	U.S. - South Korea Environmental Cooperation Agreement The United States and the Republic of Korea signed both the Environmental Cooperation Agreement and the ...	Voice of America
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04/05/2006	Posco set to finance rehabilitation of Indonesia's forests A South Korean industrial giant Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO) Ltd. is interested in financing ...	Asia Pulse
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02/03/2006	Papua New Guinea accused of ignoring illegal timber trade The pristine forests of Papua New Guinea are at risk of being wiped out through illegal and unsustainable ...	The Independent (UK)
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