Green New Deal Land Restoration Kickoff: "Ecological Restoration of 41 Urban and National Parks by 2025"

Implementation of 'Green Restoration of National Ecosystems' among 8 Green New Deal Tasks
Establishment of Comprehensive Management System for Wildlife Inflow, Sale, and Distribution
"Creating a Safe Living Environment from Wildlife-Transmitted Diseases"
Strengthening Foundations through Natural Environment Restoration System and Opening of National Wildlife Disease Control Center

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government plans to restore ecosystem services such as water and air in 25 urban areas and 16 damaged sites in national parks by 2025. This marks the full-scale implementation of the Green New Deal policy.

The Ministry of Environment announced on the 12th that it will implement the "Green Restoration of National Land Ecosystems" policy, one of the eight Green New Deal tasks included in the "Korean New Deal Comprehensive Plan" announced on July 14.

The goal is to restore nature damaged by urbanization and industrialization and to protect the national land from diseases caused by wildlife.

Specifically, the plan includes ▲restoration of damaged urban and protected areas ▲comprehensive management of wildlife diseases ▲strengthening laws and systems for green restoration.

First, the plan aims to restore damaged environments within urban areas to enhance urban sustainability. Twenty-five damaged sites will be selected and restored by 2025. The restoration will improve ecosystem service functions such as water purification, air quality improvement, and water supply.

By 2025, 16 damaged sites in national parks will also be restored. Environmentally friendly and high-quality ecological exploration infrastructure will be expanded, focusing on lowland areas.

By next year, a "Basic Plan for Green Restoration of the National Environment" will be established. This plan will diagnose the damage status of the entire natural environment of the national land, set restoration goals and basic policies, and establish a project implementation system.

Interest in diseases caused by wildlife has increased due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The Ministry of Environment will build a "Comprehensive Wildlife Management System" to manage the status and disease history of all wildlife distributed domestically.

A quarantine system for wildlife imports will be introduced, and a management system will be established for all processes including wildlife exhibition, sale, and ownership.

The National Wildlife Disease Management Institute, launching in October, will be responsible for wildlife disease investigation and research, development of quarantine technologies, and establishing cooperative quarantine systems with related agencies.

The "Natural Environment Conservation Act" will be amended to provide legal grounds for establishing a cross-ministerial cooperation system for natural environment restoration projects.

The same law will be revised to create a new "Natural Environment Restoration Business." Since environmental restoration requires academic knowledge, insight, and integrative technology from various fields, a system to properly deploy related experts is deemed necessary.

The "Wildlife Protection Act" will be amended to mandate permits and reports for the domestic import of wildlife that may transmit diseases to humans. Key wildlife disease quarantine procedures will be legislated.

The "Zoo and Aquarium Act" will be revised to strengthen regulations prohibiting wildlife exhibitions outside of zoos. The law will also include the introduction of a permit system for wildlife sales businesses and the conversion to a permit system for zoos.

Park Yeon-jae, Director of Natural Conservation Policy at the Ministry of Environment, said, "Restoring the ecological health of our national land is an important value in the Green New Deal alongside greenhouse gas reduction," adding, "We will do our best to implement the Green New Deal, emphasizing that a healthy natural environment leads to healthy citizens and a healthy nation."