[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service aims to simultaneously enhance the income of forest village households and protect national forests by granting forest products to mountain village communities that have signed national forest protection agreements.
On the 14th, the Korea Forest Service designated forest areas and formed farming groups composed of mountain village residents to protect national forests, signing protection agreements and granting forest products produced within the management areas.
The types of forest products granted vary according to the harvest season. In spring, sap and wild vegetables are typical, while in autumn, pine nuts and matsutake mushrooms are representative.
The Korea Forest Service estimates that the production value generated from granting forest products within national forests over the past five years amounts to 31.7 billion KRW, of which residents' income reaches 28.5 billion KRW.
For example, last year, there were a total of 917 cases of forest product grants from national forests, with a production value of 7.2 billion KRW. Among this, residents' net income, excluding the 10% national treasury payment, was 6.1 billion KRW (90%).
Over the past five years, 751 villages have signed national forest protection agreements, with approximately 18,000 village residents involved.
According to the agreements, they conduct forest protection activities such as wildfire prevention within forest areas during normal times.
Song Junho, Director of National Forest Management at the Korea Forest Service, stated, “The national forest protection agreement system is a win-win system where mountain village residents take ownership of forest protection activities and generate income through forest products. The Korea Forest Service will strive to activate this system to achieve both forest protection activities and income improvement for mountain village residents.”
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