The government will support the shredding of 200,000 tons of agricultural byproducts this spring. The purpose is to prevent the burning of agricultural byproducts generated by farms in spring, which is identified as one of the main causes of wildfire, by helping these byproducts to be shredded instead of burned.
Imira, Deputy Director of the Korea Forest Service, is directly participating in the process of crushing agricultural by-products near the village hall in Okam-ri, Hongseong-eup on the 13th. Photo by Korea Forest Service
According to the Korea Forest Service on the 14th, a total of 279 wildfires occurred last year, destroying 132 hectares of forest. This represents a 49% decrease in the number of incidents and a 97% decrease in the damaged area compared to the past 10 years. However, recent wildfires tend to occur year-round and become larger, making it difficult to lower vigilance.
In particular, based on last year’s data, the largest cause of wildfires was burning (19%), followed by arson by visitors to the forest (18%), cigarette-related fires (13%), and careless handling of combustible materials (12%). As in previous years, most wildfires were caused by human error or negligence.
Accordingly, the Korea Forest Service is focusing on shredding agricultural byproducts through inter-agency cooperation to reduce wildfire occurrences. This reflects the determination to fundamentally block wildfires caused during the burning process, which accounts for the largest proportion of wildfire causes. The planned shredding volume for this year is 201,000 tons, about 21% more than last year’s 166,000 tons.
Since last year, the Korea Forest Service has been supporting the operation of the ‘Mobile Village Tour Agricultural Byproduct Shredding Support Team’ in cooperation with related organizations such as the Rural Development Administration, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, local governments, rural development institutions, and agricultural organizations to prevent burning-related wildfires. The shredding support team is currently operating intensively at 139 locations nationwide from November to May of the following year.
Shredding support services through the support team can be requested by contacting the local Agricultural Technology Center, the resident center with jurisdiction over the farmland location, or the town and township offices.
The day before, the Korea Forest Service held a launch ceremony for the ‘Agricultural Byproduct Safe Disposal Shredding Support Team’ at the Hongseong-gun Agricultural Technology Center in Chungnam, officially starting activities to prevent spring wildfires.
About 100 officials from the Korea Forest Service, Rural Development Administration, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Hongseong-gun, NongHyup, agricultural organizations, and the shredding support team attended the launch ceremony. Attendees pledged at the ceremony to refrain from illegal burning and burning of rice paddies and field ridges in spring, to utilize agricultural byproducts as resources, and to prevent safety accidents. They vowed to do their best.
They also inspected the operation performance of the agricultural byproduct power shredder managed by the Hongseong-gun Agricultural Machinery Rental Business Office and shredded about 2 tons of agricultural byproducts near the village hall in Okam-ri, Hongseong-eup.
Imira, Deputy Director of the Korea Forest Service, said, “Due to climate change, wildfires are increasingly occurring year-round and becoming larger,” and added, “The Korea Forest Service will do its best to prevent spring wildfires through the inter-agency agricultural byproduct collection and shredding project.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
