Korean Forest Greening Records Inscribed on UNESCO Memory of the World Register

Records documenting Korea's forest restoration process have been registered as a UNESCO Memory of the World.

On the 11th, the Korea Forest Service announced that Korea's forest restoration records were inscribed as a UNESCO Memory of the World at the '221st UNESCO Executive Board Meeting' held in Paris, France.

The forest restoration records consist of 9,619 items including laws, official documents, photos, and films, documenting the forest restoration project carried out jointly by the government and the people to rehabilitate the devastated land after the Korean War.

The changed appearance before and after the forest restoration project confirmed through the Yeongilman district in Pohang. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

In 1973, the Korea Forest Service established the 'First 10-Year Plan for Mountainous Area Greening (1973?1978)' to actively promote forest restoration projects. The forest restoration mainly involved projects such as erosion control works, slash-and-burn field (hwajeon) management, and afforestation (tree planting), which restored the devastated land and laid the foundation for economic development. Erosion control works refer to installing artificial structures or sowing and planting vegetation to prevent mountain collapse and the outflow of soil, rocks, and trees by rehabilitating barren land.

In particular, during the forest restoration project, the government provided various incentives to local communities to encourage voluntary participation by the people. As a result of promoting the forest restoration project, Korea increased the volume of trees from only 5.6㎥/ha in the 1960s to 165㎥/ha in 2020, successfully dressing the land in green.

Korea's successful forest restoration project is recognized as a 'Korean model' that can be applied to developing countries facing land degradation issues.

Above all, the governance model involving both government and private sectors can be integrated into various official development assistance (ODA) projects and international education and training programs, and is expected to contribute to solving global issues such as climate change response, desertification prevention, and forest ecosystem restoration.

Im Sang-seop, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, "The inscription of the forest restoration records as a UNESCO Memory of the World is a meaningful outcome recognizing the excellence of Korea's forest policy by the international community," adding, "The Korea Forest Service will develop past records into future solutions and fulfill its responsibility as a global leading country protecting the common future of humanity through forests."

Provided by Korea Forest Service