National Parks in the Republic of Korea: Promoting innovation and regional collaboration

Q. As the former Co-Chair of the Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP), what are your reflections regarding protected areas in the region?

What makes Asia unique is that the region has very rich biodiversity, combined with over half the world’s population and very rapid economic growth. This combination has led to many challenges for the region’s protected areas, and the need for technical expertise and knowledge to address these challenges has never been greater. In this context, there has also been a growing consensus about the need for increased regional cooperation and information sharing among the government agencies responsible for protected area management in Asia. As a step towards achieving this goal, the Asia Protected Areas Partnership (APAP) was initiated in 2013. The Republic of Korea was one of the founding members of APAP, and served as the Partnership’s second Co-chair from 2017 to 2020. Today, APAP has 21 members from 17 different countries, as well as two associate members.

MoEK and KNPS are pleased to be members of APAP and have worked hard for the success of the Partnership. Among other measures, MoEK and KNPS have supported APAP through the provision of funding as well as staff secondments. We have been particularly proud of our support for APAP’s technical workshops and webinars, aimed at building the capacity of protected area (PA) managers in the region. The technical workshops have covered a wide range of issues related to protected area management, including human-wildlife conflict, management effectiveness, the IUCN Green List Standard, sustainable tourism, and Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs). We also supported a master class on the prevention and mitigation of human-elephant conflict, which is an increasingly serious management challenge in many elephant range states. APAP has also been involved in translating IUCN best practice guidelines into a number of different Asian languages, in order to make these more widely accessible to a broad audience.

Although Korea's tenure as the Co-chair of APAP has now ended, MoEK and KNPS will continue to support the development of the Partnership and the effective management of Asia’s protected areas more broadly. Korea is also working closely with APAP to promote the 2nd Asia Parks Congress, which will be held in Sabah, Malaysia from 24 to 29 May 2022.

Q. Reflecting back on your three years as APAP Co-Chair, what are some of the challenges that Asia faces regarding protected areas?

Although APAP has been conducting training programmes for many years now, many new and serious challenges for protected areas continue to arise. It will be difficult to fully respond to these challenges within the existing scope of APAP’s activities. We hope that APAP will set long-term goals, increase the diversity, length and frequency of its training programmes, and increase the level of participation from its members.

APAP also has an important role to play in assisting countries in the region to adopt global standards, such as the IUCN Green List of Protected and Conserved Areas. The Republic of Korea is currently supporting a global programme on the IUCN Green List Standard through its Framework Partnership with IUCN, focusing on Asia and APAP. There has been much interest and participation from countries and we hope to see a great number of protected areas in Asia included in the IUCN Green List by the end of the programme.

Q. Why are protected areas important for the Republic of Korea in particular?

The Republic of Korea (RoK) has some 30 different types of protected areas. National parks are intended to be representative of the country’s major ecosystems whilst also providing opportunities for recreation. Since the introduction of the national park system in 1967, 22 national parks have been designated, covering an area of 6,726 km2. The national park system is home to 43 percent of RoK’s species, including 65 percent of the nation’s threatened species. The national park system thus plays a pivotal role in conserving representative examples of RoK’s ecosystems and safeguarding the nation’s species diversity.

In addition to serving as a refuge for animals and plants, national parks are a resting place for people. RoK’s national parks are hugely popular and receive over 40 million visits every year.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, RoK’s national parks have remained open to visitors, albeit with strict implementation of health protocols. Nature has a therapeutic effect on people. As we strive to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, national parks will continue to provide comfort and to function as a place of healing for people - a value related to our quality of life that cannot be converted into money.

Q. How are national parks relevant to people and the economy?

National parks contribute not only to the conservation of natural ecosystems but also to the development of local communities and even the nation from a larger economic perspective. According to the results of a study conducted by KNPS from 2009 to 2011 on estimated economic impacts of Korean national parks, the ripple effect of national parks on the local economy was USD 1.46 billion in production, USD 258 million in income, and USD 705 million in added value. In addition, national parks had led to the employment of some 28,333 people.

Between 2010 and 2020, KNPS implemented an ambitious programme to support national park residents by renovating villages and enhancing income streams for local communities. As a result of these efforts, the number of visitors to villages has increased from 169,512 to 3,003,795, and income for local communities has risen from USD 0.78 million to USD 35.3 million. Villages that are currently located outside the national parks as a result of adjustments in the park boundaries in the past are now requesting re-incorporation, recognising that national parks can help support the economic activities of local people.

Q. What are the priorities of the Republic of Korea regarding national parks?

The role of protected areas is more important than ever, as the pace of environmental change increases. National parks help to reduce the risk of natural disasters, provide clean air and water, enhance food security, mitigate climate change, and provide jobs, homes and livelihoods, among other benefits.

To emphasise the value and importance of national parks, the 3rd of March has been officially designated by the government as “National Park Day” in the Republic of Korea. This year, National Park Day was commemorated for the first time, and many different ceremonies, celebrations and activities were organised across the country.

There is also increasing recognition of the role that protected areas can play as carbon sinks. One of the top priorities of Korea’s national parks is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. As a step towards this goal, KNPS is planning to create carbon-neutral villages by working with local communities near national parks, beginning in 2021. Carbon-neutral villages aim to regenerate communities by reducing carbon emissions, strengthening carbon storage and supporting financial independence. Carbon-neutral villages will:

generate eco-friendly energy through green remodeling;
increase capacity for carbon storage by managing village forests and blue carbon; and
increase the income of local communities by renovating accommodation facilities and supporting the sale of local products.

The aim is to convert all villages within RoK’s national parks into carbon-neutral villages by 2025. After the COVID-19 pandemic is over, we hope you will visit such a carbon-neutral village in a Korean national park.

Q. The IUCN World Conservation Congress will address protected areas and also focus on the post-2020 biodiversity framework. What outcomes would you like to see from Congress regarding protected areas?

The year 2021 will be critical as the world will adopt a new set of international commitments as part of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. We hope that the IUCN Congress – as IUCN’s highest decision making body and with the representation of government, businesses, academia and civil society - will deliver a strong message about the importance of strengthening and expanding protected and conserved areas.

The world needs ambitious and practical goals that will put our planet back on track towards sustainability. We hope that this need will be reflected in the outcomes of the Congress, and that these, in turn, will feed into the other major international environmental meetings scheduled for this year, including CBD COP 15 and UNFCCC COP 26.

More than ever, the Asian region will need to strengthen its voice and take the lead in shaping the global goals that will impact its natural treasures. We hope that APAP will continue to provide a platform to help countries to work together to achieve this aim.

To learn more about APAP, please visit the Partnership’s website at:

https://www.asiaprotectedareaspartnership.org/

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