TOP 10 Forest News in 2020The year 2020 was a very special year to the Korea Forest Service like much of the world. Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, we had another fruitful year.Here are top 10 forest news of 2020 selected through a survey of journalists and KFS staff.1. Implementation plan of K-Forest for the Korean New Deal in the forestry sectorThe Korea Forest Service (KFS) has announced “K-Forest Plan 2020-2030, as Korean forest new deal policy including the creation of 5,000 public jobs in the forestry sector in the post-Corona era. 2. Forest healing programs for Corona-blueVarious projects are being carried out to provide more effective forest healing programs for recovering from Corona-blue which is a combined word of Coronavirus and blue meaning depression. Forest healing programs have been proved effective in Corona-blue so far.3. Increased public value of well-managed forests- about 4,000 USD per capita The public value of Korean forests reaches 221 billion USD per year which means each citizen can be provided with public benefits of about 4,000 USD. In order to publicize the importance of well-managed forests and related policy, the month of November is designated for a forest tending period. 4. Opening of Sejong National ArboretumAs part of our efforts in response to climate change, the KFS established “Sejoing National Arboretum” with the nation’s biggest greenhouse so as to conserve and propagate native plants from the central temperate forests. 5. Largest forest growth in the Asia-Pacific region by FAO reportAt the 25th session of FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) it was addressed that the Republic of Korea saw the largest rate of growing stock in the Asia-Pacific region between 1990 and 2015. The result comes from the flagship report in the region named “Forest Futures-Sustainable Pathway for Forests, Landscapes and People in the Asia-pacific region”.6. Enactment of the Act on Urban Forest The Act on Urban Forest has been enacted with the purpose of creating and managing urban forests in a more systematic way. That way it is expected that various urban forests will reduce fine dust and alleviate urban forest heat island phenomenon, thereby creating a more pleasant living environment and more resting places in the urban areas.7. Five rich national forests for recovering from pandemic fatigue in forests Five rich national forests with outstanding landscape and high ecosystematic value are widely publicized throughout forest eco-tourism so as to offer opportunities for those who suffer from pandemic fatigue to get themselves recharged in forests. 8. Era of wood building by lifting restrictions on wood building scaleRestrictions on wood building scale stipulated in the Building Structure Standards have been abolished so more tall and large wood buildings are expected and the wood building market will also grow.9. Wearable robots for forest fire-fighting- intelligent equipment for forest work safety The KFS has developed wearable robots for forest work, especially for fire-fighting with the view of preventing forest disasters and minimizing damage thereby ensuring safety of the people. 10. Night aerial fire-fighting with “Surion” helicopterA night fire-fighting helicopter called “Surion” has been developed domestically. With a successful trial operation, the Surion was mobilized to suppress Andong forest fire at night. * Attached picture : Annoucnment of K-Forest Plan by KFS Minister

200-Day Countdown Event for the World Forestry Congress, a forum on “Messages From Forests” will be held on 9 November 2020. Overview - When : 13:00~17:30, 9 November 2020 (Korea standard time)- Where: Coex, Seoul- How to participate : WFC 2021 YouTube streaming - Hosted by: Korea Forest ServiceBackgroundThe international community is witnessing more and more extended, intense, larger-scale natural disasters such as forest fires induced by climate change, landslides, and desertification. What is worse is rapid deforestation and forest degradation. If this trend of man-made forest destruction continues, humanity may have to live to live under constant threats such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid these challenges, new light is being shed on the solutions that forests hold in their hands to the threats facing us and thus reforestation is becoming ever more important. Against this backdrop, the Korea Forest Service is going to hold a special event to discuss the roles and future of forests on a date marking the 200 day countdown to the XV World Forestry Congress, with the view to garner greater attention and interest from the international community in the coming Congress to be held in Seoul next year.The program is attached below.For more information, please visit the WFC 2021 website https://wfc2021korea.org/

At the 25th session of FAO Committee on Forestry (COFO) held virtually in mid October, it was addressed that the Republic of Korea saw the increase rate of 196 percent in the per-hectare growing stock which is the largestgrowthin the Asia-Pacific region between 1990 and 2015. The result comes from the flagship report in the region named “Forest Futures-Sustainable Pathway for Forests, Landscapes and People in the Asia-pacific region” launched at the 4thAsia-Pacific Forestry Week in June 2019.On October 12, Director General of the International Affairs Bureau of the Korea Forest Service KO Ki-yeon took part in a side event held back-to-back with COFO 25 as a part of the 7thWorld Forest Week with the theme on forest future in the Asai-pacific region based on the report. Mr. KO delivered a presentation on the main results of Korea’s efforts in forest management and reforestation. Korea has been highly recognized in the world as a country that produced best outcomes in forest reforestation and management.

The XV World Forestry Congress (XV WFC) 2021 will be held in the South Korean capital, Seoul, with the theme of ‘Building a Green, Healthy and Resilient Future with Forests.’ A range of forest-related challenges facing the humanity are subsumed under the overarching theme, including deforestation and forest degradation, climate change, and sustainable growth, and they will be addressed at sub-theme sessions and forums. Opportunities and areas of opportunity will also be discussed as sub-themes, including the management and sharing of forest information and trans-border cooperation in forestry. Importantly, the Congress will shed a light on relationships between forests and human health to reflect a growing interest in health amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.The coming international event is expected to set the stage for Korea to present its advanced integrated wildfire control consisting of four steps ? forest management, wildfire prevention and containment, fire fighting, and fire rehabilitation and restoration. The host country will also share its experience and know-how in information-technology-enabled investigation and monitoring of forests, and the creation of urban forests.The WFC Secretariat is currently receiving abstracts of research papers, video presentations, and side-event proposals on the XV WFC official website and in August, will accept online early-bird registrations and unveil a detailed program of the Congress.