One of the most important factors for sustainable practices was eco-friendly logging with forest ecology in mind, which was agreed upon by 55.6 percent of respondents. (image: Korea Forest Service)
DAEJEON, Dec. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans have a perception that environmental issues are the most important factors to consider when establishing policies related to deforestation.
According to a poll of 1,056 South Koreans conducted by the Korea Forest Service (KFS), 72.2 percent of the respondents said the environment should be prioritized and damage and destruction of forest minimized when establishing policies for the forestry industry.
There was some support for cutting down trees, at 25.7 percent, while the percentage was slightly higher for those with negative perceptions towards commercial logging at 28.3 percent.
However, 82 percent agreed on the need for logging to produce paper and wood products.
Meanwhile, some 71.3 percent of the respondents who had a negative perception about deforestation cited the destruction of forest ecosystems as the reason.
In addition, 66.3 percent replied that they were aware that most of the timber used in South Korea is imported.
On the other hand, only 27.2 percent were aware of the fact that deforestation is typically limited to commercial logging applications, and only 31.4 percent were aware of the positive effects such as carbon storage.
One of the most important factors for sustainable practices was eco-friendly logging with forest ecology in mind, which was agreed upon by 55.6 percent of respondents.
Respondents also agreed that spreading awareness of Korean timber (42.7 percent) and the production and use of various wood products (24.4 percent) was necessary to expand the use of Korean wood.
“Paper and wood products are essential items in our lives,” said an official from the KFS. “We will try to establish a forest resource circulation system that can continue to produce domestic timber.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
