Abstract
To achieve carbon neutrality and restore the national environment, there is growing interest in policies to transform national land areas into green space, such as expanding nature-based solutions, increasing biodiversity, and improving ecosystem service functions. In addition to complying with international agreements such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, it is necessary to expand green spaces to achieve the 2050 Carbon Neutrality goal, which can be achieved by restoring the damaged land in an ecological way. However, it is challenging to implement green restoration in a systematic and active way due to conflicts of interest among landowners and lack of institutional support and advanced technology. Therefore, this study aims to develop a strategy to expand green restoration and implement it smoothly and systematically. This study examined the current status of green restoration in South Korea by investigating green restoration laws and systems and overseas trends, and by surveying the perceptions of 1,000 people selected from a pool of the public. The results of this study show that it is difficult to implement the green restoration efficiently because the laws related to restoration are scattered. According to the relevant legal plans, the perception and direction of restoration is to pursue a sustainable national land environment, allow people to benefit from nature, improve the quality of life, and nurture related industries and human resources. In the international community, it is mentioned that green restoration contributes to achieving the 2050 Carbon Neutrality goal, revitalizing green industries, developing and applying advanced technologies, maintaining consistency in restoration-related policies, expanding citizens' access to green spaces, and adopting nature-based solutions. Both experts and the public are aware of the seriousness of the damage to the natural environment and prefer restoration with human use rather than focusing on natural recovery. It is expected that this study will contribute to the future direction of green restoration and the implementation of tasks for the sustainable restoration of the national land environment and the zero-carbon era.