• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.303-313
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• 2005

Agricultural environmental indicators (AEIs) are useful tool for evaluating environmental performance induced by agri-environmental policy measures. General and specific criteria have been set to assess the linkages between policy measures and environmental states. In addition, a number of specific AEIs such as nutrient balance indicators and farm management indicators have been posit to review environmental performance associated with agri-environmental policy measures. The proposed environmental subjects encompass soil quality, qualities of underground and surface water, water resource preservation, species and genetic diversity, diversity for wildlife habitats, and agricultural landscapes. The developed AEIs may contribute to establishment or adjustment of environmental targets and ex-ante or ex-post evaluation for environmental performance associated with policy measures. In addition, the AEIs may be useful to consider introduction of new agri-environmental measures and enhance policy efficiency by assessing environmental performance, considering specific locality, and harmonizing support measures.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.169-178
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• 2021

BACKGROUND: The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is promoting agri-environment conservation program to induce farmers to participate in agricultural environment improvement and conservation activities. However, assessment tools based on scientific evidence are needed to determine the effectiveness of the program objectively and quantitatively. Therefore, this study was performed to develop plant indicators in order to efficiently evaluate the effects of the agri-environment conservation program promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. METHODS AND RESULTS: The survey was conducted in five regions (Hampyeong, Boryeong, Mungyeong, Hongseong, and Sangju) participating in the agri-eonvironment conservation program. In each region, twenty paddy fields were investigated (ten paddy fields included in the program and ten paddy fields not included in the program). A total of 231 taxa vascular plants were identified in the paddy fields that were included in the agri-environment conservation program, and a total of 177 taxa were identified in the paddy fields that were not included. The average species number occurred on each field was 55.8 taxa in the fields included in the program, and 35.0 taxa in the fields not included in the program. The difference in occurring plants between two groups was found to be more higher in perennial plants than in annual plants. We selected the six groups as indicator plants through five criteria such as perennial plants and broadly occurring species, etc. to verify the effectiveness of the agri-environment conservation program: Taraxacum spp., Ixeris spp., Viola spp., Platago spp., Calystegia spp., and rare and endagered species. There was a high positive correlation between the score calculated using these indicator plants and the total number of plants species. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that it is possible to evaluate the agro-ecological environment by using indicator plants. The selected indicator plants can be effectively used to verify the effectiveness of projects such as agri-environmental conservation programs in the future.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.464-473
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• 2008

Winter migratory birds gather in paddy rice fields to feed shed rice grains. The Korean Ministry of Environment has practiced a policy program Contract on Paddy Field Management (CPFM) during winter fallow since 2002. This program starts with a contract between local governments and farmers, and the government pays a differential subsidy to farmers who finish spreading rice straw, cultivating barley, letting the whole rice plant without harvest, and submerging paddy fields for winter migratory birds. As more local governments have operated CPFM program, the total area on the contract and subsidy budget has increased yearly since 2002. This program could have its stable position as a successful policy by giving profits to farmers. With the program extended, the population of winter migratory birds has been greatly. For the evaluation of environmental performance of a policy, we analyzed this CPFM program by introducing some indicators in the form of Driving Force-State-Response Framework. The indicators were composed of 3 categorized indicators; the area of paddy land contracted under this program as 'driving force' indicator, population of birds, the number of bird species and the amount of feces as 'state' indicators, and the size of monetary support, the number of farmers or local governments participating, and public perception as 'response' indicators. The contract area of paddy field under CPFM could be a good biodiversity indicator reflecting potential performance of this policy measure in the light of its linkage to the population of winter migratory birds. And the share of CPFM land of the whole agricultural land might also be used as a useful indicator of policy evaluation for improvement of wildlife diversity. The 'state' indicators such as population of birds and the number of bird species could be matched to 'driving force' indicator, but the total CPFM area of each site could not reflect the effect of areas under different management practices. However, the amount of bird feces could reflect differences in environmental performance with management practices as 'state' indicators. The development of indicators indicating 'response' such as farmers' behavior, public perception, and policy makers' willingness is also needed to support a successful implementation and improvement of this policy measure with the development of 'performance' indicators integrating all these indicators.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1255-1266
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• 2017

Phosphorus (P) is an essential and major nutrient for both plants and animals. However, anthropogenic P in the environment may cause severe problems such as the deterioration of water quality. Therefore, it is essential for the Korean government to manage P in the agricultural sector. The annual P budget for Korea was 46 kg P ha-1 in 2013, placing Korea in second among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. P surplus and deficiency in agricultural lands can be estimated according to the P budget, which is one of the OECD agri-environment indicators. In the P budget, it is important to ensure consistency in the input-output data sources, in order to apply national and regional policies for the environmentally sound management of agricultural P. This study examines the impacts on the input-output data sources in the regional P budget in Korea. P budgets were between 99-145 kg-P/ha, depending on different data sources. We suggest two recommended data combinations (DC 1 and DC 2) for reliability of the data. P budgets calculated using DC 1 and DC 2 were 128 kg-P/ha and 97 kg-P/ha, respectively. According to the results, one of the core factors affecting P budgets was crop production. In this study, DC 2 was recommended rather than DC 1 in order to consider the cultivated areas for various crops. It is also necessary to analyze the sensitivity of the coefficients used in P budget in the future.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.769-779
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• 2017

Nutrient (i.e., nitrogen and phosphorus) budgets are required under a 'Livestock Excreta Survey'. A nutrient budget is one of the agri-environmental indicators that calculates the difference between the inputs and outputs of the amount of nutrients within a certain boundary and for a certain time period (e.g., 1 year). In this study, a nutrients budget model was developed to effectively determine the surplus of nutrients within a region in Korea. The C# program language was used in order to facilitate the deployment of a graphical user interface (GUI) and to enhance compatibility. Also, the model was developed on Windows OS, which is the commonly used operating system in Korea. The model was based on the OECD/Eurostat nutrient budget method, and it was modified to consider manure composting procedures as well. There are key features of the nutrient budget model, including directly use of the original data sets from various input and output sources, and a collectively exchange of the address in different formats. The model can quickly show the results of various spatial and temporal resolutions with the same data, as well as perform a sensitivity analysis with coefficients and easily compareresults using tables and graphs. Further, it would be necessary to study the extension of the scope of utilization, such as the application of various nutrient budget methods. It would also be helpful to investigate both pre and postprocessing information such as linking input data through online systems.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.192-198
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• 2004

The heavy dependence of modern science-based agriculture on chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides, and heavy machinery gave rise to questions about long-term sustainability of agriculture in relation to degradation of soil quality. The research achievements and trends in developing soil quality indicators were introduced and discussed in this report. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) established 13 agri-environment indicators including soil quality indicator in 1994, collected the soil data and methodologies for development of soil quality indicators in OECD member countries responded to OECD questionnaires and published the OECD reports, Environmental Indicators for Agriculture Volume 1, 2, and 3. Leading countries such as USA, Canada and New Zealand collected national data and evaluated the data in aspect of soil quality. They developed the various methods for selecting a minimum data set (MDS), scoring the soil properties and calculating soil quality index integrating the score of each soil property.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.12
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• pp.223-231
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• 2020

This research aims to examine (1) the effect of carbon emission disclosure on firm value, (2) the effect of good corporate governance on firm value, (3) the mediating role of financial performance between carbon emission disclosure and firm value, and (4) the mediating role of financial performance between good corporate governance and firm value. The research sample includes 43 mining, agro, and manufacturing firms listed in the Indonesian Stock Exchange over the 2015-2017 period. Carbon emission disclosure is measured by an indicator of the Global Reporting Initiative Series of Environmental Aspect. Good corporate governance is measured by the corporate governance score of shareholder rights, boards of directors, outside directors, audit committee and internal auditor, and disclosure to investors. Financial performance is measured by return on assets, while firm value is measured by Tobin's Q. Data analysis uses the structural equation modeling. The result shows carbon emission disclosure and good corporate governance have no direct effect on firm value. On the other hand, financial performance mediates the effect of carbon emission disclosure and good corporate governance on firm value. It shows that higher carbon emission disclosure and good corporate governance are meaningless for the investor if they do not give any financial performance improvement.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.509-514
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• 2015

Indicators of environmental conditions qualitatively and quantitatively describe the state of the environment and natural resources, and the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) has initiated and suggested AEIs (Agri-Environmental Indicators) to assess trends over time of the effects of agriculture on the environment and the effectiveness and efficiency of agricultural and environmental policy measures since 1990's. This study aims to develop the state indicators of water quality for agricultural water, surface and groundwater, to evaluate the environmental impacts of agricultural activities and policies by qualifying the environmental levels of a nation. Status indicators were calculated according to the agricultural water quality standards of OECD and Korea, and their trends were analyzed over time. Particularly, nitrate ($NO_3{^-}$) status indicators of ground water in 2013 were significantly lower than the ones in 2000. Overall, the water quality indicators of surface water in 2013 were higher than the ones in 2012, except for pH and DO. The groundwater quality indicators in 2013 were lower than those of previous years. The optimal management indicators were calculated to assess agricultural surface water and groundwater quality. The findings of this study indicated that the state indicators could play a significant role to establish policies and procedures for managing and conserving water resources. This study also discussed water pollution caused by agricultural and industrial effluents.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.93-111
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• 2005

Defining soil quality in scopes and applications is one of the prerequisite for the sustainable management of soil environment to orient researches, strategies and policies. However, definition of soil quality is controversial depending upon a viewpoint of soil science or soil environment. Soil quality can be, irrespective of the disciplines, defined as the capacity of a soil to function within ecosystem boundaries to sustain biological productivity, maintain environmental quality and promote plant and animal health. Common to all of the soil quality concepts can be summarized as the capacity of soil to function effectively at present and in the future. The OECD includes soil quality as one of the agri-environment indicators. This article intends to i) summarize the current soil quality research, and ii) provide information on protocol of soil quality assessment. A framework for soil quality was divided into three steps: indicator selection as minimum data set (MDS), scoring of the selected indicators, and integration of scores into soil quality index. Korean government suggested possible physical and chemical indicators such as bulk density and organic matter for paddy and upland soils to OECD. The framework of soil quality assessment is not yet implemented in Korea. Countries such as USA, Canada and New Zealand have constructed the framework on soil quality assessment and developed a user-friendly version of soil quality assessment tools to evaluate the integrated effects of various soil management practices. The protocol provided in this review might help policymakers, scientists, and administrators improve awareness about soil quality and understand the way of soil environment management.