• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.3-20
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• 2014

Due to habitat damage associated with climate change and human activities, biodiversity has decreased all over the world. In order to prevent further reduction in biodiversity, the international community has endeavored to establish a cooperative system, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Until now, most biodiversity strategic planning has been led by the national government. However, the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan is conservative and its strategic plan is vague. Therefore, we propose a method for managing local biological resources called the Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. In order to provide the strategic plans and detailed plans for the Local Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, the report has examined several cases including Convention on Biological Diversity, Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, and the biodiversity strategies and action plans of the Republic of Korea and several other countries. As a result, the report demonstrates the survey and protection of bio-species, the designation and monitoring of conservation region, the management of the integrated eco-network, the establishment of biodiversity organizations and capacity building, the methods to promote networking and traditional knowledge, and the strategy for development in bioindustry. Consequently, the implementation of biodiversity management strategies by local governments will play a significant role in preserving and increasing biodiversity by realizing the goals of Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.1-24
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• 2009

As commercial use of genetic resources increases in modern society, calls for fair and equitable sharing of the benefits thereof have become increasingly prominent, particularly from developing countries. As a result, negotiations have been ongoing for the "International Regime on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)" for genetic resources as a successor to the non-binding Bonn Guideline. 2010 has been set as the target date for the Agreement. As South Korea is more likely to be a user country of genetic resources, it will be necessary for it to take part in the negotiating process and contribute to creating the International Regime on ABS, to ensure both appropriate access to genetic resources and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising there from. To develop appropriate response strategies for South Korea, it is critical not only to closely examine the negotiations within the framework of the CBD but also to engage in discussions within thescope of related international organizations and domestic legislation. To achieve this goal, it is imperative for South Korea to form a comprehensive Government Response System, composed of relevant governmental bodies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Ministry of Environment, etc.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.601-609
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• 2020

This study aims to draw suggestions for establishing the Post-2020 national policy direction and goals related to protected areas in Korea by analyzing the trends of major discussion issues on protected areas in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and reviewing the achievement progress of the Aichi target-11. Regarding the CBD decisions on protected areas, two decisions (Decisions II/7 and II/8) were adopted in 1995, and then the Program of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), which presented an ideal blueprint for protected areas, was adopted at the 7th Conference of the Parties (COP) in 2004. At the 10th COP in 2010, the "Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and the Aichi Biodiversity Target" (Decision X/2) was adopted along with the Decision X/31, which presented ten key issues related to protected areas. The global outcomes of the Aichi Target-11 include 15% of the earth's land area and 7.4% of the ocean being designated as protected areas. In Korea, 16.63% of the land and 2.12% of the ocean have been designated as protected areas. However, the outcomes of the effective and equitable management, protection of areas important to biodiversity and ecosystem services, and identifying "Other effective area-based conservation measures" (OECMs) and linking them with protected areas have been found to be significantly short of global goals. The first draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (Post-2020 GBF) prepared in January 2020 presented multi-step objectives. They included protecting at least 60% of particularly important sites for biodiversity through protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, at least 30% of the entire land and sea areas, and at least 10% of them under strict protection by 2030. The Updated Zero drafted in August 2020 concisely set out one quantitative goal of at least 30% of the globe by 2030, adding qualitative goals that these areas should be protected and conserved through "well connected and effective system of protected areas and OECMs at least 30 % of the planet with the focus on areas particularly important for biodiversity." Based on the draft Post-2020 GBF's targets related to protected areas and Korea's national targets reflecting the current state of Korea and established national plans, we suggest the national targets "to protect and conserve at least 30% of the land area and 10% of the marine area and to strengthen the means of qualitative achievement by establishing sub-targets through an effective system of protected areas and OECMs by 2030.".

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2017.06a
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• pp.51-52
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• 2017

"Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture" means any genetic material of plant origin of actual or potential value for food and agriculture. "Genetic material" means any material of plant origin, including reproductive and vegetative propagating material, containing functional units of heredity. (Internal Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, ITPGRFA). The "Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (shortly Nagoya Protocol)" is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Nagoya Protocol on ABS was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan and entered into force on 12 October 2014, 90 days after the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification. Its objective is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The Nagoya Protocol will create greater legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic resources by; (a) Establishing more predictable conditions for access to genetic resources and (b) Helping to ensure benefit-sharing when genetic resources leave the country providing the genetic resources. By helping to ensure benefit-sharing, the Nagoya Protocol creates incentives to conserve and sustainably use genetic resources, and therefore enhances the contribution of biodiversity to development and human well-being. The Nagoya Protocol's success will require effective implementation at the domestic level. A range of tools and mechanisms provided by the Nagoya Protocol will assist contracting Parties including; (a) Establishing national focal points (NFPs) and competent national authorities (CNAs) to serve as contact points for information, grant access or cooperate on issues of compliance, (b) An Access and Benefit-sharing Clearing-House to share information, such as domestic regulatory ABS requirements or information on NFPs and CNAs, (c) Capacity-building to support key aspects of implementation. Based on a country's self-assessment of national needs and priorities, this can include capacity to develop domestic ABS legislation to implement the Nagoya Protocol, to negotiate MAT and to develop in-country research capability and institutions, (d) Awareness-raising, (e) Technology Transfer, (f) Targeted financial support for capacity-building and development initiatives through the Nagoya Protocol's financial mechanism, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) (Nagoya Protocol). The Rural Development Administration (RDA) leading to conduct management agricultural genetic resources following the 'ACT ON THE PRESERVATION, MANAGEMENT AND USE OF AGRO-FISHERY BIO-RESOURCES' established on 2007. According to $2^{nd}$ clause of Article 14 (Designation, Operation, etc. of Agencies Responsible for Agro-Fishery Bioresources) of the act, the duties endowed are, (a) Matters concerning securing, preservation, management, and use of agro-fishery bioresources; (b) Establishment of an integrated information system for agro-fishery bioresources; (c) Matters concerning medium and long-term preservation of, and research on, agro-fishery bioresources; (d) Matters concerning international cooperation for agro-fishery bioresources and other relevant matters. As the result the RDA manage about 246,000 accessions of plant genetic resources under the national management system at the end of 2016.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.51-65
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• 2023

The Jeongmaeks are Korea's unique forest space recognition system that diverged from the Baekdudaegan. The Jeongmaeks are easily exposed to pressure because it is adjacent to the living area. Among them, Nakdong-Jeongmaek has high biodiversity, but damage is accelerating. According to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2022, the target is to expand the area of terrestrial and marine protected areas to 30% of national territory by 2030. As of September 2023, the area of terrestrial protected areas in South Korea is only 16.97% of the country's territory. This is due in part to the high proportion of private forests in the region, which makes it difficult to establish protected areas. Therefore, there is a need to establish Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measure (OECMs), which pursue complex and effective conservation that considers multiple values, as an alternative to protected areas. This study aims to identify areas suitable for OECM and to provide opinions on the establishment of appropriate management plans for each value using SOM and InVEST Habitat Quality model. This study evaluated the habitat quality of 206 villages located within 1km of the Nakdong-Jeongmaek and compared the characteristics of villages classified by SOM. As a result, the habitat quality was 0.867 for Tourism village (ClusterIV), 0.838 for Conservation village (ClusterVI), 0.835 for Mixed village (ClusterI), 0.796 for Production (ClusterV), 0.731 for Rural village (ClusterIII) and 0.625 for Urban village (ClusterII). When the distribution was identified through statistical analysis, the Kruskal-Wallis test showed that the distributions were not identical, with a p-value of 1.53e-08. Dunn's test showed a difference between Tourism, Conservation and Rural, Urban village. However, Mixed village was overestimated due to the lack of villages and the small area included in the study area. Moreover, Conservation village was somewhat under-evaluated in the analysis due to the use of a single weight for protected areas. It is necessary to perform additional reinforcement of the value evaluation of Jeongmaeks by conducting Forest Resource Survey and the National Natural Environment Survey. Therefore, we believe that sufficient validity for the establishment of OECMs in the Nakdong-Jeongmaek can be provided by addressing these limitations and conducting additional research.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.302-314
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• 2023

This study aims to explore the direction for Korea's effective response to Target 3 (30by30), which can be said to be the core of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (K-M GBF) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to find the direction of systematic OECM (Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures) discovery at the national level through a survey of global conceptual review and expert perception of OECM. This study examined ① the use of Korean terms related to OECM, ② derivation of determining criteria reflecting global standards, ③ deriving types of potential OECM candidates in Korea, and ④ considerations for OECM identification and reporting to explore the direction for identifying systematic, national-level OECM that complies with global standards and reflects the Korean context. First, there was consensus for using Korean terminology that reflects the concept of OECM rather than simple translations, and it was determined that "nature coexistence area" was the most preferred term (12 people) and had the same context as CBD 2050 Vision of "a world of living in harmony with nature." This study suggests utilizing four criteria (1. No protected areas, 2. Geographic boundaries, 3. Governance/management, and 4. Biodiversity value) that reflect OECM's core characteristics in the first-stage selection process, carrying out the consensus-building process (stage 2) with the relevant agencies, and adding two criteria (3-1 Effectiveness and sustainability of governance and management and 4-1 Long-term conservation) and performing the in-depth diagnosis in stage 3 (full assessment for reporting). The 28 types examined in this study were generally compatible with OECMs (4.45-6.21/7 points, mean 5.24). In particular, the "Conservation Properties (6.21 points)" and "Conservation Agreements (6.07 points)", which are controlled by National Nature Trust, are shown to be the most in line with the OECM concept. They were followed by "Buffer zone of World Natural Heritage (5.77 points)", "Temple Forest (5.73 points)", "Green-belt (Restricted development zones, 5.63 points)", "DMZ (5.60 points)", and "Buffer zone of biosphere reserve (5.50 point)" to have high potential. In the case of "Uninhabited Islands under Absolute Conservation", the response that they conformed to the protected areas (5.83/7 points) was higher than the OECM compatibility (5.52/7 points), it is determined that in the future, it would be preferable to promote the listing of absolute unprotected islands in the Korea Database on Protected Areas (KDPA) along with their surrounding waters (1 km). Based on the results of a global OECM standard review and expert perception survey, 10 items were suggested as considerations when identifying OECM in the Korean context. In the future, continuous research is needed to identify the potential OECMs through site-level assessment regarding these considerations and establish an effective in-situ conservation system at the national level by linking existing protected area systems and identified OECMs.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Biology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.119-135
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• 2021

Korea has stepped up efforts to investigate and catalog its flora and fauna to conserve the biodiversity of the Korean Peninsula and secure biological resources since the ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits (ABS) in 2010. Thus, after its establishment in 2007, the National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR) of the Ministry of Environment of Korea initiated a project called the Korean Indigenous Species Investigation Project to investigate indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula. For 15 years since its beginning in 2006, this project has been carried out in five phases, Phase 1 from 2006-2008, Phase 2 from 2009-2011, Phase 3 from 2012-2014, Phase 4 from 2015-2017, and Phase 5 from 2018-2020. Before this project, in 2006, the number of indigenous species surveyed was 29,916. The figure was cumulatively aggregated at the end of each phase as 33,253 species for Phase 1 (2008), 38,011 species for Phase 2 (2011), 42,756 species for Phase 3 (2014), 49,027 species for Phase 4 (2017), and 54,428 species for Phase 5(2020). The number of indigenous species surveyed grew rapidly, showing an approximately 1.8-fold increase as the project progressed. These statistics showed an annual average of 2,320 newly recorded species during the project period. Among the recorded species, a total of 5,242 new species were reported in scientific publications, a great scientific achievement. During this project period, newly recorded species on the Korean Peninsula were identified using the recent taxonomic classifications as follows: 4,440 insect species (including 988 new species), 4,333 invertebrate species except for insects (including 1,492 new species), 98 vertebrate species (fish) (including nine new species), 309 plant species (including 176 vascular plant species, 133 bryophyte species, and 39 new species), 1,916 algae species (including 178 new species), 1,716 fungi and lichen species(including 309 new species), and 4,812 prokaryotic species (including 2,226 new species). The number of collected biological specimens in each phase was aggregated as follows: 247,226 for Phase 1 (2008), 207,827 for Phase 2 (2011), 287,133 for Phase 3 (2014), 244,920 for Phase 4(2017), and 144,333 for Phase 5(2020). A total of 1,131,439 specimens were obtained with an annual average of 75,429. More specifically, 281,054 insect specimens, 194,667 invertebrate specimens (except for insects), 40,100 fish specimens, 378,251 plant specimens, 140,490 algae specimens, 61,695 fungi specimens, and 35,182 prokaryotic specimens were collected. The cumulative number of researchers, which were nearly all professional taxonomists and graduate students majoring in taxonomy across the country, involved in this project was around 5,000, with an annual average of 395. The number of researchers/assistant researchers or mainly graduate students participating in Phase 1 was 597/268; 522/191 in Phase 2; 939/292 in Phase 3; 575/852 in Phase 4; and 601/1,097 in Phase 5. During this project period, 3,488 papers were published in major scientific journals. Of these, 2,320 papers were published in domestic journals and 1,168 papers were published in Science Citation Index(SCI) journals. During the project period, a total of 83.3 billion won (annual average of 5.5 billion won) or approximately US $75 million (annual average of US $5 million) was invested in investigating indigenous species and collecting specimens. This project was a large-scale research study led by the Korean government. It is considered to be a successful example of Korea's compressed development as it attracted almost all of the taxonomists in Korea and made remarkable achievements with a massive budget in a short time. The results from this project led to the National List of Species of Korea, where all species were organized by taxonomic classification. Information regarding the National List of Species of Korea is available to experts, students, and the general public (https://species.nibr.go.kr/index.do). The information, including descriptions, DNA sequences, habitats, distributions, ecological aspects, images, and multimedia, has been digitized, making contributions to scientific advancement in research fields such as phylogenetics and evolution. The species information also serves as a basis for projects aimed at species distribution and biological monitoring such as climate-sensitive biological indicator species. Moreover, the species information helps bio-industries search for useful biological resources. The most meaningful achievement of this project can be in providing support for nurturing young taxonomists like graduate students. This project has continued for the past 15 years and is still ongoing. Efforts to address issues, including species misidentification and invalid synonyms, still have to be made to enhance taxonomic research. Research needs to be conducted to investigate another 50,000 species out of the estimated 100,000 indigenous species on the Korean Peninsula.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.81-91
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• 2021

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea did not have direct legislation on natural environmental conservation until the early 1970s when the regime was still in the early stage. The Law on Land was enacted in 1977 to provide the legal basis for protecting the natural environment, including land protection, protection zones, and forest formation and protection. The enactment of the Law on Environmental Protection in 1986 made progress on environmental conservation in the DPRK. The constitutional amendment in 1992 stipulated "the preservation and creation of the natural environment as the responsibility of the state." Based on the Framework Law on Environmental Protection, subordinate statutes in various fields were enacted after the1990s. While the committee designated and managed the protected zones in the early days, the Framework Law on Environmental Protection established the ground for the designation of legally protected areas, and the Law on Protection of Scenic Spots and Natural Monuments enacted in 1995, and the Law on Environmental Protection enacted in 2009 provided the details. Furthermore, the types of nature reserves include biosphere reserves, primeval forest reserves, animal reserves, plant reserves, and scenic reserves. The 2nd National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan established in 2007 based on the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD) stated 326 protected zones in the DPRK. However, the 2018 United Nations list of Protected Areas shows only 31 registered zones, indicating the need to establish basic information on protected areas in DPRK. This study can provide basic information for a better understanding of the nature conservation system in the DPRK. Considering that environmental protection activities such as protection of endangered species and recovery of environmental pollution are subject to exceptions under the current sanctions against North Korea (UN Security Council, the United States), it will be possible to contribute to identifying possible inter-Korean cooperation projects in the field of the natural environment.