• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.33-50
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• 2023

This study is to propose the ecosystem service valuation method as a complementary or alternative tool to overcome the limitations of the contingent valuation method(CVM), typically used to assess social benefits in preliminary feasibility studies. With an increasing interest in natural and environmental restoration projects, we assessed social benefits with theses CVM and ecosystem service valuation method from a case of Janghang wetland restoration project and compared the extent of the two social benefits. For quantitative evaluation of ecosystem services, the biophysical quantity for each ecosystem service indicator was calculated and then converted into currency (KRW) units to estimate the economic value of ecosystem services. The four ecosystem regulating service indicators were selected including greenhouse gas capture/storage, air pollution, water quantity and quality regulation. The amounts of CO₂ sequestration and storage as a ecosystem's greenhouse gas regulating service in the study area were 73.04 tCO₂/yr and 5,867.53 tCO₂/yr respectively. The reduction of SO₂, one of air pollutant gases by ecosystems was calculated to be 180.27 kg/yr, the reduction of NO₂ to be 378.90 kg/yr, and the reduction of fine dust (PM10) to be 9,713.92 kg/yr. The amount of freshwater regulating service by the ecosystem was estimated to be 459,394,319ℓ/yr, and the amount of nitrogen in freshwater removed by the ecosystem was 78.00kg/yr. Study results show that the benefits derived from the CVM were KRW 227.8 billion over the 30-year analysis period and those from the ecosystem service valuation method were KRW 41.4 billion for regulatory services and KRW 148.8 billion for cultural services, totaling KRW 189.5 billion. With KRW 184.8 billion of the total costs, the benefit/cost ratio using the CVM was 1.23 and that with the ecosystem service valuation method was 1.03. This study implications include that the CVM and ecosystem service valuation method can be applied together to assess and compare social benefits for natural and environmental restoration projects.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.243-252
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• 2006

The emergy concept was used to valuate the contributions of a tidal flat ecosystem included in the fourth stage reclamation plan for the Youngsan River area to the Korean economy. Emergy contributions of the ecosystem were compared with those of economic valuations performed on the same ecosystem. The tidal flat ecosystem contributed 3.55 million EmW/ha annually. This, however, cannot be compared directly with those of the economic valuations because both methodologies approach the valuation of ecosystems in different perspectives. The emergy methodology is a donor-based valuation in which what goes into making a product or service is measured, while the economic valuation is a receiver-based approach in which human receivers determine the value of an ecosystem product or service. An emergy valuation was conducted for the three ecosystem functions included in the economic valuations to compare the results of both methodologies on the same basis. Fishery production and pollutants removal contributed 9.86 million EmW/ha/yr and 0.88 million EmW/ha/yr, respective1y. The conservation value of the tidal flat ecosystem was 3.55 million EmW/ha/yr. Overall, the emergy valuation that try to include works of both human and nature on the same basis resulted in higher economic contribution of the tidal flat ecosystem than that calculated by the economic methodologies in which only human works are measured based on the willingness-to-pay of people. This study showed that the emergy concept could provide an alternative tool for policy decision-making regarding utilization and conservation of ecosystems by approaching the ecosystem valuation from a different perspective than that of economic methodologies.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.106-106
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• 2018

Ecosystem service valuation is a crucial step for the sustainable management of watershed. In the context of various ecosystem services provided by watershed, this study, particularly deals with water yield computation in Bagmati Basin of Nepal. The water availability per population in Bagmati Basin is lowest compared to other basins in Nepal. Also, the rate of urbanization is rapidly growing over a decade. In this regard, the objectives of this study are 1) to compute the total water yield of the basin along with computation on a sub-watershed scale, and 2) Study the impacts of land use change on water yield based on CLUE-S model. For the study, Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST), a popular model for ecosystem service assessment based on Budyko hydrological method is used to compute water yield. As well, CLUE-S model is used to study land use change, which is further related to study variation on water yield. The sub-watershed wise outcome of the study is expected to provide the guidelines for the effective and economic management of a watershed on a regional scale.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2019.05a
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• pp.148-148
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• 2019

The 2006 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) defines ecosystem services (ES) as "the benefits people obtain from ecosystems". Identifying where ES originates, whom it benefits and how it is changing over a period of time is critical in rapidly developing country like Nepal, where the risk of ES loss is high. In the context of various ecosystem services provided by watershed, this study, particularly deals with water yield, Soil loss and Carbon sequestration computation and evaluation in Bagmati Basin of Nepal. As Bagmati Basin incorporates capital city Kathmandu of nepal, land use change is significant over decades and mapping of ES is crucial for sustainable development of Basin in future. In this regard, the objectives of this study are 1) To compute the total and sub-watershed scale water yield of the basin, 2) Computation of soil loss and sediment retention in the basin, and 3) Computation of carbon sequestration in the basin. Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST), a popular model for ecosystem service assessment based on Budyko hydrological method is used to compute Ecosystem services. The scenario of ES in two periods of time can be referenced for various approaches of prioritization and incorporation of their value into local and regional decision making for management of basin.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.240-245
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• 2017

In this study, we developed a method to assess quantitatively the amount and the economic value of water quality regulating service of ecosystem services. Numbers of species and aquatic organisms such as fish increased because of the improved water, but it was due to complex factors such as water quality regulation services of ecosystems, installation of environmental facilities for water quality treatment, and water quality regulation. Therefore we sought ways to quantitatively estimate the value of ecosystem regulation services. In this study, we propose a method to estimate the quantitative value of water quality regulation service of ecosystem by utilizing the total amount of water pollution. In addition, the economic value evaluation method was proposed by multiplying the estimated the quantitative value of water quality regulation service of ecosystem by the unit cost per unit capacity. Finally, the ecosystem water quality regulation service was estimated by using the evaluation method for BOD and T-P in Nakdong river watershed.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.17-35
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• 2018

This study is to evaluate economic value of the ecosystem service benefits of the marine forests provided to our society on the basis of the global standard valuation manual. The main results of this study are summarized as follows: First, the ecosystem service benefits of marine forests are worth 771,121,551 won per hectare for a year in Korea. Second, when evaluating value based on the services benefits of the marine forests, as resource provisioning service, the annual value of the fishery potential production amounts to 58,512,271 won per hectare. The annual value of the environmental and regulatory services is estimated to total 29,574,000 won per hectare including 546,488 won per hectare for climate regulation, 85,342 won per hectare for pollution purification, and 28,942,170 won per hectare for erosion protection. The annual value of the culture and tourinsm services is estimated to total 15,317,647 won per hectare including 5,011,765 won per hectare for skin scuba service and 10,305,882 won per hectare for sea fishing. Also, the aunnual non-use value is estimate to 637,800,000 won per hectare. Third, assuming that the value of the sea forests increases proportionally to the unit area, the marine forests can be valued at 12.7 trillion won per year based on 12,208.2 hectares of marine forests creation area and 4,272.6 hectares of natural seaweed beds. Fourth, the total economic value of the marine forests can be estimated at 244 trillion won in 2016, if the value of the marine forests permanently continues in the future by applying 5.5% of the social discount rate. The results of this study are expected to serve as a valuable information for improving awareness of the value of marine forests ecosystem and ensuring the validity of the marine forests creation policy by converting the value of the marine forests's ecosystem service into monetary units.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

In South Korea, the conflict between development and conservation policy still exist among government ministries, and conventional development plan often has priority over conservation policy. Establishment of sustainable development and comprehensive management policy employing the results of ecosystem service studies are highly warranted, but researchers in South Korea are still limited and often misuse the concept of ecosystem services. Thus, we aimed to introduce the concept of Ecosystem Service (ES) and related terminologies such as Social-Ecological Systems (SESs), ecosystem function, trade-off, and human well-being in this paper. Additionally, this article reviewed and arranged key approaches in ES studies as follows: 1) field works, 2) mapping ecosystem services, 3) valuing ES, 4) quantifying trade-offs between ES and 5) understanding SESs. Based on those results, we suggest that field works for basic information have the first priority to be conducted among ES studies. Once basic information is sufficiently accumulated, researchers can perform applied ES research with accuracy. Finally, results of ES studies conducted by five approaches allow decision makers to consider both natural system and society simultaneously, and hence the results can be utilized for sustainable development and conservation policy based on ecosystem-based management.

• Asian Journal of Innovation and Policy
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.277-303
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• 2023

The importance of ecosystem service such as green spaces has risen due to restrictions on outdoor activities amid the climate crisis and COVID-19. While gardens significantly impact economic development, quality of life, and social well-being, comprehensive studies on their multidimensional values are lacking. This research categorizes garden values into social, cultural, environmental, and health dimensions and proposes an integrated assessment framework that introduces detailed elements and evaluation methods. An empirical assessment of carbon storage index in two Korean gardens, Semiwon and Juknokwon, reveals Semiwon's higher carbon storage per unit area. The proposed framework, emphasizing a quantitative approach, enables cross-national and regional comparisons, contributing to a broader understanding and evaluation of garden values beyond specific facilities.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.615-625
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• 2011

As United Nation (UN) declared 2010 to be the International Year of Biodiversity, the biodiversity issue has gained much attention since the issue of climate changes. Also, related researches for protecting and conserving the biodiversity are accompanied in the world. In this study, National Ecology Information is obtained from Ministry of Environment and Korea Forest Service and is utilized to valuate biodiversity and ecosystem services in Pyeongchang, Kangwon-do in Korea. For this, they are categorized into direct- or indirect-use value and nonuse value. Research results show that the biodiversity and ecosystem services in Pyeongchang are assessed as 2 trillion and 460 billion won. From this research, we evaluate the economic value of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and also suggest the possibility to utilize them as basic information for a decision making to establish the biodiversity protection plan.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.203-213
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• 2014

In Korea, a cooperation charge on conservation of ecosystem is imposed to prevent indiscriminate development. The total amount of this charge is determined by multiplying the size of the destroyed area by a value per unit area and the area index within 5 billion won. Since 2001, the charge per unit area has been determined to be $250won/m^2$. In this study, we estimated the unit value of ecosystem services per year using benefit transfer method, with a focus on forest resources. According to our results, forest resources have a value of about $3,500won/m^2$ per year. When the non-use value is subtracted, that figure becomes approximately $1,300won/m^2$. If this value incorporates the unit value of the cooperation charge on conservation of ecosystem, it will increase. To comply with the original intent of the cooperation charge on conservation of ecosystem, the fund must be used to improve ecosystem services, including the restoration of a destroyed area or the purchase of new land.