• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.335-343
• /
• 2017

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an important policy implemented before starting development projects to estimate and reduce environmental impact. However, the difficulty of quantification on several rating categories has hampered comprehensive analysis. Instead of it, the current EIA just summarizes outcome of investigation. Therefore, EIA fails to definitively ascertain whether the development shold be approved or not. This study aimed at providing the way to comprehensive decision-making by applying Emergy analysis and Emergy indicators to EIA. Production (P), Emergy Yield Ratio (EYR), Environmental Loading Ratio (ELR) and Emergy Sustainability Index (ESI) were selected for indicators. The indicators of range approving the development were set up with comparing before and after development or according to circumstances of which view of average that was classified as region or industry is appropriate to analysis. As a result, the value after development of P should be higher than the value before development. EYR and ESI of the value before development should be higher than region or industry average. On the contrary to these, ELR of the value after development should be lower than region or industry average. To verify applying Emergy indicators to EIA comprehensive analysis, Emergy evaluation was conducted to real case. As a result, applying Emergy analysis could suggest whether the development is appropriate or not. These indices and the result of this research are expected to be applied decision-making on environmental impact for sustainable development.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.26 no.9
• /
• pp.1087-1099
• /
• 2017

Emergy methodology was used to analyze the biophysical basis of Korean agriculture and assess its sustainablility. Total yearly emergy input into Korean agriculture was $7.72{\times}10^{22}sej/yr$ in 2013. Purchased inputs were the dominant emergy source, accounting for 90.1% ($6.95{\times}10^{22}sej/yr$) of the annual input. This clearly indicates that the Korean agriculture is a modern, industrialized system that depends mostly on market goods and services derived from nonrenewable resources. The monetary equivalent of the total emergy input was 18.9 trillion \/yr, 1.5 times greater than the total production cost from farm expense surveys. Emergy return on investment of Korean agriculture was low, with an emergy yield ratio of 1.11. Korean agriculture appears to exert pressure on the environment as revealed by the high environmental loading ratio of 9.30. With very low emergy input from renewable sources (9.7%) and high environmental pressure, Korean agriculture is not sustainable, with an emergy sustainability index of 0.12. This study suggests that higher use efficiency of and lower dependence on nonrenewable purchased inputs need to be prioritized in an effort to enhance the sustainability of Korean agriculture.

• Journal of Korean Society of Rural Planning
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.35-43
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study is to analyze emergy flows of rice for evaluating the value of rice production and sustainability. Emergy analysis evaluates the sustainability of systems or processes considering all the inputs to make a product or a sevice. In this study, we analyzed the emergy flows and indices of rice productionand compared the regional emergy values using statisticcal analysis: input materials, hours per unit area(10a), and production costs. As the results, we found that the rates of external investment (EIR= 18.87) and environmental loading (ELR=21.7) are significantly high during the rice cultivation. However, emergy yield ratio(EYR) shows that rice is a valuable resource because EYR is 5.12 and environmental Sustainability IndexSI value is as low as 0.24 and it shows rice has low sustainability. This study also shows that Chungcheongnam-do has the highest SI value for rice production due to low environmental loading and abundant natural energy during rice cultivation. These results of rice emergy flows and sustainability assessments could provide a way of sustainable rice cultivation with decrease of environmental loading from fertilizer.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
• /
• v.26 no.6
• /
• pp.117-133
• /
• 2023

This study assessed the ecological health of border areas using the ecological health index and suggested Indicators for maintaining and promoting ecological values. We analyzed the change trends, pressures, and resilience of ecosystems and services in border areas, and identified their current status and sustainability. The main findings were: (1) ecological assets and ecosystem services in border areas could be compared through ecosystem health assessment; (2) it can be used to set priorities for management and conservation by identifying the relative importance and vulnerability of ecosystems and ecosystem services in each border area; and (3) the index presented in this study can be judged to have explanatory power for the characteristics of border areas and ecosystem health when compared to previous studies. Limitations of this study include the lack of literature and statistical data at the local government level and the resulting limited application of evaluation methods, which limited direct regional comparisons. To overcome the research limitations, further studies are needed, such as establishing ecological information in border areas, mapping and assessment of ecosystem services, and developing and applying assessments that reflect the opinions and participation of various stakeholders. This study was the first attempt to assess the health of ecosystems and ecosystem services in border areas and provided an important baseline for future changes in border areas. In the future, it will be helpful in national and local government policies and ecological assetecosystem management by supplementing insufficient information and presenting clear goals.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
• /
• v.8 no.5
• /
• pp.677-684
• /
• 2022

This study is a basic study to evaluate the ecological environment of Changwon City. The study site was 6 ecotourism districts in Changwon-si, and the ecotourism index was evaluated through direct visits and interviews with the person in charge through preliminary research and various literature data from June to July 2021. There are six ecotourism indicators: climate crisis, air quality improvement, water conservation, natural coexistence, citizen participation, and tourism resource management. When looking at the scores for the six ecotourism areas in Changwon, it received the highest score in the areas of natural coexistence and air quality improvement. However, the ecoregion received the lowest score in the water resource conservation category, indicating that the water resource conservation as a whole was weak. Next, tourism resource management, climate crisis, and citizen participation are at the same level in all regions. As a result of the evaluation through the low-carbon ecotourism index, the Changwon City low-carbon ecotourism certification system should first be operated as a measure to revitalize the ecotourism region. It is necessary to prepare a low-carbon ecotourism level for Changwon City. Second, it is very important to guide and promote ecotourism areas to revitalize ecotourism areas. Lastly, to operate a sustainable eco-environment area, it is necessary to operate using local governance above all else.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.56 no.4
• /
• pp.462-472
• /
• 2023

We investigated the physio-chemical and geochemical parameters in the spraying shellfish aquacultures (Yeoja and Gangjin Bay) to establish the systematic strategy for effective environmental management. Spatial variation of each parameter showed partially significant difference (P<0.05) between Yeoja and Ganjin Bay, inferring the discriminative progress (i.e., accumulation and degradation) of the autochthonous organic matter within the aquaculture environments. We additionally integrated various properties (e.g., water/sediment quality, natural hazard, and biological health) which may affect the biological growth within the aquaculture habitats based on the biogeochemical cycles related to environmental components and aquaculture species. We used a screening approach (i.e., one out-all out; OOAO) which can permit the assessment of the health levels of aquaculture species, the scoring for other parameters (seawater, sediment, and natural hazard) as three levels (excellent, moderate and poor) depending on the complex interactive properties occurring in the aquaculture environments. Actual, discriminative scores obtained via our case studies may confirm that these stepwise processes are effectively evaluated for optimal health conditions within the aquaculture habitats. Thus, this approach may provide valuable insights for effective environmental management and sustainable growth of aquaculture operation.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.45-59
• /
• 2023

This study aims to find implications for the introduction and practice of ESG by domestic fashion companies by examining the core ESG topics and strategies of Samsung C&T Fashion Division, Kolon FnC, F&F holdings, and Fila. ESG management analysis examined the importance of the criticality evaluation process, critical issues, and implementation strategies for each key topic based on the company's 2021 ESG sustainable management report, and analyzed the relationship with UN SDGs and the GRI. The analysis results are as follows: As for KCGS' ESG rating, Samsung C&T's fashion division, Kolon FnC, and Fila Holdings were rated A, while F&F Holdings was rated B+. The major issues derived from ESG's criticality assessment are environmental issues related to Samsung C&T's fashion division. Kolon FnC was found to have focused on the social sector and F&F Holdings focused on governance structure. After examining the correlation between the ESG core strategies of the investigated fashion companies and the 17 SDGs, the common areas were identified as quality employment, sustainable production and consumption, and climate changes and response. Correlation with the GRI Standards 2021 Index, (GRI 1, GRI 11, and GRI 12 created in 2021) was not reflected. In the future, it will be necessary to have a transparent governance structure that meets global standards, sets measurable goals, and continuously manages them. Other companies should also recognize ESG management processes that embrace various stakeholders and strengthens win-win cooperation to manage risks, and establish mid- to long-term response strategies.

• Journal of the Korea Organic Resources Recycling Association
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.11-19
• /
• 2014

A study on combustion characteristic and evaluation of cost benefit were carried out using dried sewage sludge to evaluate co-combustion with coal in a coal-fired power plant. In the result of proximate analysis, sewage sludge has 78.09%, 79.65% of moisture content in A STP(Sewage Treatment Plant) and B STP, respectively. The dried sewage sludges show 0.12, 0.14 of fuel ratio value, respectively and over 30,000kcal/kg of combustible index. It means that the dried sewage sludges needs to reform from the results of fuel ratio and combustible index. As a results of the economical benefit evaluation of dried sewage sludge, about 73.4 million won through using the dried sewage sludges instead of coal and 56.4 million won through REC(Renewable Energy Certificate) cost were saved, respectively. On the other hand, it occurs 4.2 million won of additional cost related to ash disposal and 2.6 million won of investment/operation cost for co-combustion facility. In conclusion, co-combustion of dried sewage sludges with coal in a coal-fired power plant saves about 123 million won. However, it needs to consider for power supply to produce dried sewage sludges and opportunity cost for environmental pollution and so on to evaluate more reasonable benefit of co-combustion.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.835-842
• /
• 2022

Several countries are establishing management systems for aquaculture environment, and fishery environment assessment is one of them. The fishery management law amended in 2013 stipulates that a fishery environment assessment should be performed when a fish cage farm's license is extended. The purpose of the fishery environment assessment is to promote sustainable fishery, increase the fishery production capacity, and increase the fishermen incoming by implementing evaluation and improvement measures through scientific methods. The analysis items of fishery environment assessment include the Benthic Health Index (BHI), which is a biological index based on the macrobenthic polychaetes community, and total organic carbon (TOC), and the two items are scored and used for evaluation as a single grade. This study explains the selection process of BHI and TOC, which are evaluation items for fishing ground, and ecological significance of the calculated evaluation grades.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.239-247
• /
• 2023

As an industry that serves as a greater catalyst for social and cultural exchange than any other industry, the tourism industry has a strong responsibility toward sustainable management in economic, social, and environmental respects. However, there is a low level of awareness for ESG(environmental, social, governance), and as of now, only companies whose parent company is a large corporation are interested in ESG. Moreover, tourism companies taking part in ESG only focus on the environmental field of ESG. Thus, the present study attempted to understand the current status of ESG research in the tourism field and, based on this understanding, offer a field of research urgently in need. Based on the research results, the study found that awareness studies on the type of ESG management that stakeholder groups take into consideration must take place in advance in order to understand and develop ESG for the tourism industry. Additionally, ESG evaluation variables that reflect the characteristics of the tourism industry must be developed. Lastly, strategies and techniques that objectively disclose ESG management activities are necessary based on a disclosure strategy presented by GRI(Global Reporting Initiative).