• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.219-228
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• 2019

The forest of the Huaphanh Province (HP) has continued to decrease at 0.6% (10,560 ha) per year from 1992 to 2010. In the past few decades, the government of Laos and the Huaphanh Provincial Authority have been trying to address the root causes of deforestation. This study attempts to examine the factors effecting the decrease of the forest cover in the HP by analyzing the influence of the local socio-economic development and implementation of forest management policies on changes in the forest cover. The social data of the province focused on population growth and distribution between urban and rural areas including the number of poor people and the economic growth of three sectors, namely agriculture and forestry, industry, and service, while the implementation of the state forest management policy focused on the state forest management plan, tree plantation, forest land use planning and allocation to households, and shifting cultivation including annual upland rice and maize cultivation. In addition, government reports on socio-economic and rural development including poverty eradication of other provinces, where an increase in the forest cover was observed, were also collected and analyzed using qualitative and comparative analysis. The results from this study indicate that the decrease in forest cover in the Huaphanh Province appears to depend on a very slow economic growth and reduction in rural poverty of the province. The increase in the rural population in the province led to an increase in farm households and are as for shifting cultivation. As a result, forests were cleared leading to a decrease in the forest cover.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.492-498
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• 2021

This study examined how the emissions of pollutants affect the volume of traffic of freight vehicles in the transport sector. Multiple regression analysis was conducted considering several variables, including population by region, area of urban district, GDP, and the number of businesses by industry, e.g., agriculture, forestry, fishery, manufacturing, wholesale, and retail. These variables differ according to the characteristics of the freight vehicles (industry, by the ton). Therefore, it is essential to fully consider the volume of traffic of the specific freight vehicles by region before implementing relevant programs and policies, such as specific restrictions on the operation of vehicles. Some specific areas, in which logistic centers are located have heavy freight traffic, and these centers deserve extra consideration. Thus, in this study, different regional factors that affect the traffic of freight vehicles should be considered before determining the areas that will be subject to restrictions on the operation of these vehicles.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.17-28
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• 2022

We evaluated the effect of CO₂ offsetting by estimating changes in carbon uptake under various forest management scenarios and proposed forest management strategies to achieve carbon neutrality. Paju and Goseong, which have relatively large forest areas but different industrial characteristics, were selected for the study sites. The current state of forest distribution was analyzed using forest type maps and aerial photographs, and the amount of carbon uptake was calculated using the equation presented by the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories and the national emission/absorption coefficients from the Korea National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report. As of 2015, the forest carbon absorption in Paju and Goseong was 49,931 t/yr and 94,225 t/yr, respectively, and the annual carbon absorption per unit area was 2.28 t/ha/yr and 2.16 t/ha/yr. Under the forest management scenarios, the annual maximum carbon absorption per unit area is estimated to increase to 5.68 t/ha/yr in Paju and 4.22 t/ha/yr in Goseong, and this absorption would increase further if urban forests were additionally created. Even if the current forests of Paju and Goseong are maintained as they are, emissions from electricity use can be sufficiently offset. However, by applying appropriate forest management strategies, emissions from sectors other than electricity use could be offset. This study can be applied to the establishment of carbon absorption strategies in the forest sector to achieve carbon neutrality.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.707-718
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• 2021

Background and objective: Due to the recent crisis of extinction in local areas, the mountain village promotion policy is recognized as an important task. This study examined the priorities of major policy projects in the forest sector that affect mountain village promotion. Methods: For research methods, literature search, expert advisory meetings, and a survey were conducted. The survey was conducted on 42 policy stakeholders from June 1 to August 13, 2021. The literature search was based on policy projects in the forest sector by 8 upper-level local governments including mountain villages. For questionnaire items, 173 forest policy projects were classified into 27 types through expert review, and the importance and performance of each type were rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Paired t-test, IPA, Locus for Focus model, and Borich needs assessment were used as the analysis methods, and the statistical program SPSS 21.0 was used as the analytical tool. Results: The results showed that 'creating forest-related jobs' and 'supporting cultivation of professional forestry workers' both showed high importance and performance, implying that they would show an effect in mountain village promotion. 'Creating forests for environmental improvement', 'discovering forest cultural assets' 'establishing and boosting forest tourism', 'providing forest therapy services', 'creating forest-related jobs', 'supporting community revitalization', and 'urban-rural exchanges' were found to be the types that needed improvement and concentration for mountain village promotion. In particular, 'creating forests for environmental improvement' and 'discovering forest cultural assets' were derived as priority considerations for mountain village promotion policies. Conclusion: In summary, it was found that in order to promote mountain villages, various content projects must be improved and carried out to enhance the physical environment and revitalize mountain villages.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.107-117
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• 2021

Background and objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a forest healing program in terms of depression, neuropsychological and physiological benefits for the elderly. Methods: For this purpose, we developed a forest therapy program for the elderly who are vulnerable to dementia and conducted a total of 11 sessions of forest therapy activities in a forest once a week. We measured the changes in depression, resting-state Electroencephalography(EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV) before and after the program. There were 60 subjects aged over 65 yesrs old. 30 subjects participated in the forest therapy program, and the other were in the control group. The Geriatric Depression Scale was used to measure the level of depression, neuroNicle FX2 (Laxtha, Korea) was used to measure the resting-state EEG, and photoplethymogram (ubpulse T1, Laxtha, Korea) was used to measure the HRV. Results: The results showed that the depression index of the experimental group improved with statistical significance after the program (experiment group = 3.267 decrease of the mean). In the EEG measurement, the alpha-peak frequency at rest (experimental group = 0.227 Hz increase of the mean) was improved (mean increase = 0.23 in the experimental group, p < .05). The high frequency of HRV, which represents the parasympathetic nerve activity of the body's autonomous response, was also significantly improved (mean increase = 0.396 in the experimental group, p < .05). Conclusion: The results suggest that the forest therapy program can reduce the cognitive, psychological and physical risk factors of dementia for the elderly at risk of cognitive decline. Therefore, forest therapy activities may be suitable for the prevention of dementia in the elderly.

• New & Renewable Energy
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.38-53
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• 2022

T Recently, the government has been promoting the expansion and supply of renewable energy as an alternative for achieving carbon neutrality and the nationally determined contributions by 2030. In 2020, the Ministries of Industry and Environment and the Korea Forest Service collaborated to build a nationwide onshore wind energy siting atlas considering wind resources and forestry and environmental regulations focused on central regulations. In this study, the ordinances of the local governments were analyzed to examine the effects of regional location regulations on the expansion of onshore wind power energy generation facilities, in addition to those of central regulations. A development permit standard survey of 226 urban plan ordinances of the local governments nationwide showed that presently in 2022, 52 municipalities are applying regulations on wind energy generation facilities by ordinances. This is twice more than that in 2018, when renewable energy power generation facility development was difficult. Additionally, the location regulations applied by these ordinances were organized by items and regions, and regulatory characteristics, such as the number and scope, were analyzed by regions. To analyze the spatial distribution characteristics, JeollaNamdo was selected as the case area. A spatial DB was established for regulated areas based on the regional and central regulations, and the spatial distribution characteristics and the regulatory scope were compared and analyzed.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.272-275
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• 2009

Carbon finance is the investment in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction projects in developing countries and countries with economies in transition within the framework of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or Joint Implementation (JI) and with creation of financial instruments, i.e., carbon credits, which are tradable in carbon market. The additional revenue generated from carbon credits will increase the bankability of projects by reducing the risks of commercial lending or grant finance. Meantime, it has also demonstrated numerous opportunities for collaborating across sectors, and has served as a catalyst in bringing climate issues to bear in projects relating to rural electrification, renewable energy, energy efficiency, urban infrastructure, waste management, pollution abatement, forestry, and water resource management. Establishing additionality is essential for successful CDM project development. One of the key steps is the investment analysis. As guided by UNFCCC, financial indicators such as IRR, NPV, DSCR etc are most commonly used in both Option II & Option III. However, economic indicator such as Economic Internal Rate of Return(EIRR) are often overlooked in Option III even it might be more suitable for the project. This could be due to the difficulties in economic analysis. Although Asian Development Bank(ADB) has given guidelines in evaluating EIRR, there are still large amount of works have to be carried out in estimating the economic, financial, social and environmental benefits in the host country. This paper will present a case study of a CDM development of a 18 MW hydro power plant with carbon finance option in central Vietnam. The estimation of respective factors in EIRR, such as Willingness to Pay(WTP), shadow price etc, will be addressed with the adjustment to Vietnam local provincial factors. The significance of carbon finance to Vietnam renewable energy development will also be addressed.

• Journal of the Economic Geographical Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.583-599
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• 2022

According to the discussion on the low-density economy in OECD industrial growth in remote area has played a central role in the members'economic recovery from the financial crisis in the mid-2000s. Based on the OECD's low-density economy this study examines the phenomena and spatial characteristics of industrial growth in peripheral areas of Korea. The growth of industries in the peripheral areas shows a similar growth characteristics as cases in the OECD members. Various manufacturing and service sectors as well as traditional sectors such as agriculture, forestry and fishing have grown in the peripheral areas since the mid-2000s. Firms in the peripheral areas form various cooperative networks to overcome the unfavorable regional conditions. The growth of new industries shows the possibility of path-dependent development in the periphery. Based on the results, implications on the policies for supporting the diversification of regional industries, setting flexible regional boundaries for policies, and linking policy sectors are derived.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.205-218
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• 2022

Proper calculation of splitting tensile strength (STS) of concrete has been a crucial task, due to the wide use of concrete in the construction sector. Following many recent studies that have proposed various predictive models for this aim, this study suggests and tests the functionality of three hybrid models in predicting the STS from the characteristics of the mixture components including cement compressive strength, cement tensile strength, curing age, the maximum size of the crushed stone, stone powder content, sand fine modulus, water to binder ratio, and the ratio of sand. A multi-layer perceptron (MLP) neural network incorporates invasive weed optimization (IWO), cuttlefish optimization algorithm (CFOA), and electrostatic discharge algorithm (ESDA) which are among the newest optimization techniques. A dataset from the earlier literature is used for exploring and extrapolating the STS behavior. The results acquired from several accuracy criteria demonstrated a nice learning capability for all three hybrid models viz. IWO-MLP, CFOA-MLP, and ESDA-MLP. Also in the prediction phase, the prediction products were in a promising agreement (above 88%) with experimental results. However, a comparative look revealed the ESDA-MLP as the most accurate predictor. Considering mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) index, the error of ESDA-MLP was 9.05%, while the corresponding value for IWO-MLP and CFOA-MLP was 9.17 and 13.97%, respectively. Since the combination of MLP and ESDA can be an effective tool for optimizing the concrete mixture toward a desirable STS, the last part of this study is dedicated to extracting a predictive formula from this model.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.89 no.5
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• pp.576-584
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• 2000

The term 'greenways' is a fairly new one. The term greenways refer to linear corridors which set aside pieces of nature. The objective of this study was to find out the feasibility of developing greenways in Taegu. Sample of 446 trail users were asked to describe their use patterns and as well as their perceptions of the benefits and problems associated with trails through on-site interviews conducted during the months of July and August of 1999. Trail users in Taegu were predominately male(61%) and over half of the respondents used private vehicle to access to the study areas as compared to 2% of respondents used bicycle. Trail users responded that health & fitness and open space preservation were the two most important benefits, and the provision of trail access to disabled persons was ranked last. As problems at study areas, lack of interpretive information was the biggest problem followed by lack of drinking water, poor trail marking/signs and not enough information. Most(94.1%) of the trail users surveyed indicated that they would support greenways development and 96.8% of respondent would use after greenways development. Willingness to pay for developing greenways was assessed with hypothetical scenario. Average willingness to pay in the survey was 10,200 won as a tax. The development/application of greenways in Taegu would work best when establish a network of trails with environmentally sensitive manner.