• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.377-389
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• 2010

Understanding the factors relevant to endangerment and the patterns of habitat locations in relation to protected areas is critically important for the conservation of rare species. Although 64 plant species have recently been listed as endangered species in Korea, this information has, until now, not been available, making appropriate management and conservation strategies impossible to devise. Thus, we collected information on potentially threatening factors, as well as information on the locations in which these species were observed. The potentially threatening factors were classified into seven categories. National parks, provincial parks, ecosystem conservation areas, and wetland conservation areas were defined as protected conservation areas. Korean digital elevation model data, along with the maps of all protected areas were combined with the maps of endangered plant species, and analyzed via Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Excluding the category of "small population", endangered plant species in Korea were associated more frequently with extrinsic factors than intrinsic factors. Considering land surface only, all conservation areas in Korea totaled 4.9% of the land, far lower than International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)'s 10% coverage target. At the species level, 69% of the endangered plant species were detected in conservation areas, mostly in national parks. However, this result demonstrates that 31% of endangered species inhabit areas outside the conservation zones. Furthermore, at the habitat level, a large proportion of endangered species were found to reside in unprotected areas, revealing "gaps" in protected land. In the face of rapid environmental changes such as population increases, urbanization, and climate changes, converting these gap areas to endangered species' habitats, or at least including them in habitat networks, will help to perpetuate the existence of endangered species.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.33 no.4 s.111
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• pp.108-118
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• 2005

While the recent lift of restrictions in greenbelt areas is expected to generate a number of development plans, there are efforts to create various development plans into spatial plans that consider the natural and ecological conditions of development sites. However, these development plans consider Degree of Green Naturality or Degree of Ecology only when designating areas for conservation within development sites. It is true that they don't fully reflect the value of green areas and wetlands as habitats and natural resources. Therefore, this study built an conservation value assessment model that is applicable to sites where development is planned in Korea by reviewing prior case examples md studies and applied the developed model to a case study area. The site where the conservation value assessment model was applied to is an area around Yongsan-ri and Suha-ri, Doam-myon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon province where quality natural resources are located in and wend the site. This is a site for the development of Alpensia Resort where a resort including facilities for the Winter Olympics is planned to be introduced. In order to assess the conservation value of the site for Alpensia Resort, a total of eight items including area, distribution of communities, habitation of species with conservation value, functions of habitats, connectivity of habitats, vegetation layers of forests, age of forests, and ratio of non-native plants were studied through literature review and field surveys. The assessment was made by dividing the site into 95 habitats that are perceived by aerial photographs and each habitat unit was assessed on the eight items in a 3-point scale. Each unit habitat assessed in a 3-point scale was segmented into primary, secondary or tertiary areas based on the conservation value. Habitats assessed as primary were designated as priority (absolute) conservation areas and those assessed as secondary and tertiary were set as secondary conservation areas and tertiary conservation areas, respectively. As a result, each area represented 26.9%, 20% and 3% of total site area. Based on this result, habitat management plans were developed to conserve primary conservation areas, improve secondary conservation areas and restore tertiary conservation areas. In addition, a development plan was developed to create habitats in areas where new habitats are requested in order to build an eco-network in the site and a plan to create eco-corridors was proposed. In developing a land use plan for the site, a development plan that considers conservation areas first should be set up based on the outcome of conservation value assessment. This can be linked to the development of an environment-friendly land use plan as well as easing the establishment of a green area and eco-network. This study will facilitate the implementation of the 'conservation before development' principle, which can prevent reckless development, by assessing conservation value in setting up development plans.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.26-38
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• 2006

For both a healthy environment and sustainable development, we frame a habitat assessment method, concerning biodiversity and physical characteristics. With the method, we set up and extract conservation areas from Peace Valley Resort Development Areas which can function as habitats. Absolute and relative assessment items which are the size of area, habitation of species with conservation value, distribution of communities, functions of habitats, ratio of non-native plants, connectivity of habitats, vegetation layers of forests and age of forests, and water systems are considered on newly extracted conservation areas, and the habitat value assessment was calculated on the items in a 3-point scale. By comparing and examining 3 existing proposals for extracted conservation areas, we assess existing proposals, make an alternative proposal, and try to verify the possibility of applicability to extracted conservation areas. Proposal A and C must not be adopted since almost all conservation areas would be developed in the proposals. Proposal B, consisting of 53% development areas and 47% non-development areas, does not have enough development areas, so high density building arrangements should be encouraged in order to preserve conservation areas. Therefore, proposal B would be the best in ecological terms among the 3 proposals, if 3 conditions are considered : 1) new extracted conservation areas should be conserved; 2) 10~15m wide green-zones on both sides of the water system, which can play a role as ecological corridors, should be considered in development areas; 3) building arrangement should not interrupt the ecological corridors.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.1-12
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• 2010

This study aims at analyzing the development status of surroundings of natural environment conservation areas and securing an adequate distance from development activities to conserve natural environment conservation areas efficiently or developing an improvement plan for setting conservation areas. Findings from the study shows that 1) rather than simply designating a legal natural environment conservation area, a conceptual scope approach of a "core area", "buffer area", and "transition area" such as in zoning of a "biosphere reserve" by UNESCO is recommended; 2) when setting an adequate range in a natural environment conservation area, it should be set by fully considering locational situation and the regional and environmental features of surroundings rather than setting a certain distance uniformly; 3) instead of designating wetlands only as a conservation area, entry and exit areas should be also included as buffer areas and in the case of wild animals, not only habitats but also feeding areas should be designated as conservation areas; and 4) an adequate horizontal separation space is important in the case of ground development, but for natural resources related to subterranean water and geological situation such as wetlands, an adequate vertical separation space should be fully considered.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.329-341
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• 2023

We surveyed the vegetation of an ecological landscape preservation area (legally protected conservation areas or national parks) and the surrounding areas of Mt. Cheonggye, Republic of Korea, to explore the conservation implications for preservation areas and surrounding transition areas. We calculated diversity indices to identify the properties of the preservation and surrounding areas that are relevant to conservation efforts. We then compared the plant community composition between the areas using field and quadrat surveys in the preservation and surrounding areas. The cover of the dominant species in all tree and herb layers was markedly higher in the preservation area than in the peripheral zones. The species richness indices were significantly higher in the preservation area than in the peripheral zones. Ordination using detrended canonical correspondence analyses showed that the cover of the dominant tree species and rocks could explain the distribution of plant species in the Cartesian space of the ordination. Our results demonstrate that physiognomically designated protected areas match well with ecological data based on diversity indices and ordination analyses and that disturbances in the areas surrounding the ecological landscape of preservation areas can have considerable impacts on plant diversity indices. Hence, the preservation and management of surrounding areas are essential conservation elements for protecting the entire ecological landscape of preservation areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.163-175
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• 2012

In spite of the ecological value of the DMZ, there have not been established guidelines for sustainable conservation and use on the DMZ and adjacent area. In this study we suggested a method about zoning the conservation and utilization area considering environmental data and the characteristic of the DMZ region, and we make the guideline for conservation of the DMZ region based on the zone. Using 10 legal protection areas, the Environmental Conservation Value Assessment Map (ECVAM) and the boundaries of the DMZ region, we evaluated this region into conservation areas, management areas, and utilization areas. The results showed that as much as 91.8% of the DMZ region was evaluated as conservation areas, 6.9% as management areas, and 1.3% as utilization areas. After consultation with experts we suggested management principles, the direction, and the guideline based on the planning process considering the evaluation map. The study suggests principles and guidelines for management, and the guidelines could be a effective tool for the sustainable conservation and management strategy of DMZ region.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.65-80
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• 2019

The Wetland Conservation Plan is used as a tool to set the management direction of wetland protected areas, and which is establishing a plan for the conservation, wise-use, and management based on wetland's condition. This study was conducted to establish a conservation plan considering the functions and management conditions of Upo wetland protected area. To this end, there are analyzed the current issues, plans and implementation status of Upo Wetland Conservation Plans in the past. The management elements to be considered in establishing the Wetland Conservation Plan were selected through prior research analysis and the priority of those elements was identified through the AHP. As a result, it was found that lack of considering the changes and performance evaluation of the existing plans in wetlands, conducting short-term projects related to maintenance original function of wetland, different management methods for wetland protected areas and other adjacent areas, lack of understanding and cooperation by stakeholders, inconsistencies in timing of the Conservation Plan and survey of wetland protected areas. In order to improve the problem, it needs to include the performance evaluation stage of establishing the conservation plan, strengthen cooperation of stakeholders and expertise, continuing of projects for wetlands' maintenance, priority of the project considering the management side, and to adjust the timing of plans to improve data availability.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.193-203
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• 2021

As endangered species are gradually increasing due to land development by humans, it is essential to secure sufficient protected areas (PAs) proactively. Therefore, this study checked priority conservation areas to select candidate PAs when considering the impact of land development. We determined the conservation priorities by analyzing four scenarios based on existing conservation areas and reflecting the development impact using MARXAN, the decision-making support software for the conservation plan. The development impact was derived using the developed area ratio, population density, road network system, and traffic volume. The conservation areas of endangered species were derived using the data of the appearance points of birds, mammals, and herptiles from the 3rd National Ecosystem Survey. These two factors were used as input data to map conservation priority areas with the machine learning-based optimization methodology. The result identified many non-PAs areas that were expected to play an important role conserving endangered species. When considering the land development impact, it was found that the areas with priority for conservation were fragmented. Even when both the development impact and existing PAs were considered, the priority was higher in areas from the current PAs because many road developments had already been completed around the current PAs. Therefore, it is necessary to consider areas other than the current PAs to protect endangered species and seek alternative measures to fragmented conservation priority areas.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.43-58
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• 2017

This study aims to provide basic understanding for evaluating the quantitative and qualitative progress of national protected areas, through the theoretical review of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 in order to comply with recommendations of international community and to conserve biodiversity. As a result of the study, Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 sets out the specific contents that the Parties should achieve for protected areas by identifying them as temporal and spatial goals. The temporal goal, the time schedule for achieving the goal, is 2020, and the spatial goal is divided into quantitative expansion goals and qualitative improvement goals. The quantitative expansion goals present the target coverage of protected areas separately terrestrial and marine. The qualitative improvement goals include the target areas for conservation and five conservation considerations. The conservation targets focus on the important areas with regard to biodiversity and ecosystem services. The five conservation considerations mean effective management, equitable management, ecological representativeness, connectivity, and integration into the landscape and seascape for protected areas. Finally, it suggests that two tracks of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures(OECMs) should be used as conservation measures to build an integrated system. The results of this study can be applied to quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods for protected areas and it can contribute to achieve quantitative expansion goals and qualitative improvement goals for them.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.30-38
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• 1998

Nowaday special attention is being paid to the conservation of all species or ecosystmes of sites for public projects. Many environmental conservation policies and projects in Japan emphasize the coexistence of man with nature and close contact with nature. The objectives of this study was to investigate policies and projects for the creation of areas for the close contact with nature in Japan, to characterize change of techniques for the space creation over times, and to classify those policies and projects implemented by many government agencies. This study was mainly carried out by literature survey of laws, policies and projects related to environmental conservation pertinent to national scale. Major findings of this study can be summarized as follows: First, two most significant turning points for the environmental conservation in Japan were the establishment of the Office of Environmental in 1971 and the enactment of many laws influenced by the awareness of global environmental problems since 1990. Second, polices and projects for the creation of areas for the close contact with nature started in 1960s by the Office of Forestry, and focused on planting and development of simple facilities in forests. And the conservation of natural environment, ecological restoration and the expansion of urban green spaces, and the creation of biotopes and other areas for the close contact with nature in urban areas were the major characteristics of environmental conservation in Japan during 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, respectively.