Amid growing concerns about worsening fine dust, the Korea Forest Service is making efforts to provide more green spaces by creating forests in cities as part of measures to tackle the environmental problem.
Under plans to reduce fine dust and build green infrastructure for urbanities, set by the KFS last year, the government agency is going to create at least one urban forest in each of the 17 metropolitan cities and provinces across the country starting this year.
In addition, the agency is planning to create an additional 60 hectares of forests in the vicinity of facilities that dislodge fine dust particles, to help reduce emissions.
The plans include measures to plant more than two rows of roadside trees and create as many green spaces as possible in idle sites in schools, like rooftops and walls.
“The main point of the plan is to smoothly connect the forests within the cities with naturally created forests outside the cities,” a KFS official said.
“When the cold wind from outside the cities flows into the urban areas, the wind road (baramgil) created along the forests will help eliminate fine dust particles and the urban heat island effect.”
The role of forestry in reducing fine dust emissions has been enhanced in recent years.
Due to rapid urbanization and overpopulation in cities since the 1980s, green spaces where people can rest amid clean air have been significantly reduced.
Lack of green areas in cities and increasing use of fossil fuels, asphalt and cement have contributed to city temperatures rising 1 to 3 degrees Celsius compared to noncity areas and wind speeds declining 20 to 25 percent, leading to the urban heat island effect and unusual heat waves.
The KFS has made constant efforts to increase urban forests since the early 2000s.
In 2003, the agency started turning some state-owned areas in cities into forests. In 2005, it began creating forests in municipalities.
As of 2017, the area of urban forest per capita was expanded to 10.07 square meters, surpassing the 9 square meters recommended by the World Health Organization.
The benefits of urban forests are widely felt by citizens, including easing the fine dust problem, according to the KFS.
Both fine dust and ultra-fine dust particles sit on tree leaves during the process of photosynthesis. While the pores of tree leaves absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen, dust particles accumulate on the surfaces of leaves.
The average concentration of fine dust within urban forests turned out to be 25.6 percent lower than that of central city areas, according to a survey by the National Institute of Forest Science, conducted from April through May in 2017. The concentration of ultra-fine dust was 40.9 percent lower.
“The KFS will further strengthen the function of urban forests and forestry in decreasing fine dust by systematically managing the ecosystem of forests in and out of cities,” the KFS official said.
The agency is planning to replace trees on the peripheries of urban forests with types of trees that are highly absorbent of dust.
For forests outside of cities, the agency will improve the filtering function of air pollutants by securing sufficient wind roads through pruning and thinning.
The KFS will soon legislate the creation, utilization and management of urban forests. It will also encourage businesses and citizens to participate in projects related to creating urban forests.
“Having more forests near residential areas will not only help address the fine dust issue but also prepare against climate change,” the official said.
“Urban forests will also generate economic effects by driving up real estate prices of nearby areas and contribute to improving the quality of life of residents and raising competitiveness of cities.”
By Song Su-hyun and Lee Kwon-hyung
(
song@heraldcorp.com), (kwonhl@heraldcorp.com)
