​1. Study Objectives and Methods

▮Research objectives

￮ Ecological and environmental assets in Jeollabuk-do are decreasing and biological habitats are being fragmented due to land use centered on development projects and economically-motivated urban expansion. Therefore, establishing effective policies for ecosystem conservation, connection, and restoration is urgent.

￮ This study was conducted to meet the needs of the carbon neutral policy of the Korean government and Jeollabuk-do and create values   for unique ecological and environmental assets in Jeollabuk-do. The purpose of this study is to discover the ecological and environmental assets of Jeollabuk-do and to establish the primary objective, strategy development and necessary projects to enact a wide-area ecological network in Jeollabuk-do that connects forests, rivers, islands, and coasts.

▮Research methods

￮ To acquire insights into a wide-area ecological network installation in Jeollabuk-do, we analyzed domestic and international policy trends, and major establishment cases, global research trends on conservation management of the ecological network, mapping of the actual ecological network, and derivation of management areas.

￮ A comprehensive analysis was conducted to develop future projects for a wide-area ecological network: the management status of protected areas and ecologically significant areas in Jeollabuk-do, the basis for conservation and management of ecological networks, and the disconnection point of forests and river axes. The conservation level of the wide-area ecological network in Jeollabuk-do was analyzed using the national spatial information.

￮ This study presents the vision, objectives, development strategy, and mid- to long-term tasks for creating values of ecological and environmental assets in the Jeonbuk region and connecting and restoring the wide-area ecological network.

2. Conclusion and Policy Suggestion

▮Policy trends for conservation and management of wide-area ecological network

￮ The UK and Germany have completed detailed scientific investigations on species mobility and ecosystem characteristics working towards ecological restoration and green infrastructure establishment. From these studies, it was found that a wide-area ecological network connecting forests, rivers, wetlands, river floodplains, and coastal oceans was being built.

▮Analysis of conditions for ecological axis conservation in Jeollabuk-do and conservation grade of wide-area ecological network

￮ Jeollabuk-do is home to many ecologically significant areas such as the Sincheon wetland, islands, coasts, and the eastern mountain range. However, the analysis showed the protected areas are dispersed, majority of the forest axis is cut off by roads, and weirs disconnect many river axes. As a result of the analysis of the wide-area ecological axis of Jeonbuk, the conservation grade was high in the eastern forest axis, such as Jinan, Muju, Jangsu, and Wanju, and low in the western region. Therefore, we suggest restoration projects such as dismantling weirs and installing natural rapids.

▮Strategies and tasks for establishing a wide-area ecological network in Jeollabuk-do

￮ Our vision is “to connect and restore ecological and environmental assets of Jeollabuk-do through a wide-area ecological network.” Our goal is “establishing the J-Ecological Belt that discovers, connects, and restores Jeonbuk’s ecological and environmental assets.” As for the development strategies, we intend to 1) discover ecological and environmental assets and spatialization, 2) build a wide-area ecological network and restore the ecology, 3) create benefits for the local community through the establishment of an ecological network, and 4) establish a basis for promoting the installation of a wide-area ecological network.

￮ The proposed initiatives are as follows. 1) survey of ecological and environmental assets in Jeollabuk-do and create an evaluation map for ecosystem services; 2) map the wide-area ecological network management area in Jeollabuk-do and establish an natural environment information system; 3) establish J-Ecological Belt connecting forests, rivers, islands, coasts, and the ocean; 4) develop green infrastructure that connects and restores the ecological bases of cities and agricultural and fishing villages; 5) create a support system vitalizing the wide-area ecological network construction projects at the city(si) and gun level; 6) create ecotourism and ecosystem services using J-Ecological Belts; 7) initiate civilian-participating investigation on ecosystem and connection/restoration projects on ecological axis; 8) secure financial support and system improvement for wide-area ecological network implementation.

▮Policy suggestions

￮ 1) Investigation on ecological and environmental assets and installing a system to utilize collected data for the establishment of a wide-area ecological network; 2) providing benefits from ecosystem services to local communities by discovering ecologically significant areas such as forests, rivers, and wetlands; 3) mapping the wide-area ecological network management area and reflecting the establishment to urban planning and environmental planning; 4) financial support requisition and institutional improvement to encourage private participation in ecological surveys and conservation/management of ecological axes.​