The Triple Forest Management Principle: A holistic approach to forest resource use in South Korea

Abstract

The global climate crisis calls for changes in forest management and a re-examination of conventional forest values. We, therefore, examined the effects of proactive use of forest resources through the three combined theories, i.e., the Cascading Principle, Sustainable Forest Management (SFM), and the Precautionary Principle (collectively, the T-FMP), in South Korea. The results showed that the proactive use of forest resources yielded a net benefit of 1.94 M€ for a 50-year evaluation period. The benefits of carbon storage, carbon emissions reductions, flood control, oxygen release, and the added value of logs and wood pellet sales, were 2.11 times higher than the baseline (in the absence of forest management) values. These results demonstrate that sustainable forest management and active use of forest resources can be effective countermeasures to deforestation and global climate change. We hope that the T-FMP will provide comprehensive insights into sustainable utilization of forest resources.