The Korean Society of Forest Engineering has strongly welcomed the enactment of the Act on the Installation and Management of Forest Roads, a core infrastructure law designed to serve as a century-long foundation for the nation's forests.
Representing some 3,000 forest engineering experts and academics, the Korean Society of Forest Engineering announced on the 7th that it extends its sincere welcome and support for the Forest Road Act's passage through the Cabinet meeting.
"Forest sites have long faced institutional limitations in enhancing the efficiency of forest management and responding to disasters due to the lack of an independent legal basis for systematically managing and expanding forest roads," the society said. "The enactment of this Forest Road Act is a historic achievement that declares the 'modernization of forest infrastructure,' capable of simultaneously maximizing the economic and public-interest values of forests."
The society added, "We are confident this legislation will lay the groundwork for installing forest roads sturdily and safely where they are truly needed for systematic forest management — the original purpose of forest roads — and will significantly contribute to enhancing the public-interest value of forests and expanding opportunities for forest-based health and recreation." It emphasized, "It will serve as a strong bulwark protecting public safety from increasingly large-scale forest disasters such as wildfires and landslides in this era of climate crisis."
The society further noted, "By establishing legal standards on the location, method, and scale of forest road installation, the Forest Road Act will provide the foundation for forest management and generate a virtuous cycle of stabilizing forestry workers' incomes and restoring forests' carbon-sink function." It added, "By legally mandating unified standards that require environmental considerations from the design and construction stages, the law will function as an institutional safeguard supporting safe and sustainable forest road development, rather than serving as a tool that damages the environment."
Cha Du-song, adviser to the Korean Society of Forest Engineering, pledged, "The society will spare no academic support or advisory efforts to ensure that the enactment of this Forest Road Act does not end merely as institutional reform but leads to the standardization of engineering techniques and the strengthening of professional capabilities in the field." He added, "We will take the lead in establishing an eco-friendly forest road construction culture where environmental preservation and development are in harmony, by incorporating the latest engineering technologies from design through construction and supervision."
