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Korea to lead forest fire control in Asia
Korea Forest Service (KFS) Minster Shin Won-sop speaks during a recent interview with The Korea Times at his office in Daejeon. / Courtesy of KFS
By Lee Hyo-sik
Korea Forest Service holds wild-land fire conference
By Lee Hyo-sik
“I will do my best to turn Korea into a leader in Asia’s efforts to control increasingly frequent forest fires,” Korea Forest Service (KFS) Minster Shin Won-sop said, indicating his goal for the remainder of his term.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Shin said the KFS has made all the necessary preparations to host more than 3,000 government officials, forest industry experts and scholars from nearly 80 countries during the 6th International Wildland Fire Conference (IWFC) in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province, from Oct. 12 to 16.
Korea is the first Asian nation to hold the international gathering of people involved in forestry, disaster prevention and firefighting sectors. The event, which started in 1989, takes place every four years.
Under the theme of “Fire of the Past, Fire in Future,” KFS will organize five plenary and nine parallel sessions during the conference. A variety of programs including exhibitions, field demonstrations, trips and cultural performances are expected to spur a great deal of interest among participants.
“The IWFC has been a venue for countries to boost cooperation on forest and other types of wild-land fire control by sharing their expertise, knowhow and knowledge,” Shin said. “We are glad that Korea became the first Asian nation to host this meaningful global event. We are ready to welcome our colleagues from all over the world.”
The 6th IWFC will feature a wide range of programs, including speeches from renowned scholars and policymakers, and seminars.
The KFS will showcase a fire control demonstration by mobilizing more than 15 helicopters and 300 firefighters on Oct. 14. The participants will also be given a chance to visit forest areas, which have been restored after a massive fire 20 years ago.
“The KFS would like to play a central role in strengthening the international firefighting network,” Shin said.
“As the first Asian IWFC host, we want to become a leader in the region’s increasing efforts to control wild-land fire. Throughout next week’s gathering, we will showcase our advanced forest management knowhow and forest fire control techniques,” he said.
Shin said the agency will make more efforts to expand cooperation with its counterparts in other Asian nations. “We would like to help developing countries train firefighters and more effectively manage forest resources to prevent fire.”
Korea suffered a massive fire in Gangwon Province in 2000, losing 237 square kilometers of forested areas. The country also struggled with several more large-scale forest fires over the past two decades.
“Through these painful events, we learned that it is crucial to have an effective forest fire prevention system in place,” the minister said. “We have invested significantly to train firefighters, purchase advanced fire control equipment and set up an effective control system,” Shin said. “KFS also established a central forest fire monitoring system and has more than 20,000 fire spotters across the country.”
The minister expected many developing countries will benchmark the KFS and adopt its advanced knowhow and knowledge in the field.
“We will make the best use of the upcoming IWFC event to share our expertise with other countries,” he said.