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| Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at Forest Vision Center in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Korea Forest Service |
Inger Andersen visits for Korea Global Adaptation Week
By Ko Dong-hwan
The 1950-53 Korean War left South Korea in a state of destruction and poverty only a few years after its liberation from Japan's 35-year colonial rule.
With the war coming to a halt in 1953 as an armistice was signed, the South Korean government started building back the country and, after 70 years, the outcome is most notable in its economic accomplishment, most notably in the fields of automotives, semiconductor foundry, shipbuilding and nuclear reactor construction.
What is less-known about the country's post-war efforts is the massive investment in reviving its forests.
From the late 1960s to 1980s, some 10 billion trees were planted nationwide under the leadership of former President Park Chung-hee. According to the Korea Forest Service (KFS), the country's forest growth rate jumped from 50 cubic meters per hectare in 1990 to 148 in 2015, an increase of 196 percent. Some said Korea is the only country in the world to have accomplished reforestation in such a short period after going through a war.
Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), spoke on Korea's successful reforestation efforts last Thursday.
"It's hard to find comparisons with other places where you see the same determination and success," the Dane told The Korea Times in Seoul.
"The message is that you can bring nature back. And the process is also generous because it's providing supports to countries and organizations like ourselves."
The environmental effects of forests are clear: they prevent landslides while promoting biodiversity, clean air and water. They bring a "degree of stability and resilience to a climate-changing world," according to Andersen.
Her organization, betting on Korea's reforestation history and capability, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last April with the KFS to spread the same green initiative to other countries. The MOU in last July led to launching the Sustaining an Abundance of Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) Initiative to implement sustainable forest management in Laos, Bhutan, Cambodia and Vietnam with Korean expertise for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.
On Thursday, Andersen and KFS Deputy Minister Lim Sang-seop checked on the bilateral cooperation.
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| U.N. Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen, fourth from left, and Korea Forest Service Deputy Minister Lim Sang-seop, fifth from left, pose with officials from both agencies at Forest Vision Center in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of Korea Forest Service |
"It's very exciting and really useful, supporting the restoration (in those countries) exactly like how Korea did in the 60s, 70s and 80s," Andersen said.
Andersen, who doubles as a U.N. under-secretary-general, said Korea is equipped with "everything" needed to deal with three major planetary crises: the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution. The country's infrastructure can lend itself to smart buildings and vehicles that rely on renewable energy, while its forestry sector can employ carbon sequestration processes and increase biodiversity.
"The mountains were deforested during the war like the moon. Now, they are lush," she said.
Pollution, on the other hand, is a shared problem, she emphasized.
"A month ago, people in Manhattan had bad air that came from Canada (due to a weeks-long wildfire in August)," she said. "Every country has this problem (of pollution) and we are impacted by each other. That's why we need to work with everyone."
Andersen was in Seoul for the Korea Global Adaptation Week from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1, during which international participants shared and promoted actions and practices to adapt to the climate crisis. On Friday, she met the country's Environment Minister Han Wha-jin and signed a PAGE 2024 agreement ― a partnership for action on the green economy ― for biodiversity conservation and greener plastic usage.
"Challenges as the UNEP chief are hard because we're growing as a big global family and a bigger family has a bigger footprint," Andersen said.
"We need some system changes to cope with that. Korea has done it before, as a war-torn country that went through massive system changes with enterprise, ingenuity and imagination. So I'm encouraging nations, especially countries like Korea, to think innovatively about everything to be circular. We take this precious material out of the belly of the Earth to make it into something we use for five minutes like plastic bags at a supermarket. That's completely crazy."
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