IUFRO WorldSeriesVol.20-IIKeepAsiaGreenVolumeII ”NortheastAsia” IUFRO WorldSeriesVolume20-II Keep Asia Green Volume II “Northeast Asia” Edited by Don Koo Lee AKECOP IUFRO Headquarters Hauptstrasse 7 1140 Vienna, Austria Tel: + 43-1-877-0151-0 Fax: +43-1-877-0151-50 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.iufro.org International Union of Forest Research Organizations Union Internationale des Instituts de Recherches Forestières Internationaler Verband Forstlicher Forschungsanstalten Unión Internacional de Organizaciones de Investigación Forestal IUFRO World Series Vol. 20-II Keep Asia Green Volume II “Northeast Asia” Edited by Don Koo Lee AKECOP ISSN 3-901347-55-0 ISBN 978-3-901347-76-4 IUFRO, Vienna 2007 Recommended catalogue entry: Keep Asia Green Volume II “Northeast Asia”, 2007. Don Koo Lee (editor) IUFRO World Series Volume 20-II. Vienna, p. 170 ISSN 3-901347-55-0 ISBN 978-3-901347-76-4 Cover photos: 1. Birch grove, Russia 2. Terelj National Park, Mongolia 3. Forest land degradation in Mongolia Photos by Victor Teplyakov, Alexander Buck, J. Tsogtbaatar Published by: IUFRO Headquarters, Vienna, Austria, 2007 © 2007 AKECOP, Yuhan-Kimberly and IUFRO Available from: IUFRO Headquarters Secretariat c/o Mariabrunn (BFW) Hauptstrasse 7 1140 Vienna Austria Tel.: +43-1-8770151-0 Fax: +43-1-8770151-50 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.iufro.org Price: EUR 20.- plus mailing costs Printed by: Okchon, Seoul 121-801, Republic of Korea TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword 5 Rehabilitation of Degraded Forest Lands in Northeast Asia - A Synthesis 7 Michael Kleine and Don Koo Lee Forest Rehabilitation in Mainland China 15 Bin Wu, Zhiqiang Zhang and Lixia Tang Forest Rehabilitation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 45 Ho Sang Kang, Joon Hwan Shin, Don Koo Lee and Samantha Berdej Forest Restoration in Korea 55 Joon Hwan Shin, Pil Sun Park and Don Koo Lee Accomplishment & Challenges of Japan’s Reforestation: 81 140 Years of History after the Meiji Restoration Nagata Shin Forest Rehabilitation in Mongolia 91 J. Tsogtbaatar Rehabilitation of Russian Forests 117 Victor K. Teplyakov, Andrey N. Filipchuk and Sergey A. Rodin 3 4 FOREWORD The forests of Northeast Asia cover a large area and face a multitude of social and environmental challenges. Widespread deforestation and forest degradation have resulted in the mass alteration of forests. Overgrazing and desertification in Mongolia, an absence of efficient methods to prevent and extinguish forest fires in Russia, widespread wind erosion and desertification in China, forests owner- ship issues in Japan, overexploitation of forests for economic gain and urbanization in DPR Korea, and industrialization in the Republic of Korea are some of the past and present issues plaguing the region. Among these, one of the most prominent areas of concern is desertification. The desiccation of land - whether from overgrazing, conversion, deforestation, or other - results in ‘yellow dust storms’ whose effects can be felt throughout Northeast Asia. To some degree, the governments of these nations have made strides to offset the negative impacts of deforestation by implementing reforestation and rehabilitation initiatives. Some of the environmental initiatives include pest mitigation; erosion control through terracing, drainage canals, sodding, and affor- estation; fire suppression and burned area management; shelterbelt construction; reforestation of clearcuts and glades; and changes in forest harvesting patterns and mechanisms, among others. The introduction of social initiatives include the implementation of logging quotas; forest tax and fee systems; the reevaluation of forest ownership and tenure systems; and the creation of educational and training pro- grams for the sustainable management of forests. The most significant recent change in forest manage- ment has been the shift from “industrial” forest management to “ecosystem” forest management. Simply by examining the state of Northeast Asia’s forests it is easy to see that a great deal more effort and investment is required to rehabilitate the region’s forests. The continuance of the “Keep Asia Green” book series indicates a concerted effort to work towards the rehabilitation of the region’s devastated forests. It aims to understand national capacities in terms of forest rehabilitation and existing education programs, and to analyze the need for further strengthening of forest landscape restoration efforts in each country, as well as each region, in Asia. This project was made possible through the initiative of the ASEAN-Korea Environmental Cooperation Project (AKECOP) in cooperation with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations’ Special Programme for Developing Countries (IUFRO-SPDC). I am inspired by the effort and commitment shown to this project and am honored to be a part of what will be a great contribution to the Northeast Asia region. The second volume of the book focuses on the six countries encompassed in the Northeast Asia region; namely the People’s Republic of China, Japan, DPR Korea, Republic of Korea, Mongolia, and the Russian Federation. It compiles information on the historical perspectives of land use change, the present state of forest degradation, and addresses forest rehabilitation needs, including major lessons learned from the countries’ case studies. Additionally, recommendations are made for future actions to further enhance the approaches to forest rehabilitation, so that investments in trees and forests can achieve an even greater impact, thus providing enhanced environmental services and economic benefits for the well-being of present and future generations. This book is the first of its kind in Northeast Asia. It is an important contributor to the objectives of forest restoration and essential reading material for practitioners and decision-makers involved in forest resto- ration. Finally, please allow me to express my sincerest gratitude to AKECOP and its staff for initiating this noble deed; to all forest scientists, including lead authors in the different countries of the Northeast Asia region, for sharing the necessary information to come up with this book; to Dr. Michael Kleine (Coordi- nator of IUFRO-SPDC) for his dedicated effort and great contribution to this project; and to Yuhan- 5 Kimberly, Ltd. for its substantial financial support to this publication and endeavor. The assistance of Mag. Eva Maria Schimpf and Mag. Margareta Khorchidi of IUFRO-SPDC in language editing and lay-out of the book is much appreciated. To all of you, thank you and let us continue the pursuit of keeping Asia green. Prof. Don Koo Lee IUFRO President 6 Afforestation and Ecological Restoration in Northeast Asia A Synthesis by Michael Kleine and Don K. Lee 1. Introduction Over the last century, land use in the Northeast Asian region has changed significantly. This is also true for the management and conservation of the region’s vast forest resources. Driven by wars, population growth and economic development, forests have on one hand been on the decline, but on the other hand were restored and rehabilitated at a pace and scale unimaginable in other parts of the world. The second volume of the Keep Asia Green Book Series covers six countries in Northeast Asia, namely the Peoples’ Republic of China, Japan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Repub- lic of Korea, Mongolia and the Russian Federation. These countries extend over vast areas of the Asian continent ranging from Siberia and the Russian Far East in the north with its boreal climate, to the tropical and subtropical islands of Hainan (China) and warm-temperate climate of Jeju (Republic of Korea) in the south; from the temperate climate of Japan in the east to the deserts, steppe ecosystems and high mountain ranges of Mongolia and China in the west. The area is known for its diverse array of topographies and climates, allowing for the existence of a wide variety of forest ecosystems and land- scapes. This book provides insights into the historical perspectives of forest land use changes in Northeast Asia and explains – separately for each country – the efforts undertaken and results obtained in the rehabili- tation of forest ecosystems, including the expansion of forest cover through reforestation and afforesta- tion. Approaches and methods of forest rehabilitation are presented along with the political, legal and institutional requirements for their successful implementation. In addition, past and current systems of forest research and education, with special reference to forest rehabilitation, are discussed in the vari- ous countries. Each country paper concludes with recommendations for future action to further the course of forest rehabilitation under rapidly changing socio-economic conditions. This synthesis paper summarises the main issues addressed in this book and may serve readers as a guide to additional country-specific information on forest rehabilitation in Northeast Asia as described in the individual book sections. 2. Historical Perspectives of Forest Land Use Change in Northeast Asia Today, the extent of forest cover in Northeast Asia varies considerably between countries and sub- regions. This is not only due to natural conditions shaped by climate, elevation and topography, but to a large extent also influenced over the centuries by human activities. Countries with presently high forest cover such as Japan and the Republic of Korea are endowed with natural conditions favouring tree growth, thus making forests the main natural vegetation type. However, after a long history of forest clearing and destruction caused by intensive use of wood as fuel, agriculture expansion and war-time activities (only in the last 50 to 60 years) both countries have restored their forest cover through signifi- cant efforts by governments and society. Today, two-third of Japan’s land area is covered with forests, of which 40% are man-made plantations and the rest is natural forest. With 64% forest cover, the Republic of Korea has also recovered almost all areas where forests had been devastated in the past. Most of the forests are made of stands dominated by coniferous tree species, followed by broadleaved forests and mixed forest stands.