Legal Opportunities for Public Participation in Forest Management in the Republic of Korea

Mi Sun Park and Hyowon Lee
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Mi Sun Park: Department of Environmental Planning, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Konkuk University, #225, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Korea
Hyowon Lee: School of Law, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanakro, Gwanakgu, Seoul 08826, Korea

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Participation by multiple actors has been emphasized in managing state forests to meet various demands on forests within a global society. Public participation was also suggested as an approach to sustainable forest management. This paper aims to investigate the legal opportunities of public participation in managing state forests in the case of the Republic of Korea (ROK). Relevant legal and policy documents were selected for content analysis and were analyzed with the levels of participation. Litigation regarding state forest conflicts was analyzed. The ROK legal system includes multiple levels of participation in managing state forests: information sharing, consultation, collaborative decision-making, and implementation. The research results indicate that various stakeholders need legal opportunities to participate in the formation and implementation of policies for the management of state forests. Regulatory enforcement is required for guaranteeing environmental rights—access to information, participation in decision-making, and standing in court. Based on research results, this paper provides us with legal insights on promoting public participation in managing state forests.

Keywords: public participation; forest management; state forests; environmental rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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