Germany is a country with advanced forest management skills, which also led to the notion of adopting sustainable social administration. The country already shaped its sustainable management system of its forestry in the 18th century and has ever since continued to maintain the ecological base and productivity of forests.

As it takes more than 100 years for a tree to become valuable as a product, every forest must have an even distribution of young and old trees so that they can be produced, used and rotated. A tree’s volume, or timber volume, is regarded as an asset and is managed as such. In every 1 hectare of forest in Germany, there is at least an average 300 cubic meters in timber volume. It produces and supplies 5.5 cubic meter per hectares, which is about 2 percent of the tree growth rate. 

Established about 200 years ago, forest management system involves a professional forest manager in charge of an average of 1,000 hectare and a total yearly production of over 5,000 cubic meters.

The abundant range of forestry culture history -- including songs and arts -- reflect the people‘s affection for forests. While many forests have been well preserved throughout World War II, some trees are each worth as much as a Mercedes-Benz vehicle. Urban forests are often adorned as landscapes or used as recreational forests, indicating how the people’s lives are intertwined with forests.

While German dendrology textbooks had been introduced in South Korea through Japan as presenting sustainable management or ideal forest models, more direct cooperation between Korea and Germany began in 1974 to last for some 20 years through the Korea-German Forest Management Project.

Germany provided technical professionals, machinery and seedlings, while Korea offered land and labor. In the beginning, for instance, 4,000 hectares spanning some four villages in Ulju were designated as a site to implement a joint management model involving different levels of management.

Forest technicians of Korea were invited to visit Germany and receive short or long-term training on scholarship, with the recipients of the program later reaching such positions as the head of Korea Forest Research Institute and directors or bureau chiefs of the government. Those who underwent two-year educational forest training in Gangneung are now forest craftsmen and engineers.

Through the joint management project between the two countries, diverse new systems were adopted, including the design and building of forest trails, mechanized production and recreational forestry.

The material value of Korean forests was also enhanced from the previous average timber volume of 10 cubic meters per hectare to 150 cubic meters per hectare. Forest ecosystem has started to be restored, while jobs related to forestry have been created at times of nationwide economic hardship.

Such cooperation has also led to the expansion of welfare services and recreation facilities in rural areas.

The bilateral forestry cooperation was deemed a success, but the project was suspended in 1994 in consideration of Korea’s advanced economic status and consequent self-sufficiency.

Nevertheless, the belief here is that at least some 50 more years are needed for the country to fully establish a sustainable management system and enable a circular economy for the forests’ economic and social roles. Also, North Korea is in need of the type of greening works and forest resource development the South went through some 50 years ago.

While South Korean forests’ ecological welfare services have been making progress, many tasks yet remain in order to raise the socioeconomic value of the forests. The species of trees and structures of forests need alignment in order to gain value and create a sustainable production cycle. The production capacity of timber must be expanded so that 2 percent of its average volume may steadily be supplied as goods. Korea should now take a step further to expand its timber volume to Germany’s level -- 300 cubic meters per hectare -- and to increase its supply volume at least fivefold.

The conventional administration-focused forest management style must also evolve to a professional on-site management system for the sake of better organization sustainability. Increased productivity will be followed by new jobs in production, processing and distribution, as well as systematic efforts to raise the quality of such jobs. Realigning the economic and ecological values of forests in a balanced manner is a key factor for the country’s future.

South Korea’s 50 years of experience and skills could also act as a valid reference for North Korea, in which case the two Koreas and Germany may be expected to work together on the Korean Peninsula. While South Korea should learn from Germany in creating a sustainable forest management system, North Korea should bring in South Korea’s experience and skills and Germany’s forest management methods.

Under such trilateral forestry management cooperation on the peninsula, South Korea can provide workforce, technologies and seedlings, while North Korea can offer labor and invite professionals from Germany to support its management. This management model could act as a historical landmark in forestry unification here.

For this, it is crucial that people regard forests as valuable social assets that should be managed professionally by the state, while its yielded profit shared by the owner and the people. This notion of coexistence may perhaps be the most essential factor in peninsular forestry unification.

By Ma Sang-kyu
Former president of Forest for Life