into the level of strategic environmental assessment. In addition to that, it is necessary to develope an objective evaluation system with environment-friendly development index which plays as the practical guidance to lead the future direction of development of national territory and to measure the environment-friendly nature of the national territorial development. Finally, to implement the strategies, various pilot projects have to be initiated by local governments and also, a mutual cooperation system is necessary between nongovernmental organizations, the private sector and citizens in which the roles of the central and local governments are stressed.
2 .7
Strategies for the Efficient Management
ecological path in the Korean peninsula and the issue of preserving the national environment in the Baekdudaegan continuously raised.
To prevent reckless development in the Baekdudaegan, the Ministry of Environment temporarily designated the areas within 700 meters from the mountain ridges as protection zones. As these protection zones were found to be insufficient and inappropriate enough to protect the national conditions of the Baekdudaegan, it is necessary to adopt the management area designation system and to devise management strategies.
The study is funded by the Korean Ministry of Environment to examine the current conditions and to establish a comprehensive management plan for the Baekdudaegan.
The study will be carried out over a period of three years and three interdependent successive sub-projects will be carried out.
The goals of the study are understanding the concepts of the Baekdudaegan, examining the present conditions, collecting related and available spatial data, and demarcating the management area. The study area is limited to the portion from the Hyangro mountain peak in the north to the Cheonwang mountain peak in the south. It is about 680km in length and stretches over 6 provinces, 12 cities, and 20 counties. In the study, relevant literature and foregone researches are studied, related spatial data collected, and GIS analysis conducted to define physical boundaries of management areas.
The study consists of six chapters such as Introduction, Concepts of the Baekdudaegan, Natural and Social Settings of the Baekdudaegan, Establishment of Management Areas, Collection of Spatial Data, Establishment and Evaluation of Management Areas.
Chapter 1 explains the scope, backgrounds, goals, significances, and methods of the study. It also touches upon previous studies on the Baekdudaegan.
Chapter 2 explains the concept of the Baekdudaegan. Old literatures and maps concerned with the Baekdudaegan are examined, and the concepts of the Baekdudaegan are explained in the light of human geography and landscape ecology, which is necessary to set basic directions of management strategies.
Chapter 3 deals with the natural and social settings of the Baekdudaegan. For the natural environment, topological and biological features are examined. For the social environment, the development practices and government's regulatory measures are examined. Based on this, the importance of the Baekdudaegan is evaluated by six criteria such as landscape preservation, ecological connection, ecological characteristics, the degrees of damage and development, managerial systemization, and historical and cultural significances.
Chapter 4 sets basic conditions to define management areas as follows: 1) the size of management area should be as small as possible; 2) When designating an area as a management area, the area from mountain ridges to mountain edges should be included in a management area to secure the connection of the mountains on the Baekdudaegan;
and 4) regional characteristics should be considered in designating a management area.
For this, GIS analysis techniques such as TM image analysis, green patch composition method, and overlay method can be used for the demarcation of management area.
Chapter 5 selects items for spatial analysis such as elevation, slope, distance from ridge, vegetation, wildlife habitat, legally protected zone, and facility distribution. The process of classifying and weighing these items through the survey of experts are also explained.
Chapter 6 explains the methodologies to demarcate management areas. All alternatives are compared in terms of the suitability of overall spatial distribution and by the items for spatial analysis. The area that is 680km long and runs from Hyangro mountain top to Chunwang mountain top is proposed as an management area, The total area is about 3567km2 and the width is 600m at minimum and 22.5km at maximum with an average of 4.6km. In addition, the management area partly includes 7 national parks (Jiri, Dukyu, Sokri, Wolak, Sobaek, Odae, and Sulak), 2 provincial parks (Munkyungsaejae and Taebaek), and 1 ecosystem preserve (Jiri).
As mentioned in the above, the first year study is focused on setting a management area. For this, historical, social, cultual, and landscape ecological aspects of the Baekdudaegan are examined.
To comprehensively understand the Baekdudaegan, GIS analysis, and topographic,
social and biological factors are used. The continuity and homogeneity of landscape, ecological characteristics and stability, and managerial systemization are taken into account to demarcate a management area in proper size.
However, the boundary is somewhat vague in real space, which resulted from relying on data analysis. Thus, further adjustment and modification will be necessary in the following studies. The first year study will be a good basis for the successive studies which will focus on field investigation, management strategies, examination of existing policies, and proposing improvement measures.
2 .8