Horizontal Cooperation Among Communities and Governments for Sustainable Village Woodlands in Wando County, South Korea

Abstract

HIGHLIGHTS Village leaders' participation in village woodland management is more important than that of the wider public in terms of woodland sustainability. Villagers communicate better with the state regarding village woodland management if they have experience of receiving government funding compared with those who have not. Communities with common woodlands regulated by the state, such as national parks and cultural heritage sites, are more effective in collaborative forest management than those not regulated by the state. Horizontal cooperative networks between villages and government help village woodlands to be managed sustainably. Provided autonomous villagers are given their rights in woodland management decision-making, even under a co-management arrangement, the sustainability of village woodlands can be enhanced. SUMMARY Understanding the influence of the wider society on village woodlands is important for their conservation. Twenty village woodlands in Wando County, South Korea, were investigated in order to assess the role of local governance in the sustainability of village woodlands. It was found that the active participation of village leaders in the conservation of village woodlands matters more than the active participation of villagers. Village woodlands are more likely to be preserved when they are managed as protected areas such as national parks or national natural heritage sites controlled by the state. Many village communities in Korea have management plans and maintain traditional knowledge while creating and protecting their village forests over several hundred years. The government has been providing a systematic infrastructure and financial support to manage the village forests and to promote the participation of village communities. The communities and local and central governments share the common goal of sustainable village woodlands and cooperate through open communications, including consultations and solving disputes, seeking the way toward village woodlands' sustainability. The result of this study suggests that village communities and the state need to cooperate horizontally in order to establish and maintain sustainable village woodlands. Comprendre l'influence de la société au sens large sur les terres boisées villageoises est important pour leur conservation. Vingt villages ont été examinés dans le comté du Wando en Corée du Sud, afin d'évaluer le rôle de la gouvernance locale dans la durabilité des bois villageois. Il fut découvert que la participation active des dirigeants villageois dans la conservation des terres boisées villageoises est plus importante que celle des villageois eux-mêmes. Il est plus probable que ces bois villageois soient préservés quand ils sont gérés en tant que zones protégées, telles que des parcs nationaux ou des sites d'héritage naturel contrôlés par l'état. Plusieurs communautés villageoises en Corée possèdent des plans de gestion et maintiennent une connaissance traditionnelle tout en créant et protégeant leurs forêts villageoises sur une durée de plusieurs siècles. Le gouvernement a fourni une infrastructure systématique et un soutien financier pour la gestion des forêts villageoises et pour promouvoir la participation de leurs communautés. Ces dernières et les gouvernements central et local partagent le but commun d'obtenir des terres villageoises durables et coopèrent à l'aide de communications ouvertes, incluant des consultations et des résolutions de différents, cherchant une voie vers la durabilité des terres boisées villageoises. Le résultat de cette étude suggère que les communautés villageoises et l'état ont besoin de coopérer horizontalement pour pouvoir établir et maintenir des terres boisées villageoises durables. La comprensión de la influencia de la sociedad en general en los bosques de las aldeas es importante para su conservación. Con el fin de evaluar el papel de la gobernanza local en la sostenibilidad de los bosques de aldea se investigaron veinte bosques de aldea en el condado de Wando (Corea del Sur). Se comprobó que la participación activa de los líderes de las aldeas en la conservación de los bosques pertenecientes a las mismas es más importante que la participación activa de los habitantes. Hay más probabilidades de que se conserven los bosques de las aldeas cuando se gestionan como zonas protegidas, como parques nacionales o sitios del patrimonio natural nacional controlados por el Estado. Muchas comunidades de aldeas en Corea del Sur tienen planes de gestión y han venido empleando sus conocimientos tradicionales en la creación y protección de sus bosques de aldea durante cientos de años. El gobierno ha estado proporcionando una infraestructura sistemática y apoyo financiero para gestionar los bosques de las aldeas y promover la participación de las comunidades. Las comunidades y el gobierno local y central comparten el objetivo común de la sostenibilidad de los bosques de las aldeas y cooperan mediante una comunicación abierta, que incluye consultas y resolución de conflictos, en la búsqueda del camino hacia la sostenibilidad de los bosques de las aldeas. El resultado de este estudio sugiere que las comunidades de las aldeas y el Estado deben cooperar horizontalmente para establecer y mantener en las aldeas bosques sostenibles. 마을의 주민은 물론 마을 외부 사회와의 관계 속에서 마을숲의 지속가능성을 이해하는 것은 마을숲의 보전에 중요하다. 본 연구는 지속가능한 마을숲의 로컬 거버넌스의 역할을 평가하기 위해 대한민국 완도군의 20개 마을숲을 대상으로 연구하였다. 연구 결과, 마을숲 보전에 있어 마을 지도자의 역할이 일반 주민의 역할 보다 중요하다는 사실을 알게되었다. 또한 국립공원이나 국가문화유 산으로 지정되어 국가에 의해 보호되고 관리되어지는 마을숲이 그렇지 않은 마을숲보다 더 지속가능하게 보전될 가능성이 크다는 것을 확인하였다. 대한민국의 많은 마을공동체들은 오랜 세월에 걸쳐 마을숲을 조성하고 보호하면서 그들 만의 고유한 마을숲 관리방안과 전통 지식을 유지해왔다. 또한 정부는 마을숲을 보전하기 위해 체계적인 제도적, 기술적 기반과 재정적 지원을 제공해오고 있으며, 마을 공동체의 참여를 지원하고 있다. 마을공동체와 지방정부 및 중앙정부는‘지속가능한 마을숲의 보전’이라는 공동의 목적을 공유 하고 열린 의사소통을 통해 갈등을 해소하고 협력하는 것이 중요하다. 즉, 마을공동체와 정부는 마을숲의 보전과 지속가능한 이용 을 위하여 수평적인 협력이 필요하다.