Integrated approaches for national ecosystem assessment in South Korea

Ecosystem services are the benefits people obtain from ecosystem functions. Ecosystem services can be quantified through an ecosystem assessment. Its goal is to assess the effects of changes in the ecosystem to support human welfare. Ecosystem services assessment approaches support policy, decision-making, and implementation to protect biodiversity and ecosystem at national, regional and global levels. For natural resources management National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) was recently undertaken in Belgium, Spain, France and the UK, along with other ecosystem assessments at the national level. In South Korea, sustainable use of ecosystem services has attracted the interest of a range of policy makers. Although there is a greater concern for biodiversity and ecosystem services, linking ecosystems with conservation planning in South Korea remains a challenge. There is no implementation, framework or manual for NEA at the national level. Thus, this study proposes integrated assessment approaches that could be applied for decision-making at the national level in South Korea. This study demonstrated conceptual approaches step by step description for supporting natural resources management at national level. The proposed approaches can provide useful information for ecosystem services assessment, habitat conservation, conservation planning, and decision-making at the national level.