Introducing a novel methodology for designation and management of protected areas in the context of climate change: A case study in the Republic of Korea

Designating protected areas is a necessary task for ecosystem conservation. However, many of the existing protected areas were established before recognizing the serious impact of climate change, necessitating boundary modifications in consideration of climate change. Despite the fact that many people are now aware of the seriousness of climate change, newly designated protected areas often still overlook climate change. This study aims to develop the designation and management methodology that accounts for climate change. Building on the conceptual framework introduced by Yoo et al. (2022), which delineated four specific ‘management areas’ tailored to address the distribution shifts of Abies holophylla under the influence of climate change, we compared the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario with the newly developed shared socioeconomic pathway (SSP) 5–8.5 scenario. In the context of our study, ‘management areas’ are defined as designated regions strategically planned for the effective conservation and adaptation of A. holophylla in response to projected climate change impacts. Our analysis revealed that the SSP5-8.5 scenario presents a more gradual suitable habitat change for A. holophylla compared to the RCP 8.5 scenario. In addition, by integrating environmental ecological value and morphological analysis, we proposed a priority-setting methodology for each management area, allowing for the application of tailored strategies with varying intensities. We also provided examples of potential strategic directions. Although this study focuses on A. holophylla, the methodology is applicable to managing a wide range of biological resources to adapt to climate change through targeting different or multiple target species.