The existence of tradeoffs and synergies between ecosystem services emphasize the need to understand the preferences of ecosystem service beneficiaries. In this paper, the preferences of ecosystem services provided by different types of urban forests in South Korea are analyzed to provide insights on the improved distribution and supply of ecosystem services. The Delphi technique was utilized to elicit expert opinions on the categorization of ecosystem services provided by urban forests. A choice experiment on 500 Seoul citizens was then conducted to analyze the preferences for 7 types of ecosystem servicesfood provision, water flow regulation, noise reduction, microclimate regulation & air quality improvement, moderation & prevention of landslides, biodiversity enhancement, recreation, and health services. An AHP analysis was carried out to investigate experts' ranking of the relative importance of these ecosystem services. The results showed that except for microclimate regulation & air quality improvement, Seoul citizens' preferences for different types of urban forests did not differ according to the attribute level of each ecosystem service. There were also no significant differences between the preferences for urban natural parks and urban neighborhood parks, possibly indicating that Seoul citizens perceive them to be similar. Secondly, the results indicate a higher preference for urban forests with certain features, such as a higher proportion of fruit trees and deciduous trees, higher leaf area, denser tree canopy cover, wider distances between trees, and higher levels of species richness. The enhancement of biodiversity was considered the most influential service for Seoul citizens in their choice of urban forests. Seoul citizens were willing to pay 12,176 KRW/year and 21,036 KRW/year to enhance the level of biodiversity from "poor" to "average" and from "average" to "rich," respectively. Finally, preferences and relative importance for almost all ecosystem services were different for citizens and experts. As it is impossible to maximize the provision of all ecosystem services concurrently, policymakers and urban forest managers need to consider citizens' preferences and opinions when designing and managing urban forests in order to increase user satisfaction and welfare.

The purpose of this study is to determine a valid strategy for implementing payment for the local forest ecosystem services (local forest PES) by considering citizens’ willingness to pay (WTP) and the resource types utilized (taxes and donations). A total of 1000 citizens responded to an online survey, which consisted of questions related to respondents’ socio-demographics, predicting factors (i.e., political orientation, personal tie to the region) of their willingness to pay (WTP), and their willingness to pay for a bundle of 10 different forest ecosystem services (ESs) in the region of the Yeoninsan provincial park in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. The estimation of the respondents’ WTP for the promotion of the forest management activities, which enhances the ES bundle of the local forest, was 14,315–20,216 KRW (12.75–18.00 USD) per year in taxes and 12,258–26,518 KRW (10.92–23.61 USD) per year in donations. This study also revealed that the predicting factors influencing the respondents’ WTP for the promotion of the local forest ESs differed according to the financial resource type (taxes and donations). The results of this study are meaningful in that they can be used as empirical basic data in estimating payments and preparing measures to secure financial resources when designing payments for the ecosystem services for the local forest.

This study aims to identify the factors determining the forestry household income in South Korea. An empirical analysis was conducted on the Korea Forest Service’s 3-year-panel data. Korea Forest Service is an institution responsible for the sustainable management of South Korea’s forest lands. In the study, the hypothesized factors determining the forestry household income are classified into four types of assets and three types of livelihood strategies. The forestry household income (FHI) is divided into three elements: forestry income (FI), non-forestry income (NFI), and transfer income (TI). The influence of household assets and livelihood strategies on each income were also assessed. A random effect model was used as a statistical analysis of the three-year data of 979 forestry households. Based on the analysis, we found that household head’s age, household head’s labor capacity, savings, business type, cultivated land size, and region are significantly associated with FHI. While FI was influenced by labor capacity, cultivated land size, business type, forestry business portfolio, and region, NFI was determined by household head’s age, household head’s gender, forestry business portfolio, and savings. TI was affected by household head’s age, household head’s education level, forestry business portfolio, savings, and region. The effect sizes and directions varied across different types of income (FHI, FI, NFI, and TI). The findings showed that South Korea forestry was highly dependent on sustainable assets and livelihood strategies. Based on our findings, we expect the effectiveness of forest policies in increasing the forestry household income would differ depending on the source of each income. The results of this study draw attention to the need for an income support policy which considers the characteristics of household assets and livelihood strategies in order to enhance FHI in South Korea.

This study is aimed to compare the strengths and weaknesses of three approaches—analytic hierarchy process analysis, sentiment analysis, and floating population analysis—in estimating the social demands for local forest ecosystem services (ES) in South Korea: Gariwangsan and Yeoninsan. The results were as follows: First, the survey respondents of Gariwangsan and Yeoninsan believed that the cultural ES category was the most fundamental one that should be maintained, whereas they thought the supporting ES category needed the least maintenance. Second, both forests had a high frequency of sentiment words related to the cultural ES category, followed by the regulating ES category, such as air and water quality improvement. Third, the spatiotemporal distribution of the floating populations in both forests was concentrated in their valleys and mountainous areas, indicating the finer-scale demands for the cultural and regulating ES category. Fourth, the research shows the areas that are high in demand and those that are not; this result helps forest management. In conclusion, none of the three methodologies was superior to the other two, as they each captured distinct ES demands. To investigate ES demands in a multifaceted way, we suggest applying the three approaches in tandem.

Due to global interest in the improvement of national income and quality of life, eco-labeled food (ELF) for sustainable consumption and personal healthcare has been increasing. This study aims to contribute to two research streams by examining the quality of ELF in forests (ELFF). First, this study intends to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of ELFF producers for the certification verified by the government-supported institution and investigate the difference in certification costs between the actual certificating authority and ELFF producers. Second, this study aims to figure out the perception mechanism of how consumers who would like to purchase ELFFs recognize the effect of enhanced certification. These efforts may contribute to the research on how to raise interest in the production of ELF-related products and sustainable consumption. To achieve the purpose of this study, we adopted contingent valuation methods (CVM) to measure WTPs using interview-based surveys with 40 ELF producers and ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to examine the effect of certification with 112 consumers who experienced ELF consumption. Results of this study provide theoretical and practical implications by looking at the relationship between ELF certification and sustainable consumption from a stakeholder's perspective. This study intends to expand the research field of ELF from agriculture to forestry products. It provides a basis for providing practical implications for policymakers who propose sustainable consumption.