Agency to support local governments' expertise and control personnel; quality management and performance checks to be strengthened
The Korea Forest Service will inject additional control funds to meet growing demand in areas where pine wilt disease damage is worsening.
The agency announced Wednesday that it plans to commit additional national funds to combat the disease as it spreads rapidly across the country and local governments face mounting fiscal pressure and deteriorating conditions on the ground.
The additional funding is intended to support local governments struggling with control efforts due to fiscal constraints. Building on 170 billion won ($127 million) allocated in the first half of the year, the agency will expand total support to 200 billion won — adding 11.5 billion won in September and 14 billion won in November.
Reflecting local government demand, the Korea Forest Service plans to ensure that control projects aimed at removing damaged trees and halting the spread of the disease are carried out on time in the hardest-hit areas. It will also strengthen support for regions that have seen a sharp recent surge in damage, minimizing gaps in control coverage across the country.
In addition to the fiscal support, the agency will use the National Pine Wilt Disease Control Response Team — launched in September — as a hub to bolster local governments' expertise and control personnel, while also tightening quality management and performance reviews of control projects.
"As the spread of pine wilt disease intensifies and local governments face increasingly difficult control conditions, we plan to secure the additional resources needed at the national level to actively support operations on the ground," said Lee Won-hee, director of the Korea Forest Service's Forest Pest Control Division. "We will go beyond budget support and concentrate our efforts on stopping the spread of pine wilt disease by strengthening the effectiveness and quality of control projects through the national control strategy and the National Pine Wilt Disease Control Response Team."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
