Change Detection of Environmental Capacity in the Rapidly Developing Forest Areas

Chong-Soo Lee, Woo-Kyun Lee and Seong-Woo Jeon

 

ABSTRACT : Developing quantitative methods to assess environmental capacity is required to monitor environmental capacity changes over time for the rapidly developing areas in order to make better plans and policies for land management. Thus, in this study relative environmental capacity was estimated with Development Tolerance Index(DTI) and Development Attractiveness Index(DAI). DTI was generated by national environment assessment indicators of the Ministry of Environment in Korea, and DAI was produced with topographic characteristics and geographic accessibility. We calculated environmental capacities for 1987 and 1999 on Pocheon, Gyeong Gi province in South Korea and compare the differences between two years. The result showed that both DTI and DAI were increased because of expanding urban and developed areas. Following this, the areas which need conservation management were decreased, but the areas which reqire development managements were increased. We expect that the estimated environmeotal capacity can be used to predict influences and consequences caused by future development. so that it can help land managers and policy makers for planning and managing land resources.
Since this study, however, does not include envirorunental sensitivity and environmental instability caused by development, there is a limitation that all of the areas which exist next to previously developed areasare assessed as non-conservation areas. Thus, when this study is applied to regional environmental management plans, the lack of environmental sensitivity and instability has to be adjusted by policymaking

Key words : Environmental CaPacity, Development Tolerance Index, Development Attractiveness Index, environmental sensitivity, environmental instability