ㅇ Increase efforts to identify candidate protected areas among national parks, ecosystem and landscape conservation areas, inland wetland protected areas and designated islands, and make new designations.

ㅇ Work to increase the number of types and designations of natural heritage, forest protected areas and Baekdudaegan protected areas.

ㅇ Identify types of OECM candidate sites, build a geographic information system (GIS) database based on the findings, and list the data in phases in the Korea Database on Protected Areas (KDPA).


ㅇ Identify marine and coastal areas of high ecological value to make more than two new designations of marine and coastal protected areas every year.

ㅇ Identify well-conserved marine and coastal areas, such as environment and ecosystem management areas, research and education conservation areas, safety management areas and self-management fishery areas, as OECMs.

ㅇ Enhance the quality of nationally protected area management by establishing an assessment and feedback system from 2024, including through a refined manual, based on the findings of the trial assessments of inland wetland protected areas and ecosystem and landscape conservation areas conducted between 2022 and 2023; by expanding the coverage of PAME assessments to include all protected areas, and by providing the legal basis for regular and stable assessments.

ㅇ Refine the designation and management manual for special protection zones in national parks by identifying management goals and methods and by establishing criteria to assess progress against the goals.

ㅇ Ensure that the PAME assessment framework takes into account the characteristics of forest genetic resources protection zones, develop a management framework to oversee these zones, and strengthen the training of personnel in charge.

ㅇ From 2024, institutionalize the identification and management of OECMs by making revisions to relevant legislation to define them and their types, specify the process to identify, list, manage them and assess the effectiveness of their management.

ㅇ Host a forum to expand nationally protected areas on a continued basis with participation from government officials, private-sector experts and other stakeholders, in order to facilitate dialogue and build a consensus on OECMs.

ㅇ Continue from 2023 to develop a certification scheme for OECMs and raise awareness of OECMs among local governments and residents.

ㅇ Expand tourism infrastructure to ensure better access to areas adjacent to natural parks and stimulate demand for local tourism by developing tours to experience local communities and offering mutually-beneficial tourism programs that link natural parks with surrounding areas.

ㅇ Continue to identify eco-tourism sites that are connected to local tourist attractions, and from 2024, develop and offer tailored tours that cater to international travelers.

ㅇ By 2025, modify existing PES schemes to increase benefits to residents of protected areas, including by assigning a weight to protected areas when determining the unit cost of support for sites under PES schemes.

ㅇ From 2025, assess and manage PES performance in protected areas on a yearly basis and reward high-performing residents and local governments to encourage their participation.

ㅇ Increase protected areas by working with local communities and offering support to private land owners through private land purchases, PES schemes and protection and management agreements.

ㅇ Launch the Tidal Flat Eco-Village Project on a pilot basis in sites where tidal flat ecosystems are, or have the potential to be, well-preserved by local efforts.