A new monitoring system to instantly detect forest disasters, including forest fires, has now been put in place.

When a forest fire occurs, the new system will help locate historical monuments or other important buildings that are nearby, as well as overhead power lines. The system can also detect epidemics of pine wilt disease, trace infected areas and help respond to such outbreaks.

The Korea Forest Service recently announced its new forest disaster comprehensive management system to monitor forest disasters in a bid to guard against forest fires and disease and to effectively respond to damages caused by such disasters.



The system is integrated with various other information systems, including the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs' national location data, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's aerial video images and the National Institute of Ecology's system of tracing natural ecological systems, all of which help with effective decision-making.

In the past, the government relied solely on aerial maps to figure out the location of major government offices and forest or ecological information. Moreover, each system was managed separately, making it difficult to share data. The Korea Forest Service's new system is designed to solve these problems.

"Using this comprehensive management system will greatly help locate disasters and allow us to better respond to different situations," said an official from the forest service.

By Limb Jae-un
Korea.net Staff Writer
jun2@korea.kr