Compensation for Designation of Wetlands Protection Area and Contract of Payment for Ecosystem Service

The Wetland Conservation Act was enacted in 1999 as an implementation law of the Ramsar Convention to efficiently conserve and manage wetlands that are a treasure trove of biodiversity and have the function of purifying pollutants. Designation of wetland protection areas and restrictions on activities under the Wetland Conservation Act are inevitable regulations to achieve the public interest purpose of wetland conservation, but since a significant portion of Korea's inland wetlands are private land, it creates the problem of restrictions on the exercise of ownership rights for land owners. The Wetlands Conservation Act only recognizes the provision of compensation for losses suffered due to wetland surveys and the right to claim purchase by land owners. However, it is appropriate for Korea's Wetland Conservation Act to also establish a new regulation that recognizes claims for compensation in cases where land cannot be used for its original purpose due to designation as a wetland protection area or when the owner incurs property loss due to restrictions on land use. There is a need to expand the introduction of economic incentive policies that have the effect of improving the efficiency of environmental conservation policies or promoting innovation based on the voluntariness of economic actors. The introduction of the contract of payment for ecosystem service under the Biodiversity Act, which took effect in 2020, has the purpose of shifting the paradigm of environmental conservation from regulation-centered to incentive-based. In order for the contract of payment for ecosystem service to be activated in the future, supplementation or expansion is necessary in terms of contract recipients, contract target area, target business type, and contract period. Private landowners within wetland protection areas can alleviate or supplement problems such as restrictions on land ownership by signing an contract of payment for ecosystem service to create and manage wetlands and receive compensation. However, since this is a factual problem and not a fundamental legal solution, provisions such as compensation should be enacted in the Wetland Conservation Act. In addition, wetland conservation and management can be strengthened through contract of payment for ecosystem service, so active use of this is necessary. Since the limitations of wetland conservation management under the Wetland Conservation Act can be supplemented through contract of payment for ecosystem services under the Biological Diversity Act, there is a need to actively utilize contract of payment for ecosystem service. The contract of payment for ecosystem service can efficiently conserve and manage wetlands based on cooperation and active management activities with land owners.