Since the local autonomous system in Korea was introduced from 1995, some local governments have determined to set and operate the tourist cable cars for the commercial purpose. In relation to this background, Pros and cons on the issue arc sharply di...
Since the local autonomous system in Korea was introduced from 1995, some local governments have determined to set and operate the tourist cable cars for the commercial purpose. In relation to this background, Pros and cons on the issue arc sharply divided between the local governments and residents from environmental non-government organizations who are against such plan.
Since the cable car systems were introduced into Korea, the tourist cable cars and cable-ways more than thirty have been set and operated. But any information regarding what impacts they would have on the environment have not been studied. This research aims to provide the appropriate information to the policy-makers, environmentalists, and the public so as to identify what problems there are, and further to help them establish the appropriate plans and improvements.
Direct site investigations into the domestic and foreign cable-car facilities were conducted during this research. As a result, this research identified three phenomena of some impacts on the natural sceneries, topographical changes, and various pollutions by analyzing problems found through the investigations and their common impacts on the environment.
In order to settle such problems, it is necessary to change the tourism type into the sustainable one and to induce ecological tourism. In addition, this research found that it is required to reinforce the criteria of environmental impact assessment as a preventive means and to improve the methods.