Analysis of Damage to Natural Heritage by Climate Change: Current Status and Spatial Characteristics

This study examines the status and spatial characteristics of natural heritage damage under climate change by compiling damage cases from 1990 to 2025 into a database and analyzing their typological, temporal, and spatial patterns. The analysis focused on nationally designated natural heritage properties, specifically Scenic Sites and Natural Monuments, and combined statistical analysis with spatial analysis. The statistical analysis reviewed annual and monthly damage patterns, characteristics by heritage type, disaster causes, and forms of damage. The spatial analysis applied kernel density estimation to point-based damage data and calculated damage rates at the Si/Gun/Gu administrative level to identify areas of concentrated damage and relative vulnerability. The results show that a total of 338 damage cases were recorded, with Natural Monuments accounting for the larger proportion of cases. Among heritage subtypes, plant-related heritage showed particularly high damage frequency, especially old trees and village forests being the most affected. Damage cases have generally increased since the 2010s and were concentrated in August and September, indicating a close relationship with the seasonal pattern of typhoons and heavy rainfall. Storm and flood damage accounted for the largest share among disaster types, with typhoons and heavy rainfall identified as the main causes. Spatially, relatively high damage densities were observed in Jeju, the southern coastal area, and parts of the central inland region. The damage-rate analysis also identified highly vulnerable areas in places where the overall number of natural heritage properties is relatively small. These findings suggest that natural heritage damage should not be solely in terms of frequency, but as a matter of relative risk shaped by local environmental conditions and the spatial distribution of heritage. The database and analytical results presented in this study are expected to serve as a useful basis for future climate-risk assessment and preventive conservation planning for natural heritage.