SK Innovation to restore mangrove forests in Fiji

SK Innovation will restore mangrove forests in Fiji, using funding from its CES 2023 booth, in the latest efforts to help tackle environmental challenges in the region.

Lim Su-kil, far left, head of SK Innovation’s Value Creation Center, poses for a photo with Sanjana Lal, conservator of Fiji’s Ministry of Fisheries and Forestry, and Jalesi Mateboto, advisor of Land Resources Division of the Pacific Community after signing an MOU for mangrove reforestation in Suva, the capital of Fiji on Oct. 25. [SK INNOVATION]

SK Innovation is restoring mangrove forests in Fiji in the latest efforts to help tackle environmental challenges in the region, including rising sea levels caused by global warming.

The Korean company said Thursday it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Fiji government for a project to restore the mangrove forests in the coastal areas of Vanua Levu Island, the second-largest among the 332 islands that constitute Fiji.

The project will kick off in November.

SK Innovation is entirely funding the Fiji reforestation project. The funding utilizes points accumulated by visitors of SK’s booth at CES 2023 held in Las Vegas earlier this year.

Mangroves predominantly inhabit tidal flats or coastlines in subtropical regions with approximately 73 species distributed over about 150,000 square kilometers (58,000 square miles) worldwide.

Their carbon dioxide absorption capacity is known to exceed more than five times that of typical forests, making them effective in addressing climate change. Mangroves act as a barrier against natural disasters such as typhoons and tsunamis, mitigating coastal damage and preventing coastal erosion, SK said.

The reforestation project came as part of the company's latest efforts to reduce carbon emissions, with the very first mangrove planting started in 2018 in the southern province of Tra Vinh, Vietnam.

So far, the accumulated size of mangroves reforested by SK in Southeast Asia has reached 226 hectares, with approximately 820,000 new trees.

“Through the restoration of mangrove forests in Fiji in the South Pacific region, SK aims to achieve not only environmental value creation but also mutual prosperity within the local community,” said Lim Su-kil, head of SK Innovation Value Creation Center.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]