*4.3. Sustainability of Breeding Birds at Traditional Folk Villages in Korea*

In Korea, urbanization and industrialization have impacted rural society since the 1970s [22], while TFVs conserve and protect traditional rural landscapes and high biodiversity to this day. Recently TFVs have been cited as pilot villages for low-carbon cities and sustainable urban environments due to COVID-19 and climate change. From this viewpoint, the value and importance of biodiversity

should be evaluated as a new perspective for nature-based solutions like natural healing resources in TFVs. Meanwhile, urban shrinking and climate change could threat the sustainability of nesting & diet types in TFVs in Korea. Recently, biological conservation implication as well as socio-economic policy for stakeholders in rural landscapes could protect and conserve the biodiversity at a specific city and rural community [23–25].

Meanwhile, two summer visitors (HR, OC) do breed in TFVs in Korea, but they migrate to the Southeast Asia to spend winter. To conserve the population of these birds, it is important to ensure wintering grounds and staging grounds at the migration routes in East Asia. Also, it is necessary to assess the habitat of two birds at breeding grounds of Korea and wintering grounds of Southeast Asia. The application of a city biodiversity index [26] would be recommended to evaluate habitats and the biodiversity in TFVs in the Asia region.

Compared to rural, urban and forest habitats, TFVs showed a high diversity of nesting types for breeding birds. The functional traits of breeding birds in TFVs can be related with habitat heterogeneity or simultaneous use by breeding birds at forests, paddies and croplands.

Two cases of the western Amazon [27] and Australian region [28] showed that the importance of biodiversity and livelihoods of indigenous people should be considered before environmental impact assessment of government development policies. From this viewpoint, the relationship between functional traits of breeding birds and the lifestyle of TFVs should be more addressed and interpreted to comprehend the value of TFVs in Korea.

Local & central government have endeavored to conserve TFVs with legislative and economic support to the villagers; however, in-depth excavation of value of TFVs in terms of biodiversity and economic valuation should be executed in the near future. TFVs can provide a harmonized solution of valuable nature and curable nurture in a post-COVID-19 society.
