The Ministry of Environment has conducted a nationwide survey of the natural environment every five years in accordance with Article 30 of the Natural Environment Conservation Act. The first Natural Environment Survey started in 1986. As of 2020, the 5th Survey is underway. From the 3rd Survey, the natural environment was divided into nine areas: topography, vegetation, plants, large benthic invertebrates, amphibians and reptiles, fish, land insects, birds, and mammals. The results of the national physical environment survey have been built with geographic information through the "Comprehensive Natural Environment GIS-DB Construction Project," in progress since 2000. The result is thematic maps, such as topographic maps, a vegetation map, an animal and plant distribution map, and an ecological and natural map, which is a comprehensive assessment map of the physical environment created using the thematic maps.