Changes and Achievements of Environmental and Water

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Changes and Achievements of Environmentaland Water Resources Policies

KRIHSSPECIAL REPORT2008

Kim Sunhee Park Taesun

Vol. 10

Copyright 2008 Korea ResearchInstitute for Human Settlements

All rights reserved. Printed in theRepublic of Korea. No part of thispublication may be reproduced inany manner without written permis-sion from KRIHS except in the caseof brief quotations embodied in crit-ical articles and reviews. For moreinformation, please address inquiriesto: Korea Research Institute forHuman Settlements, 224 Simin-ro,Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do,431-712, Korea.

Anyang: Korea Research Institute forHuman Settlements, 2008p.cmIncludes bibliographical referencesISBN 978-89-8182-557-7

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Changes and Achievements of Environmentaland Water Resources Policies

ContentsAcronyms and Abbreviations

1. Directions and Achievements of Environmental Policy Kim, Sunhee

1) 1960s-1970s: Economic Growth Prioritized over Environmental Conservation2) 1980s: Improvement of National Living Environment3) 1990s: Conflicts between Development and Conservation4) 2000s: Establishment of Sustainable Territorial Environment ManagementSystem

5) Promoting Green Growth and Pleasant Territorial Environment

2. Directions and Achievements of Water Resources Policy Park, Taesun

1) Miracle of the Han River: From Flood Control to River-friendly Policy2) Prior to 1960: Seed for Survival Planted on Ruins of War3) 1960s-1970s: Miracle of the Han River4) 1980s-1990s: From Development to Conservation5) 2000s: Water Resources Management by Citizens6) Gathering Technology, Knowledge and Wisdom Together

Bibliography

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Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronyms and Abbreviations

BR Biosphere ReserveDMZ Demilitarized ZoneESSD Environmentally Sound and Sustainable DevelopmentNICS Newly Industrialized CountriesNIMBYS Not In My Back Yard SyndromePPP Polluter Pay PrincipleSEA Strategic Environmental AssessmentSOC Social Overhead CapitalWAMIS Water Management Information System

1. Directions and Achievements of Environmental Policy

1) 1960s-1970s: Economic Growth Prioritized over Environmental Conservation

In 1960, Korea’s GDP per capita was approximately USD 79. The Park Jung-HeeAdministration expanded national infrastructure industry and social overhead cap-ital (SOC) through the 1st Economic Development Plan and the 1st ComprehensiveNational Physical Development Plan and formed the base for industrial enhance-ment centered on chemical and steel industries. During this period, urbanization1)

and industrialization were accelerated through large scale dam construction, ex-pressway projects and heavy and chemical industry complex construction projectsacross the nation. Consequently, environmental pollution in the capital region be-came a social issue in 1963, and the environmental pollution issue emerged inUlsan Industrial Zone in 1965. The government enacted the EnvironmentalPollution Act in 1963 and the Enforcement Ordinance in November 1969 to pre-pare for an antipollution solution.

In 1956, 10 years after Liberation from Japanese Colonial Rule, devastatedmountain areas reached 680,000 ha, due mainly to the Korean War, secret fellingof trees and reckless deforestation. The government established Arbor Day in 1946and launched the Korea Forest Service in 1967.

<Figure 1-1> Mt. Jiri as National Park <Figure 1-2> Greenbelt (1971)

Source: http://mirinezero.tistory.com/89 Source: http://blog.empas.com/sapphirering

1) Urbanization rate change: 17%(1947) 39.2%(1960) 67.9%(1981).

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Also, the 1st 10 Year Plan for Forestry Conservation and Tree Planting wasestablished and promoted in 1973, and then the 2nd and 3rd 10 year plans werecontinually established and forestation projects were enforced. Discussions on thenational park designation were carried out in beautiful areas along withdevelopment. Based on the research of Mt. Jiri Area Development Committee setup within the National Reconstruction Campaign Headquarters in 1963, the in-troduction of a national park system was presented to the deliberation meeting ofComprehensive National Land Development Plan in 1967. On December 29, 1967,the Construction Minister designated and publicly notified Mt.Jiri as National ParkNo.1 of Korea. The Park Act was also enacted in 1967. During the 1960s, Mt. Jiri,Gyeongju, Mt. Gyeryong and Hallyo Haesang were designated as national parks.During the 1970s, Mt. Sorak, Mt. Sokri, Mt. Halla, Mt. Naejang, Mt. Gaya, Mt.Deukyu, Mt. Odae, Mt. Juwang and Taean Coast were designated as nationalparks.

As the industrial structure changed from light industry to heavy industry inthe late 1970s, environmental pollution problems became diversified and serious.Rivers were polluted due to factory and household waste water, and air pollutionaround industrial complexes was extreme. Actually, the Park Jung-HeeAdministration enacted the Environmental Conservation Act in 1977, deciding thatresponses to various environmental problems would be difficult with theAntipollution Act dealing only with the issues of health and sanitation. In addi-tion, the government set up environmental standards, carried out environmentalimpact assessment and introduced regions of special solutions. Low sulfur oil usewas mandated to reduce air pollution and a four major river valley environmentalsurvey projects were launched to establish a water pollution solution. The chaoticspread of cities was on the rise, due to rapid urbanization. To prevent such a phe-nomenon, the green belt was designated under the Urban Planning Act so as topreserve the natural environment surrounding cities and ensure a sound living en-vironment for city dwellers. Since the green belt focused on the capital region wasset up in 1971, the designation of green belt zoning was completed by designatingYeocheon City in 1977. The area of 5,397 or 5.4% of the entire national land wasdesignated in 28 cities, including Seoul and other 5 metropolitan cities, and 36counties in 8 occasions (Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, 1996: 464).

2) 1980s: Improvement of National Living Environment

In 1980, the Environment Administration was launched as an agency of theMinistry of Health and Society, and the Environmental Conservation Act, relatedbudget and manpower were prepared, and thus, systematic NationalEnvironmental Conservation Plan was established. In 1986, local environment ad-ministrations were established in 6 zones Seoul, Busan, Gwangju, Daegu,Daejeon and Wonju. In this manner, an environmental management system byzone was built.

As the Constitution stipulated the environmental rights guarantee and envi-ronmental conservation obligations, Korea’s environmental legislation began to bearranged.2) In this period, especially, the Environmental Conservation Act began tobe diversified into the Basic Environmental Policy Act, the Air Pollution Act andthe Water Quality Conservation Act, while environmental problems became seri-ous and diversified, because of economic structure enhancement deriving from theadvance of industrialization. Korea stipulated environmental rights through entirerevisions of the Constitution in 1980 and 1987.

In 1986 when the 5th Economic Development Plan was finished, the GDP percapita rose to USD 2,344, and the 1980s was a period that saw Korea’s rapidgrowth into one of the newly industrialized countries (NICS). The living environ-mental quality improvement, in particular, emerged as an urgent national task onthe occasions of the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. As thename Economic Development Plan was changed to the 5 Year Economic andSocial Development Plan, the qualitative improvement of people’s lives became abasic objective. The plan on environmental conservation based on the basic ob-jective of "Harmony of Economic Growth and Environmental Conservation" wasalso inserted. In February 1981, the environmental impact assessment system wasenforced in full swing.

In 1987, government’s top priority plan, the 1st Long-Term EnvironmentalConservation Comprehensive Plan (1987-2001) was formulated by integrating the

2) Article 35 of the Constitution provides, "All Korean people have a right to live in healthyand pleasant environment, and both the government and people should make efforts forenvironmental conservation."

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Han-River Conservation Comprehensive Plan, Nakdong-River ConservationComprehensive Plan and Southwestern Coast Conservation Comprehensive Plan.The government established and implemented projects by stage to achieve andmaintain environmental conservation objectives, such as attaining and maintainingenvironmental standards and expanding clean areas.

In early 1989, tap water pollution became a social issue. The Noh Tae-WooAdministration formulated the Comprehensive Solution to Supply Clean Water, anationwide water quality conservation solution introduced for the first time inKorea. Moreover, sewage treatment plants were constructed, and the areas of LakePaldang and Lake Daecheong were designated as Special Areas for WaterResources Protection.

The Special Area for Water Resources Protection emerged as a fundamentalcause of conflicts and confrontation between the upper and lower river residents,as disputes regarding property breaches were raised, because of robust restrictionsfor the protection of water supply sources, when the concerned areas were-designated so. The need to operate a beneficiary pay principle was raised in addi-tion to the polluter pay principle (PPP).

3) 1990s: Conflicts between Development and Conservation

The year 1990 was the first year declared for environmental conservation. The ex-isting Environment Administration was promoted to the Ministry of Environment.In 1991, starting with the establishment of the Mid-Term EnvironmentalConservation Comprehensive Plan, various plans and systems began to bearranged. As the Environmental Conservation Act was revised as the BasicEnvironment Policy Act, the environment-related laws were divided into 14 in-dividual laws. In 1992, a national declaration for environmental conservation wasproclaimed, and the Nationwide Natural Environmental Conservation Plan, BasicAir Conservation Plan and Basic Water Quality Conservation Plan wereformulated.

In January 1992, the 3rd Comprehensive National Land Development Actwas proclaimed. In this Environmental Conservation Plan aiming at pleasant envi-

ronment formation, the systematic and comprehensive establishment of an environ-mental management system, harmony of development and environmental con-servation, natural ecosystem conservation and consolidation of global environ-mental conservation were major contents.

In 1992, since the UNCED held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Korean govern-ment declared Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development (ESSD) as anew paradigm. An effort to introduce and combine Agenda 21 for global environ-mental protection in the 21st century into the national land and regional develop-ment field was promoted in diverse ways. In September 2000, the SustainableDevelopment Committee, an advisory body ofPresident for eco-friendly and sus-tainable national development and reasonable solution by reflecting sustainable de-velopment for which international society sympathizes, was founded. Under theslogan, "Think Globally, Act Locally," an opportunity to newly approach interna-tional and local environmental problems was provided. Especially, the introductionof Local Agenda 21 was accompanied by many changes in the local environmentalmanagement system.3)

In January 1994, a Nakdong-River phenol accident took place, and as a resultof the accident, the Water Quality Improvement Planning Office, affiliated with thePrime Minister’s Office, and a Private Sector Policy Committee for WaterResources Management were organized. Thus, environmental organizations beganto act in full scale. The water supply and sewage job of the Construction Ministrywas transferred to the Ministry of the Environment.

Nonetheless, since the late 1990s, water resource issues, such as pollution inLake Shihwa and drinking water source pollution in the four major rivers,emerged. The water quality of four major rivers, including Lake Paldang, thedrinking water source for the capital region, was not improved. The KimDae-Joong Administration established the Nakdong-River Water QualityManagement Comprehensive Solution, Geum-River and the Youngsan-River WaterQuality Management Comprehensive Solution, starting with the Han-River WaterSupply Source Special Comprehensive Solution in November 1998. To supportthose solutions, the Act for Han-River Water Quality Improvement and Residents

3) Among 250 local governments nationwide including 16 broad local areas, 92% or 229 localgovernments completed the drawing up of Local Agenda 21, as of 2007.

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Support was enacted and integrated and advanced water resources managementpolicy. As such, a total pollution volume system, waterfront zoning system, wateruse surcharge system, water source area support and land purchase system, wasintroduced.

In 1995, the 3rd Comprehensive National Land Plan revision proposal wasreviewed in view of domestic and foreign situations, such as economic cooperationbetween South and North Korea and OECD membership. In this revision proposal,the terms of "development" was deleted. This aimed to improve living quality forabundant life and eco-friendly national land resources management for the nextgeneration, and prepared the formation of pleasant and safe cities, establishmentof planned and conserving use systems of resources and promotion of eco-friendlynational land development.

In 1999, the 4th Comprehensive National Land Plan was formulated. Thisplan set up a 21st Century National Land Green Plan to realize a healthy andpleasant green national land through fundamental policy means, including the es-tablishment of the National Land Environmental Management System, NationalLand Ecosystem Network, implementation of land Aptitude Evaluation andIntroduction of the Waterfront Management System. Eco-friendly managementtechniques were introduced throughout national land development, such aspre-plan/post-development system, city and local development, industrial location,and road and dam construction.

In 1997, President, Kim Dae-Joong announced an election pledge, "Green beltareas without conservation value will be released by carrying out scientific envi-ronmental assessment, and the government will purchase areas where conservationis needed." Thus, the green belt was fully re-coordinated and system improvementwas conducted in 1998.

In 2000, A Special Act for Green Belt Designation and Management wasenacted, and changes in designation purpose and management mode of green beltwere made. Huge appeasements in restrictions were made including the activationof village arrangement projects, zoning change expansion within villages and golfcourse construction licensing. Seven urban zones with high pressure of city spreadand a great need for environmental management, including the capital region,were partially adjusted in consideration of urban special structure and environ-

mental evaluation results by formulating broad urban plans.In 1990, NIMBYS (Not In My Back Yard Syndrome) began to spread nation-

wide, due to local residents’ opposition campaign on the Anmyeondo nuclearpower plant waste collection management center. After the Lake Shihwa pollutionaccident in 1994 was reported, distrust on the national projects led by the govern-ment greatly increased, and thus the re-evaluation of national projects wasconducted. In 1998, the water pollution of the Saemangeum Land ReclamationProject became a social issue, and the government re-reviewed the economic effi-ciency, environmental impact and water pollution issues from scratch. In May, aprivate and public sector joint survey was conducted for re-assessment of nationalprojects for the first time in Korea. The Youngwol Dong-River Dam Project wascancelled through a comprehensive review of feasibility in April 1999. Also, envi-ronmental conflict related to the 2nd phase Gyeongbu High Speed Railway Project,that is, a Salamander lawsuit, cast many implications for formation of agreementon national projects. Through these cases, there has been a huge need to formulatea system to prevent and coordinate conflicts surrounding large scale nationalprojects.

4) 2000s: Establishment of Sustainable Territorial Environment

Management System

After the summit talks between South and North Korea in June 2000, discussionsand government measures on ecosystem conservation methods around the DMZ toprevent unplanned damages in and around the DMZ were conducted. From 2001,designation as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (BR)was promoted, and the ecosys-tem conservation measure in and around DMZ was confirmed. The DMZ runs asan East-West eco-axis conservation and management in the Korean peninsula andas an international peace-ecosystem area.

In December 2003, the Baekdu Daegan Mountain System Protection Act wasenacted to prevent damage deriving from indiscreet development activities of theBaekdu Daegan Mountain System and to shape our land as sound and pleasantnatural environment. The Roh Moo-Hyun Administration publicly designated

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Baekdu Daegan protection area reaching 2634 in August 2005, and formulated aBasic Baekdu Daegan Mountain System Protection Plan in December 2005 and itsenforcement plan. Organic and integrated conservation and management based onthe natural ecosystem of national mountains, seas, islands and wetlands wereformed in this period. The Baekdu Daegan eco-axis, DMZ eco-axis and islands andcoasts eco-axis were set as thee major axes of national land.

<Figure 1-3> Baekdu DaeganMountain System

<Figure 1-4> ChangnyeongWoopo Marsh

Source: The Office of Forestry Source: http://www.komats.co.kr

Moreover, a method to establish national land eco-integration network beganto be discussed, and conservation solutions were pursued so as to link cities & ru-ral areas and rivers and seas, and ecologically restore them. Since 1998, among2679 uninhabited islands scattered across the nation, research and survey of vege-tation, flora and topographic landscape has been carried out for 657 islands withsuperior ecosystems. Currently, 153 islands have been designated and managed asspecial islands. In June 2004, the Special Act for Ecosystem Conservation in theIslands including Dok-Island was enacted, and a related basic plan wasformulated. The islands have since been conserved and managed in this manner.

Approximately 500 of wetlands are distributed nationwide, and amongthose wetlands, 15 with superior natural ecosystems and great diversity of crea-tures, have been designated and managed as wetland protection areas. TheWetland Conservation Act was enacted in 1999, and the Jang Island Wetland, Mt.Daeam Dragon Marsh, Changnyeong Woopo Marsh were registered as Ramsar

Wetland as of 2005. Mt. Sorak, Mt. Baekdu, Mt. Halla and Mt. Guwol were des-ignated as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in October 2004.

As the society of democratization, localization and informatization is pro-moted, and GDP per capital rose to over USD 10,000, social conflicts also haveincreased. Twenty-four typical environmental conflicts, such as the SaemangeumLand Reclamation Project, Youngwol Dong-River Dam Project, Seoul OutskirtsCircular Expressway Project, Gyeongbu High Speed Railway Project, Hantan-RiverDam and Nuclear Power Plant Waste Collection Management Center location,were revealed nationwide. These environmental conflicts were spread out over 3-5years and the relevant projects were suspended, and then re-review of the projectswas conducted: Distrust on the government and social conflicts greatly increased.The progress of conflicts was converted from compensation in the past to valueconflicts to conserve environment and life value, and began to expand and wastenational finance, losses deriving from the delay of projects, and distrust on thegovernment. The Roh Moo-Hyun Administration perceived the need to establish afundamental social agreement formation system for public conflict prevention andcontrol, and thus formulated the Regulations of Public Conflicts Prevention andControl in February 2007.

In consideration of ecological, facility and institutional accommodation, thatis, carrying capacity, a preventive national land environment management functionto build national land environmental management system, based on sustainabilityof national land, is continuously consolidated. In June 2006, the Roh Moo-HyunAdministration implemented the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to re-view and assess environmentality by stage in all processes related to development.Through the SEA, a prior review of environmentality on the pertinence and alter-nate locations in the initial stage of development conception and an assessment ofenvironmental impacts, according to development project implementation stage,were systematized.

Korea is not a mandatory greenhouse gas reduction country, but has sin-cerely been promoted to the Kyoto Protocol Collation (Oct. 2002), after joiningtheConvention on Climate Change in December 1993. The government set up a PanGovernment Body to cope with the Convention on Climate Change in which 19ministries participate and a Committee to cope with the Convention on Climate

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Change in 1998 under the perception that energy savings and greenhouse gas re-duction are in line with Korea’s long-term economic development. Starting fromthe 1st Solution on such climate change (1999-2001), the 2nd Solution (2002-2004),the 3rd Solution (2005-2007) and the 4th Solution(2008-2010) have been establishedand basic conditions for greenhouse gas emission reduction are being shaped.

5) Promoting Green Growth and Pleasant Territorial Environment

The national land has changed in the past and present, and will continuouslychange in the future, too. Our land remarkably changed in the compressed eco-nomic growth process over the past 60 years, and the environmental policies andsystems have been advanced.

For Korea to shape a gracious and pleasant national land environment in linewith USD 40,000 target as GDP per capita and USD 100,000 target as GDP percapita and to realize green growth, the following should be conducted:

First, a natural ecosystem and water quality including rivers, lakes and seasshould be conserved beyond a specified level, and the living environment, such asair, noise and vibrations must be sharply improved.

Second, the recovery of the land of beautiful scenery is necessary throughconservation and restoration of the natural ecosystem in mountains, rivers andcoasts. Mountains, rivers and coast environments where various creatures can in-habit should be shaped by building national land ecosystem integrated networks,and new nature-friendly spaces must be created. Through the projects to shapeBaekdu Daegan Korean People’s Eco Park, DMZ Peace Eco Park and West CostPeace Park with both South and North Korea involved, a measure to restore thenatural ecosystem in the divided and damaged Korean Peninsula is also necessary.

Third, national land amenity discovery and creation strategies must beprepared. To recreate our land as beautiful and pleasant space, we need to ac-tively discover hidden natural, cultural and social resources on every corner of ourland, and a strategy to activate the national land amenity, creating local addedvalue, must be devised by linking those resources, space and local economies.

Fourth, the social agreement formation system to solve and prevent environ-mental conflicts must mature, and the planning and promotion procedures of vari-ous developing projects must be rationalized and systematized. Social capitalshould be expanded to improve conflict and coordination mechanism of the di-versified society and to promote social credibility and creativity.

Fifth, a comprehensive national land management solution should be devisedto prevent global warming and for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Forclimate change mitigation, the arrangement and integration method of overall na-tional land and urban planning system, such as energy saving national land andcity designs and low carbon transportation and logistics system designs, isrequired. For adaptation to climate change, the national land needs to be designedin consideration of the CO2 reduction scenario after 30-50 years at least, andlong-term plans and cooperative systems must be prepared.

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2. Directions and Achievements of Water Resources Policy


1) Miracle of the Han River: From Flood Control to River-friendly Policy

Water has been the subject of use and management simultaneously for quite sometime. The national land contains such valuable water and land, which is the foun-dation of our lives. This is why water resources carry an important meaning innational land management. Nowadays, water has become one of the most valuableresources to maintain economic and industrial activities, such as agriculture, in-dustry and entertainment, as well as drinking water.

However, water demand has rapidly risen with industrialization and urban-ization, along with the population increase, and the use and perception of waterhas become different, as human activities diversified. As quality of life and envi-ronmental awareness improves, the importance of river ecosystem conservationand water-friendly spaces emerge. Recently, floods and drought frequently takeplace, due to global warming, and it is becoming more difficult to prevent flooddamage and obtain a stable water supply.

In retrospect of water resource policies during the past 60 years, it is timethat we review how water resources have been managed, and consider how topromote future water resource policies. Though it is difficult to clearly classify thechanges of water resource policies by year, they can be categorized into fourstages, based on policy paradigm shifts: Prior to 1960, 1960-1979, 1980-1999 and2000-present.

Category Basic Policies Major Policies to Promote

Prior to 1960(InceptionPeriod)

River control projects forsurvival- Food productionincrease, buildingbanks

- River status survey

Basic survey of river improvement projects,hydro power plants and water supply forliving and production- Joseon River Survey (1915-1928)- Hydro Power Plant Site Survey (1954-)

<Table 2-1> History of Major Policies

(Continued)

Category Basic Policies Major Policies to Promote

1960-1979(DevelopmentPeriod)

Re-perception water as aresource- Support of economicdevelopment

- Stable water supply

Preparing foundation of water managementand promoting full scale development- Enactment of River Act, SpecificMultipurpose Dam Act and foundation ofWater Resource Bureau (1961)

- 10 Year Long-Term Water ResourcesComprehensive Development (1966)

- Four Major River Valley ComprehensiveDevelopment Plan (1971-1981)

1980-1999(ExpansionPeriod)

Solution of conflictsbetween developmentand conservation- Development of largeand multipurpose

- Solution of conflictsfrom environmentalconservation

Continuous expansion of water resourcesfacilities and multipurpose use- Establishment of long-term water resourcescomprehensive development plan (1981,1991, 1997)

- Development of multipurpose dams,expansion of broad zone water supply

- Efforts to solve environmental problems andconflicts

2000-Present(ManagementPeriod)

Scientific watermanagement anddiversification- Optimal watermanagement effort

- Long-term anddiversifiedmanagement

Promotion of scientific water resourcesmanagement considering condition changes- Establishment and promotion of Long-TermWater Resources Comprehensive Plan (2006)

- Currently under establishment andpromotion of management policiesconsidering climate change

2) Prior to 1960: Seed for Survival Planted on Ruins of War

Korean people greatly suffer from heavy rains and typhoons each year, because ofgeographical and meteorological features. Thus, a long time ago, reservoirs werebuilt and rivers were improved to cope with droughts and floods. The modernsense of water management actually emerged in 1910 during the Japanese ColonialRule Period. Japan focused on river improvement and hydro power plant projectsto obtain rice for military use and electric power necessary for war. Japan con-ducted river surveys on 14 main rivers nationwide during 1915-1928, and issued aJoseon River Survey Report in 1928. According to Japan’s colonial policy to make

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Joseon a supply base for foods and industrial raw materials to invade China, largescale concrete dams for hydro power plants suitable for natural conditions inNorth Korea, and small scale earth dams in plain areas were promoted. In the lateJapanese Colonial Rule Period, water resource development was promoted for hy-dro power generation, irrigation and water for living and production to obtainelectric power and water supply to invade mainland China.

After the Korean War, dams for irrigation, water for living and hydro powergeneration were built with assistance from international organizations, such asUnited Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency (UNKRA), Food and AgriculturalOrganization (FAO) and the International Cooperation Administration (ICA) to re-cover from war damage amid social chaos.

3) 1960s - 1970s: Miracle of the Han River

As the Third Republic of Korea was founded in 1961, the 1st 5 Year EconomicDevelopment Plan was formulated for economic reconstruction, and active eco-nomic development was promoted and led by the government during 1962-1966.In October 1961, the Water Resources Bureau was founded by absorbing theEngineering Works Bureau under the Internal Affairs Ministry to the NationalLandConstruction Administration affiliated with the Economic Planning Ministry. InDecember 1961, the Joseon River Ordinance that had been applied was abolished,and the River Act was enacted to prepare framework for water resourcemanagement. In 1965, the 10-Year Water Resources Plan (1970-1980) was estab-lished under the perception of comprehensive water resources development to at-tain self-reliant economy, food self-sufficiency, enhancement of industry and stabil-ity of livelihood of people.

In 1966, the HanRIver Joint Survey Group was organized, and it carried outvarious surveys to comprehensively develop water resources within the HanRIverBasin. After that, the Specific Multipurpose Dam Act was enacted and proclaimedin April 1966 as a special case law of the River Act in order to promote multi-purpose dams. In November 1967, Korea Water Resources Corporation took chargeof water resources development was founded. In September 1967, 142km of rivers

were improved by investing 20,833 tons of grain and KRW 3.05 billion during the1st and 2nd 5 Year Economic Development Plan through the World FoodProgramme (WFP) Support River Improvement Agreement between the Koreangovernment and FAO. In 1968, a draft for river valley development comprehensiveplan was prepared including the largest gravel dam, the Soyang-River Dam. Basedon this draft, dam construction began in April 1967 and was completed inDecember 1973.

In 1970, the Four Major River Valley Comprehensive Plan (1970-1981) wasformulated based on the river valley comprehensive plan draft, and the FourMajor River Valley Comprehensive Development Committee was set up andchaired by the Vice-Prime Minister, and the committee supervised projects by eachministry. In 1973, 1st stage Broad Water Supply in the Capital Region waslaunched to supply 1.2 million /day of water so as to solve the chronic lack ofwater and to supply water for industrial use in four cities (Seoul, Seongnam,Bucheon and Incheon) in the capital region, and was completed in 1979. In 1974,a Korea River Survey Report was issued by arranging data on rivers nationwide,water resources development performances, and plans.

<Figure 2-1> View of Soyang River Dam

Source: Korea Water Resources Corporation (http://www.kwater.or.kr/)

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4) 1980s - 1990s: From Development to Conservation

Policies to resolve imbalance between regions, between industries and between in-come brackets were promoted in the 1980s. To this end, the Long-Term WaterResources Development Comprehensive Plan (1981-2001) was established and pro-moted in association with the 2nd Comprehensive National Land DevelopmentPlan (1982-1991). The plan focused on the construction of multiple dams, watersupply dams and estuary banks to stably cope with rapidly increasing water sup-ply demand, promotion of river improvement to reduce disasters, and increase ofhydro energy development, due to oil shock in the mid 1970s. According to thisplan, large scale dams, such as the Chungju Dam, Hapcheon Dam and Juam Dam,were built.

However, the water supply shortage and flood damage in the small and me-dium river basins increased and river pollution was forecast to be severe. To copewith such a situation, the Long-Term Water Resources DevelopmentComprehensive Plan (1991-2011) was formulated.

Since then, urbanization and industrialization developed along with livingstandard improvement, and in the early 2000s, serious snag was caused, due to aserious water shortage nationwide, and thus industrial complexes or cities becamedifficult. Also, severe droughts and floods have been forecast, because of abnormalclimate changes, including El Nino. Consequently, the Long-Term Water ResourcesComprehensive Plan (1997-2011) was formulated. The plan focused on the stabili-zation of water supply nationwide, flood disaster prevention and formation ofpleasant waterfront environment, rationalization of water resources managementand research and survey activation.

In the early 1990s, social sympathy began to be shaped regarding the prob-lems of river maintenance with an enhanced awareness of river environment. In1991, research to introduce environmental concepts in river management began,and a concept of river maintaining quantity of flow was introduced by fully re-vising the river Act in 1999: A minimum quantity of flow necessary to maintainnormal functions and status of river was set and publicly noticed. In the 2000s,broad sympathy was formed concerning the need for a river environment plan,and the plan was included in formulating the Long-Term Water Resources

Comprehensive Plan (2001). In December 1991, the Gyeongin WaterwayComprehensive Plan was established in order to use it as a flood control channeland as a waterway to solve land transport difficulty in the capital region.Opposing views, however, were presented, pointing out that the waterway con-struction economic efficiency was low, and the ecosystem would be destroyed andthe living sphere would be divided. Therefore, the agreement to attract privatesector funds for the Gyeongin Waterway was cancelled in July 2004. The con-struction of the waterway was suspended in January 2005 by paying KRW 120 bil-lion as agreement cancellation payment on the temporary flood control channel.

In 1996, a Gyeongbu Waterway (HanRIver to Nakdong-River) plan to con-nect Seoul and Busan as a means of river transport was reviewed. A possibility ofthis plan was presented in that land transport difficulty can be eased with a largevolume of cargo transport through a main waterway, and that water resources canbe used in a balanced manner.

Since the late 1980s, water quality began to appear as a social issue. As thereported results of a research analysis on the 10 worst purification plants in termsof water quality during the drought period (Oct. 1988 to Dec. 1988) by the KoreaInstitute of Construction Technology, people’s distrust of tap water quality rose,and thus, solutions for water quality improvement began to be devised in January,1989. In March and April, 1991, phenol liquid was discharged into theNakdong-River, after the phenol pipeline of Doosan Electronics in the GumiIndustrial Complex was destroyed. After this accident, a Clean Water SupplyComprehensive Solution(1993-1997) was formulated and the government began toactively cope with the water quality problem of the four major rivers. TheNakdong-River phenol pollution accident became an occasion to convert the direc-tion of water resources management policy from an investment project-orientedfollow-up measure, including basic environmental facility installation, to the in-troduction of pre-pollution prevention systems, such as Total Pollution VolumeManagement, simultaneously setting up a waterfront zone, water source upgradingand designation of security forest, and the support of local residents in restrictiveareas.

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5) 2000s: Water Resources Management by Citizens

In July 2001, the Long-Term Water Resources Comprehensive Plan (2001-2020) wasestablished in association with the 4th Comprehensive National Land Plan. Sincethen, a problem was raised in that the water demand and water shortage hadbeen allegedly excessively estimated in the plan established in 2001 by civic organ-izations, and the Ministry of the Environment has maintained a position that a so-cial agreement is necessary on water demand forecasting. In July 2006, theLong-Term Water Resources Comprehensive Plan (2006-2020) was formulated byreflecting social condition changes, including natural condition changes such asfrequent droughts and large scale flooding after 2001, along with opinion con-vergence on estimated water demand and water supply capability change, deriv-ing from Mt. Geumgang Dam in the BukhanRiver Basin and dam construction inthe upper Imjin-River.

In the latter part of the 1990s, the social atmosphere opposing dam con-struction was formed on the grounds that land prices around the submerged areawould go down, due to activity restrictions, once a dam is constructed.Accordingly, in September 1999, the Act for Dam Construction and OutskirtsSupport (the Dam Act) was enacted including the maintenance project around thedam area to activate the surrounding area’s economy and improve the living envi-ronment in consideration of social condition changes arising from damconstruction. Also, the act includes supporting projects around dams to promotesurrounding area residents’ income and welfare increases, after a dam iscompleted. With the enactment of the act, the Specific Multipurpose Dam Act,which was the foundation of dam construction, was abolished. Also, the dam con-struction policy was turned into a direction to promote dam construction by estab-lishing long-term dam construction plans targeting all dams, developing water re-sources comprehensively and systematically and expanding support for residentssurrounding the concerned dams.

In the late 1990s, a systematic and comprehensive survey was conducted con-cerning human, nature, industry, irrigation, river improvement and environmentalecology in the river valleys, and thus, the need for sound and sustainable rivervalley management began to be apparent. In November 1998, the Korean River

Catalogue issued in 1991 began to be revised, and the revised Korean RiverCatalogue was drawn up in June 2000. In September 1999, the Water ManagementInformation System (WAMIS) providing major information in the 10 sectors, in-cluding floodgates, rivers and dams were built. In December 1999, the WaterInformation Management-Oriented Comprehensive Plan was established by theWater Quality Improvement Planning Office affiliated with the Prime Minister’sOffice.

In April 2004, the Water Management Standard was confirmed, and inNovember 2004, 7 institutions, including the Construction Ministry, Ministry of theEnvironment and Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry built the WaterManagement Information Networking System (WINS) on 29 items, such as flood-gates, climate, rivers, dams, underground water, water use and topography andspace. In June 2006, River Valley Instructions were set up, and at the end of 2006,WINS’ water-related institutions were expanded to 14, and joint use data increasedto 43 items.

6) Gathering Technology, Knowledge and Wisdom Together

There was time that people just relied on God. People regarded floods or droughtsas the will of God. However, nowadays is the time to predict changes to some de-gree, as science develops. Korean people have made an effort to gain technologyto forecast global changes beyond forecasting climate change in Korea. It is timethat we need wisdom for predictable water management to adap t to nature byfaster and more precisely forecasting natural changes through the power of scienceand technology.

Humans need water for survival, and that is why conflicts to obtain cleanerand abundant water have continued thus far. Our world may be damaged moreby disputes or conflicts between people surrounding water, rather than by floodsor droughts. People should make an effort to prevent conflicts surrounding waterbetween the upper and lower rivers, between regions and between nations, andconduct the best water management without conflicts so as to solve and coor-dinate conflicts rationally.

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Humans are a constituent of the nature, and are the supreme creaturesequipped with intellectual abilities through which people can obtain wisdom andrealization from water, which is the origin of all things. In the past, water man-agement was based on economic efficiency, and the current water management isbased on the natural environment. The future water management, however, willfocus on the human’s water use culture. Now is the time that we need to realizethe true meaning of water by safely managing and saving it so that our descend-ants can use water as well. All in all, now is the time that we need wisdom forhuman-oriented water management.

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Bibliography

Bibliography

Korean Literature

Jang, Hawon (2003). Age for GDP per capita of USD 20,000. Seoul: Policy PlanningCommittee.

Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (1996). National land - 50 years, re-flection of national land and outlook toward the 21st century. Anyang: Seoul Press.

Korea Water Resources Association (1997). 30 years of Korea's water resourcesdevelopment. Seoul: Author.

Korean Society of Civil Engineers (2001). Korean history of civil engineering. Seoul:Korean Civil Engineers/KSCE.

Ministry of Construction and Transportation (2006). Long-term water resources com-prehensive plan (2006-2020). Gwacheon: The Government of Korea.

Ministry of Construction and Transportation (2007). Water resources of Korea.Gwacheon: The Government of Korea.

Park, Wonhoon et al. (2002). Environmental vision of Korea 2050. Seoul: Geumulko.

Web Documents

Retrieved August 31, 2008, from the Korea Forest Service Web site:http://www.forest.go.kr/

Retrieved August 31, 2008, from the Korea Water Resources Corporation Web site:http://www.kwater.or.kr/