Free Flow

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ater

ooperation

, S

ustainability

and

overty

radication

structure in Unified Korea. In addition, the socioeconomic growth of

South Korea has led to increasing needs for water resources and sani-

tary facilities. Since 1999, when South Korea became a donor country,

opportunities for international water cooperation have increased.

In 1991, KOICA was established to set up a grant for developing

and underdeveloped countries. International water cooperation in

Korea can be divided into direct and indirect cooperation. Direct

cooperation is divided into a grant and a concessional loan. The

grant is managed by KOICA and the loan is managed by the Export-

Import Bank of Korea. Indirect cooperation is managed by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.

The number of primary grants is rapidly increasing today.

In addition, the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of the

United Nations started with the support of the Ministry of Construction

and Transport in 1997, and is now in its seventh phase entitled ‘Water

Dependencies: Systems under Stress and Societal Responses’. South

Korea has been listed on the IHP National Committee since 2002, and

was re-elected in 2010. It is now an executive member of the Asia-

Pacific region (Group IV) along with Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia,

Pakistan, Iran and North Korea. In 2003, South Korea also joined

the Network of Asian River Basin Organizations, which helps water

resources-related organizations and government agencies such as river

basin organizations in developing countries to promote technological

exchange programmes on water resources operation and management.

In Thailand, the National Water Resources and Flood Policy

Committee (NWRFPC), led by the Prime Minister, was established

in 2012. Since the great flood in 2001, NWRFPC has been working on

the integrated water resources management of 25 rivers in Thailand

including the Chao Phraya River, in which a number of Korean

organizations are involved. Moreover, the experience of the Four

Rivers Project in Korea triggered international technical exchange

programmes among other countries such as Morocco and Paraguay.

In order to facilitate transboundary water cooperation in the Mekong

River Basin, GGGI and KWRA have been working together since 2012

on the Green Growth Framework for Water Resources Management

in the Mekong River Basin project. The overall objective of the project

is to enhance the capacity of the riparian countries (Cambodia, Lao

People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet Nam)

and the Mekong River Commission Secretariat to imple-

ment the green growth policy framework in relation to

water resources development at the national and basin

levels. The project is expected to establish an appropriate

water and green growth framework model that can be

applied to transboundary water basins at the global level.

It is worth taking a closer look at the most significant

water project, the Four Rivers Project in Korea. The

project aims to restore the ecological functions of the four

major rivers, which have been degraded and disturbed by

anthropogenic activities, especially during the period of

industrialization since the 1960s. It is regarded as a useful

reference for developing countries. The project has been

evaluated as good practice in the OECD Environmental

Outlook to 2050, which praised it as a comprehensive

approach tomanaging water resources in rivers and achiev-

ing green growth through water. The Four Rivers Project is

a multipurpose water project to achieve water security and

prevent water-related natural disasters such as floods and

droughts that often take place owing to climate change.

The Four Rivers Project provides a total solution for

river restoration. Its five key objectives are to:

• implement comprehensive flood control

• secure a sufficient amount of water resources

against potential water scarcity

• improve water quality and restore the ecosystems in

and around the rivers

• create multifunctional areas for local residents

• prepare for further revitalization of the river

systems by local authorities in the future.

The project will renew and rehabilitate a total 929 km of

the four rivers. Subsequent projects, which will be admin-

istered by local governments, will restore more than 10,000

km of local streams and 39 riparian wetlands. The total

budget for the project is estimated at US$ 19.2 billion.

Flood control

Water security

Water quality improvement

Ecological restoration

Waterfront development

Measures

Dredging: 450 million m

Detentions: 5 places

Reinforcing dilapidated levees: 784 km

Movable weirs: 16

Dams: 2

Elevating agricultural reservoir banks: 96

Sewage treatment facilities: 1,281

Total-phosphorus treatment facilities: 233

Ecological wetlands: 11.8 million m

Fish-ways: 33 sites

Bicycle paths: 1,757 km

Tourist attraction sites: 36

Effects

Lowering flood water levels (2-4 m)

Secure 1.3 billion m

of water

Swimmable water 76% - 86%

Improve natural ecology & promote eco-tourism

Better quality of life

The Four Rivers Project: measures and effects

Source: MLTM, 2009