Free Flow

Case study: the Four Rivers Project

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ater

ooperation

, S

ustainability

and

overty

radication

it was a sound social learning process in which the state,

civil society, experts and ordinary citizens understood

different parties’ interests and concerns. The experience

also implies an establishment of democratic decision-

making in which stakeholders became more accustomed

to reaching a consensus through persuasion and discus-

sion. More importantly, this exercise had culminated in

the creation of the centre-local network for water coop-

eration, and central government officials began to have a

good understanding of local water issues.

Korea’s contribution to the promotion of water coop-

eration at the international level has gradually increased,

and this trend will continue. There is growing recogni-

tion within the country that it is time for Korea to commit

itself to aiding the international community, particularly

developing countries, in supporting socioeconomic devel-

opment and environmental sustainability. Institutional

and technical experiences in sustainable water manage-

ment in Korea will pave the way for developing countries

to emulate management practices for their own long-term

economic, societal and environmental development.

Flood hazard mitigation is a prime objective for the project. Climate

change has triggered record highs in torrential rainfall and large-scale

typhoons in recent years. For example, in 2011 more than 1,800

mm of annual precipitation was recorded in Korea, which usually

receives an average annual precipitation of around 1,240 mm. Thanks

to the project, flood water levels under the heavy summer storms

were reduced by 1.31 m on average and 4.45 m at the maximum. An

extraordinary flood event like the one in 2011 could occur at any time

due to climate change. The outcomes of the Four Rivers Project will

continue to be monitored and evaluated in the future.

Rivers are the arteries of a nation and the foundation for soci-

oeconomic development. The Four Rivers Project will be able to

incorporate the overall enhancement of water supply, flood preven-

tion, water quality and ecosystems into culture, tourism and history

at the local level to buttress local economies with an emphasis on

each riparian characteristic. The project provides an example of how

green initiatives can revive the environment, economy and society.

In spite of the global economic downturn beginning in 2008, Korea

has invested 2 per cent of gross domestic product every year in the green

sector from 2009 to 2013, and has allocated US$19.2 billion to the Four

Rivers Project in order to promote economic growth and advanced

water management. In response to the growing interest of developing

countries in emulating Korean water management practices, the Korean

Government has been in contact with Algeria and Thailand to help

resolve complex water challenges based on experience of the project.

In a national context, one of the recent policy efforts to facilitate

water cooperation in Korea was the revision of the Korea Water Vision

(2000-2010) in 2006. This case delineates the extent to which water

cooperation between the Government and civil society can create demo-

cratic decision-making mechanisms based on governance. The vision

was first established in 1999 in accordance with the River Law, but

had been heavily criticized by non-state actors, particularly environ-

mental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), for its undemocratic

decision-making process. As a result, environmental NGOs and other

social groups refused to accept the statistics and figures in the vision,

particularly in terms of the level of water scarcity the country might face

in a decade. They were concerned that such data might legitimize the

Government’s conventional approach to resolving water supply issues

by augmenting more dams in the future regardless of the dams’ detri-

mental impacts on overall ecosystems.

Faced with such criticism, the central Government decided to invite

diverse stakeholders at both central and local levels and began establish-

ingwater cooperationmechanisms based on consensus building through

multi-stakeholder dialogue. In 2003, initiated by the Government, the

Water Supply Preparation Committee was set up, comprising relevant

ministries, research institutions and groups from civil society, and the

Korea Water Vision Committee was also created in May 2004.

It was emphasized that the new system should encourage all the rele-

vant stakeholders to take an active part not only in exchanging their

views and opinions, but also in the early stage of planning. For instance,

the expert subcommittee appointed a chairperson who convened meet-

ings. All the stakeholders were given related data and information on

water supply and explored options based on thorough analyses and

evaluations. Such practices effectively reflected important principles of

water cooperation based on governance – namely multi-stakeholder

participation, transparency and information sharing– and entailed the

removal of distrust between the state and civil society.

Some 45 subcommittee meetings took place in two years. The

process of decision-making was painstaking and time consuming, but

Images: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Before restoration (top): the Nakdong River’s narrow width

means the the upper reaches suffer from droughts while

the lower reaches are prone to floods.

After restoration (bottom): the Four Rivers Project will

begin at the Nakdong River, revitalizing cities and creating

a world-class tourism belt