This report analyzes problems and identifies solutions with regard to the ecological rivers & streams project aimed at improving the quality of water of rivers & streams, establishment of waterfront facilities, and restoration of ecosystem of rivers & streams.
The pre-feasibility studies conducted by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) on the project to build ecological rivers & streams under the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport overestimated the benefits of the project. For all of the eight projects for which the pre-feasibility studies were conducted, benefits were estimated for households nationwide even though the benefits were to be realized primarily by residents living near the project sites. Furthermore, 60.1 percent of the respondents answered that they would never be willing to pay additional taxes to implement the project, but nearly half of those respondents were excluded from analysis, thereby increasing the possibility of overestimation of the benefits. The straightening of river channels, dredging, and the establishment of large dams(movable weirs) done through this project have turned the ecosystem of rivers & streams into lakes and marshes, and this in turn has incurred such side effects as an increase in algae and higher post-management costs.
The ecological rivers & streams restoration project by the Ministry of Environment is costly and has required a great deal of labor because the ministry has implemented the project in a way that does not make the ecosystem of rivers & streams self-sustainable. The ecological rivers & streams projects by both ministries lack follow-up monitoring due to budget and human resource constraints of local governments responsible for follow-up management.
To resolve these problems, the report recommended that (1) the construction of ecological rivers & streams under the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, which is not economically feasible and runs counter to the ecological restoration of rivers & streams, be fundamentally reexamined; (2) the Ministry of Strategy and Finance tighten oversight of pre-feasibility studies by preventing overestimation of benefits, among other things; and (3) the Ministry of Environment implement its ecological rivers & streams restoration project with the aim of restoring the ecosystem of rivers & streams, and (4) government should increase budget funding and establish an information system (DB) to improve follow-up management of ecological rivers & streams.
Kim Sangwoo
The pre-feasibility studies conducted by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) on the project to build ecological rivers & streams under the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport overestimated the benefits of the project. For all of the eight projects for which the pre-feasibility studies were conducted, benefits were estimated for households nationwide even though the benefits were to be realized primarily by residents living near the project sites. Furthermore, 60.1 percent of the respondents answered that they would never be willing to pay additional taxes to implement the project, but nearly half of those respondents were excluded from analysis, thereby increasing the possibility of overestimation of the benefits. The straightening of river channels, dredging, and the establishment of large dams(movable weirs) done through this project have turned the ecosystem of rivers & streams into lakes and marshes, and this in turn has incurred such side effects as an increase in algae and higher post-management costs.
The ecological rivers & streams restoration project by the Ministry of Environment is costly and has required a great deal of labor because the ministry has implemented the project in a way that does not make the ecosystem of rivers & streams self-sustainable. The ecological rivers & streams projects by both ministries lack follow-up monitoring due to budget and human resource constraints of local governments responsible for follow-up management.
To resolve these problems, the report recommended that (1) the construction of ecological rivers & streams under the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, which is not economically feasible and runs counter to the ecological restoration of rivers & streams, be fundamentally reexamined; (2) the Ministry of Strategy and Finance tighten oversight of pre-feasibility studies by preventing overestimation of benefits, among other things; and (3) the Ministry of Environment implement its ecological rivers & streams restoration project with the aim of restoring the ecosystem of rivers & streams, and (4) government should increase budget funding and establish an information system (DB) to improve follow-up management of ecological rivers & streams.
Kim Sangwoo