Facing Water Challenges in the Han River Basin, Korea:A WWDR3 Case Study
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- Synopsis
Efforts to respond to new pressures and expectations stemming from the economic success of this developed country include water sector reforms, while measures to address shifts in demand and competition between upstream and downstream interests would benefit from the presence of a central coordinating mechanism
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Focus Areas | Water supply and sanitation,IWRM
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Background and Significance
The Republic of Korea is located at the eastern tip of the Asian continent, where it is bounded on the north by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In the east it is characterized by high mountain ranges, whereas the west is composed of flat coastal plains. The annual average precipitation is about 1,200 mm, 70% of which falls during the flood season from June to September. The Han River basin, located in the centre of the Korean Peninsula (Map 2.5), accounts for 23% of the territory of the Republic of Korea and is the country’s largest river basin, covering some 23,000 km2. The Han River region is divided into the main Han River basin and the Imjin River basin; this case study focuses only on the Han River basin.1 The capital, Seoul, one of the world’s largest cities, is located in the Han River basin. The population of the basin, now 41% of the national total, almost tripled between 1966 and 2005, from about 7 million to almost 20 million. Nevertheless, urban areas account for just 1% of the basin. Forests make up 78%, cultivated areas 16%, and grasslands and water bodies 5%. The Han River basin is considered the heart of South Korea.
The Experience: Challenges and Solutions
- Poor Policy Coordination
In the Republic of Korea, water management has not been adequately decentralized. Local authorities merely execute policies set by the central government. The lack of an integrated approach means each ministry works more or less in a vacuum, developing and executing work plans without much interaction. Local governments face complications in executing the national water management plan because functions and responsibilities are distributed among a number of agencies. The main problem lies in the absence of a body or a mechanism to coordinate the tasks of the organizations in charge of water resource management. To address these challenges, since 2000 the water management system has been undergoing restructuring towards a more holistic approach promoting involvement by local governments, public organizations, the private sector and other stakeholders, including local communities. Notable outcomes of this reform include formation of local and basin networks and increased voluntary river restoration efforts.
A recently proposed Water Management Act, taking
the basin as the principal watershed management unit,
would have provided for the preparation of a national
integrated water resources management plan and
established basin commissions and a national water
management commission. However, the Act did not win
approval in the National Assembly in 2008. A national
commission such as that proposed in the Act could play an
important role in bringing together the agencies responsible
for water management, and thus serve as a platform for
settling conflicts among different land and water users.
- Sharing water resources
Two tributaries of the Han River – the Imjin River and the northern part of the Bukhan River – are shared between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Although negotiations are ongoing, South and North Korea have not yet reached agreement on joint development of common water resources. Meanwhile, upstream water development efforts are having a negative effect on water availability in the south. The hydrological properties of certain parts of the basin have not been studied adequately, mainly because of the demilitarized zone between the countries. Although the potential for waterways exists in the Han River basin, none have been developed due to political and environmental problems.
- Coping with water-related disasters
In the Republic of Korea, although the extent of floods has decreased thanks to continuous improvement in flood management, the economic damage has increased significantly (Figure 2.5). This is basically due to dense urbanization and encroaching development on the river’s natural flood plains. Nonstructural measures such as early warning systems have helped reduce the number of casualties, but the number of people vulnerable to floods is increasing, not only due to growth in the urban population but also because the society is aging, which means more individuals at greater risk from the impact of frequent flash floods.
Essentially, The Han River basin is considered the heart of the highly
developed Republic of Korea. Given the availability of
sufficient water resources, the water demand from various
sectors does not pose a critical problem in terms of
quantity, at least for the time being. Rather, the
outstanding issues are at the national level, where a
national commission is needed to coordinate the agencies
responsible for water resource management and the
sharing of transboundary waters. Although current water
sector reforms and a possible future Water Management
Act will address the coordination challenge, dealing with
transboundary issues will require more effort.
Results and Impact
Lessons for Replication
Testimonies and Stakeholder Perceptions
References
See also
Hoekstra, A. Y. and Hung, P. Q. 2002. Virtual Water Trade: A Quantification of Virtual Water Flows Between Nations in Relation to International Crop
Trade. Delft, Netherlands, UNESCO-IHE. (Value of Water Research
Report Series No. 11.)
Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. Forthcoming. Han River
Basin Case Study Report.
External Resources
United Nations Human Development Report 3
