Wetlands Campaign - KFEM/FoE Korea

call for nominations; SBS Eco Water Awards 2011

2011-08-09T00:03:00.002+09:00

SBS Eco Water Awards 2011

International Section (Gaia Prize)

The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM)/Friends of Earth Korea, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) and Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea present the forth ‘SBS Eco Water Awards’ in November 2011 to those who have worked to protect water environments in Korea and the world.

The ‘SBS Eco Water Awards’ are given in recognition for contributions of individuals, communities and institutions to protect water environments and to improve water resources management and water quality in a sustainable way. The awards hope to honor those who work to find sustainable solutions to diverse challenges that arise in water resources management and water related ecosystem conservation.

Though water is essential for the survival of many forms of life, water shortage and contamination due to rapid population and economic growth, industrialization and urbanization are posing big threats to human and other life forms on the Earth. We think it is our own responsibility to restore the availability of clean and safe water and healthy environment for the future generations.

There are five sections in the awards which are citizens' actions, society and culture, research and education, policy and environmental business administration, and international accomplishments. The Gaia Prize for the international accomplishments section will be given to an individual or institution working outside of South Korea.

Award winners will be chosen by the award committee, and a TV crew from the SBS accompanied by some youth award recipients will visit the winner of the Gaia Prize in October to produce a short TV documentary about the achievements of the winner.

The awards ceremony will be held in Seoul, South Korea in November 2011. The winner of the Gaia Prize will be given a monetary prize of 20,000 US dollars as well as a certificate.

A confederation of 49 local chapters and 5 affiliated organizations, KFEM is one of the oldest and largest environmental NGOs in South Korea. KFEM has actively taken part in the fields of water resources management, river and wetland protection in the country.

SBS, which was established in 1990, is one of the largest broadcasting companies in South Korea. It is comprised of one national TV channel and three radio channels. For the past ten years, SBS has produced public interest TV programs such as 'Water is Life' which have contributed to raise public awareness on water related environmental issues.

The ‘SBS Eco Water Award’ was established in 2008 and the first winner of the Gaia Prize in the year was the Revive Ariake Sea! Lawyers' Association in Japan whose efforts have focused on the protection and restoration of tidal flats of Isahaya Bay, an important coastal wetland in Kyushu, Japan from a reclamation project.

The Onon-Ulz River Movement of Mongolia won the Gaia Prize in 2009. They nullified the mining licenses of two mining companies near the Onon-Ulz River and conducted a restoration project on the surrounding polluted land.

Ms. Yin Yuzhen from China won the Gaia Prize in 2010. She has planted trees in desert in northern China and turned it into arable land where she can practice sustainable agriculture and gardening for the local community.

- Nomination Deadline: September 23, 2011
- Application: send the nomination form to arqus@kfem.or.kr
    - Inquiries: Ms. Kim Hyunji at KFEM at arqus@kfem.or.kr
    - Website: http://tv.sbs.co.kr/ecowateraward

   * Please download the nomination form here

Forum at CBD COP10; River Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation

2010-10-16T18:42:00.000+09:00

River Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation

- Time : 10:00-12:00 a.m., Thursday, October 21, 2010

- Venue : Small Hall 2, Nagoya Gakuin University Gymnasium, Nagoya, Japan

(site of Interactive Fair for Biodiversity)

- Organized by Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) / Friends of the Earth Korea

󰋯Presentation 1. Four Major Rivers Restoration Project and Its Impacts on Biodiversity Conservation

- Ma Yong-un, Korea Federation for Environmental Movements

󰋯Presentation 2. Wetlands along the Nakdong River in Korea as Important Stopersites for Migratory Cranes

- Simba Chan, Birdlife International Asia

󰋯Presentation 3. Connecting Waterway Project on Kiso River Watershed in Japan

- Masano Atsuko, Writer

󰋯Questions and Answers

※for more information please contact Mr. Ma Yong-un at ma@kfem.or.kr

Korea Federation for Environmental Movements

Disappointment at CBD Award to President Lee Myung-bak for his contribution to biodiversity conservation

2010-09-07T13:08:00.000+09:00

31st August 2010

Dear Dr Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the CBD,

Re: Disappointment at CBD Award to President Lee Myung-bak for his contribution to biodiversity conservation

The World Wetland Network (WWN), established at the Tenth Conference of Contracting Parties (COP10) to the Ramsar Convention in Changwon, is a rapidly growing independent network of over 300 wetland Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), wetland experts and community groups from across the world.

The WWN is extremely disappointed to learn that the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has presented President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea (ROK) with an award for his contributions to biodiversity. Although we are aware of the ROK’'s ‘'green growth agenda’', interest in green technology, and high profile support of international environmental conventions, we remain convinced that present policies in the ROK are in fact leading to an increase in the rate of biodiversity loss. This understanding is based on detailed information provided both by local WWN partners in-country, and by other wellrespected domestic and international visiting experts.

This award clearly sends the wrong message and undermines the new Strategic Plan that the Parties will ratify at the forthcoming CBD COP10 in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. We believe that the outcome of presenting this award will prove negative for biodiversity in a number of ways.

Firstly, the international wetland and biodiversity conservation community is well aware of several highly destructive mega-projects being undertaken in the ROK at this time, and this award will therefore result in a loss of credibility of the CBD.

Secondly, this award undermines the good work being carried out by local stakeholders, NGOs and academics in the ROK who have been trying to prevent the negative impacts of projects such as the current Four Rivers construction project, the ongoing Saemangeum and Song-do tidal-flat reclamations and the proposed tidal power-plants.

Attempts to discuss and advise on these projects in a meaningful way with decisionmakers is already extremely challenging due to the lack of formal mechanisms to enable open and regular discussions. These efforts will be made much more difficult by this award as it will undoubtedly be used to attempt to further sway public opinion by showing that the Four Rivers construction project and other environmental policies are being lauded by the CBD.

Finally, presentation of this award both rewards and endorses the ROK and all other nations who continue to opt for the unsustainable use of hard engineering projects at the expense of natural eco-systems, contra the expert guidance provided by e.g. CBD and the Ramsar Convention.

To further explain our collective deep concern, we provide more details below of three projects that are leading to massive habitat change and species loss, but which nonetheless are being presented as sustainable (‘'green growth’') development by decisionmakers in the ROK.

1. The Four Rivers project in the ROK has been presented as a ‘'restoration’' project, but it instead consists of much additional hard engineering, including dredging, culverting and further damming of rivers, leading to considerable loss of biodiversity in the rivers and adjacent wetlands. The ROK’'s own Fourth National Report to CBD highlights concerns about threats to biodiversity from hard-engineering projects of the very same kind: “. . . the endemic ecosystems of the rivers are now being greatly disturbed due to various physical, chemical and biological factors. Physical factors include dam construction, the artificial straightening of streams, dredging, aggregate collection, banking, the construction of submerged weirs and dammed pools”" (ROK Fourth National Report to CBD 2009).

With this Four Rivers project costing the equivalent of at least $US 19 Billion, affecting several hundreds of kilometres of river (including Important Bird Areas and a Ramsar site) and many local communities, a high-level of prolonged and open public and stakeholder consultation should have been carried out, and a rigorous and comprehensive environmental impact assessment should have been conducted, before any construction work was started. This would have been in line with the guidance and the spirit of international conventions such as CBD and Ramsar. However, there was very little consultation, the EIA was completely inadequate and conducted in only four months. Even now, data from ongoing monitoring work is not publicly available, and there is no effective process through which concerns for biodiversity can be addressed by those outside of the development bodies.

2. A 33-km long seawall was completed at Saemangeum in 2006, leading to the ongoing loss of 30,000 ha of intertidal wetland and 10,000 ha of sea shallows. The Saemangeum Shorebird Monitoring Program (SSMP) conducted by the Australasian Wader Studies Group and Birds Korea demonstrated the transhemispheric impacts on migratory shorebirds of this reclamation project, leading e.g. to a 20% or more decline in the global population of Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris, resulting in its listing by BirdLife International (on behalf of the IUCN) as globally vulnerable. While much of the Saemangeum estuarine ecosystem could still be restored, the development ministries continue to promote the conversion of this globally important wetland into dry land as “"green”".

3. Already, probably 70% or more of all historic inter-tidal wetland in the ROK has been reclaimed. Even after the formal commitment undertaken by the ROK government in 2008 that “"intertidal mudflats should be preserved and that no large-scale reclamation projects are now being approved in the Republic of Korea”" (Ramsar Resolution X.22) more tidal reclamation projects and tidal power plants (which will lead to a degradation of remaining intertidal wetlands) have either been approved or are in the pipeline. Further large-scale reclamation at Song-do (Incheon) for example was approved in March 2009 which will result in the further loss of habitat used by at least 11 species of waterbird in Ramsar defined internationally important concentrations, including breeding globally endangered Black-faced Spoonbills Platalea minor.

All of the above information is in the public domain, and has been published either in NGO reports, in scientific journals or in the conservation literature. We are extremely disappointed that CBD failed either to consider this information or apparently to consult with independent observers and organizations before presenting such an award, not only in the International Year of Biodiversity, but in the run-up both to the CBD COP10 and the G20 meeting which will be held in the ROK in November.

We therefore urge the CBD to reconsider this award, in order to maintain the convention’'s good name. We also urge the convention to improve ways in which they can support the ROK in moves to cancel or at least scale-back the most destructive projects. Both are necessary in order to deliver genuinely positive outcomes for biodiversity in line with the Articles of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Respectfully,

Mr Chris Rostron

Signed on behalf of:
The World Wetland Network Committee
Birds Korea
Citizen Movement Against the Grand Canal
Citizen Movement for the Protection of Nakdong River (Busan Office, Gyungnam Office,
Daegu Gyungbuk Office)
Eco-Horizon Institute
Green Korea United
Hansalim
ICOOP Korea
Korean Federation for Environmental Movement
Korean Teacher's Organization for Ecological Education and Activity (TEEA)
Korea Wetlands NGO Network (KWNN)
OSEAN (Our Sea of East Asia Network)
PGA Wetland Ecology Institute
Ramsar Network Japan
Wetlands and Birds Korea
http://www.worldwetnet.org/
chris.rostron@wwt.org.uk

Cc: UNEP (Mr Achim Steiner); CMS (Ms Elisabeth Maruma Mrema); Ramsar Secretariat (Mr Anada Tiéga); IUCN; BirdLife International; Wetlands International; WWF.

The Excavator Age

2010-09-03T17:24:00.001+09:00

Have a look at a short video, "The Excavator Age" produced by a dedicated environmental photographer, Seopung. You will be able to see what are happening to rivers in South Korea in the name of '4 Major Rivers Restoration Project'.

3 Activists Who Occupied the Ipo Dam Released

2010-09-03T17:21:00.000+09:00

‎3 activists, Mr. Jang Dong-bin, Mr. Park Pyung-soo and Mr. Yum Hyung-cheol (from the left) who had been detained at a police station for two days after they stopped the sit-in on the top of the Ipo Dam for 41 days were released in the night of September 2, 2010.

Though a local prosecutor asked for arrest warrant against them, the judge at a local court dismissed it and they could come back home for the first time in 43 days from July 22.

They will have to argue for their rightous action at court as they are still accused for trespassing the dam building site and interfering the construction work, though.

Appeal for Support of KFEM's Protest Against the Four Rivers Project

2010-08-23T11:50:00.001+09:00

Appeal for Support of KFEM(FoE-Korea)'s Protest Against the Four Rivers Project

Dear friends from all over the world,

I would like you to give special attention to the following protest actions in Korea and give your full support to our movement.

On a pitch-dark night at 3am on July 22, 2010, five KFEM activists in two teams sneaked into two new dam building sites; three climbed up 20 meter high top of a pillar of a lock gate of the Ipo Dam on the South Han River, and two took over the 40 meter high tower crane operation room at the Haman Dam on the Nakdong River with banners saying ’Listen to the People’s Voice to Stop the Four Rivers Project’. The activists were Park Pyung-soo (KFEM Goyang), Yum Hyung-cheol (KFEM Seoul), Jang Dong-bin (KFEM Suwon), Lee Hwan-mun (KFEM Jinju) and Choi Soo-young (KFEM Busan), all from the local KFEM offices based along the Han and Nakdong Rivers. KFEM, through their actions and voices, demanded that construction should be suspended at least during the rainy season, and the government should accept our proposal to set up a joint reviewing committee which includes government representatives, NGOs, religious leaders, professionals, and politicians to examine the relevance of the river ‘restoration’ project, and demanded the National Assembly to set up an inspection committee for the Project.

Due to a strong typhoon that was approaching, two activists at the Haman Dam on the Nakdong River were persuaded to descend from the tower crane on August 10. Though they had been arrested by the police as soon as they came down from the tower crane, the local court dismissed a warrant of arrest two days later.

As of August 23, the other three activists sitting in on the Ipo Dam have been struggling for 33 days under the torrid sun and torrents of seasonal storms with short food, water and communication means. They brought rice and water with them to sustain them for 15 days, and they were able to communicate with mobile phones in the beginning. As their stay on the top of the dam prolonged, their food, water and battery ran out and they are surviving with little amount of food and water which the developers of the dam agreed to provide. Their health became risky even though their morale is still very high. The Korean government has not moved at all to our appeal with no intention for dialogue. We feel extremely helpless.

KFEM has set up support camps near the dam construction sites, and has taken various actions in order to support the struggle. The support camps have become one of the most important bridgehead where the anti-project activists, citizens, students, and professionals gathered to express their support for the cause.

The Four Major Rivers Project was originally planned as a construction of canals that would connect the four largest rivers across the mountains in the middle of Korea. In order to construct the canal, the government planned to have many lock gates and dig out the river bed as deep as 6 meters and as wide as 200 meters so that big ships can pass. The Lee administration had declared that it gave up the canal project when it had been faced with strong people’s opposition in June 2008, and instead it announced the four major rivers restoration project in December 2008, which was not essentially very different from the original canal plan.

We oppose the Four Rivers Project, because the project is massively destroying Korea’s most important ecology resulting in unprecedented ecological calamity. The project destroys the habitat of endangered species, and destroys important wetlands where migratory birds along the East Asian-Australian Flyway on their way to breeding or wintering grounds. The project will definitely contaminate drinking water sources for the majority of the Korean people.

This project is simply a massive waste of national investment resources. A total of 22.2 trillion Won((USD 19 billion) was budgeted for the project, with which the government plans to build more than 20 new dams, and dig out 520 million cubic meters of sediments from 691 km long sections of the river bottoms. This project will only benefit construction companies and land speculators.

Many farmers living along the river area will be put under the threat of relocation. One of the oldest and largest organic farm clusters near Seoul were ordered to stop farming and remove from the area.

Because the project results in such a lot of environmental and social problems, the Korean government is faced with strong opposition from various sectors of society. A Buddhist monk burned himself to death in a protest against the project. The Korean National Council of Catholic Bishops issued a declaration to oppose against the project. Protestant priests staged hunger strikes. Reverend Sugyeong, a Buddhist monk, who has been fighting against the Saemangeum Tidal-flat Reclamation Project, set up a zen center on the river side of the Han River. Professors all over the country got together to form a protest front against the Four Rivers Project. We formed national fronts to fight against the project which comprised of environmental NGOs, religious groups, political parties and civil society organizations and staged massive rallies, sit-ins, press conferences, and one-person demonstrations.

Citizens, ecologists, religious leaders, politicians, artists, youths and students make endless pilgrimage to the construction sites and resolve opposition to this destructive project. According to a national survey reported on June 10, 2010, 79.4% of respondents are against the project. Local elections on June 2, 2010 resulted in a massive defeat of the ruling Grand National Party, which promotes the Four Rivers Project. The Korean government is literally surrounded with opposition from all sectors of Korean society.

The project had numerous procedural defects. It is the government that violated laws. The Environmental Impact Assessment reports of all four rivers and surrounding areas were made only within four months. Usually EIA takes at least one year in Korea where environmental impacts should be monitored at four distinctly different seasons.

The government violated the River Conservation Law. They also violated the Cultural Asset Law because they did not survey cultural assets properly. Environmental organizations brought the cases to the court.

We appeal to citizens, environmentalists, civil society activists, and intellectuals all over the world to extend full support to our struggle to stop the Lee Myung-bak administration for its unprecedented destruction of our environments. As an integral part of Friends of Earth, we particularly appeal to our member organizations to send letters of protests to the Korean government demanding suspension of the project, and to initiate dialogues with concerned parties. We would like to ask you to take the following actions:

(1) Write letters directly to President Lee Myung-bak, because it is he who can solely make a decision on this matter. Letters should be addressed to:

President Lee Myung-bak,
1 Chongwadaero, Chongro-ku, Seoul, 110-820 Korea
Telephone: 82-2730-5800
http://www.epeople.go.kr/ for petition

(2) Disseminate information of this massive ecological destruction all over the world, appeal for support. The Lee Myung-bak administration even makes bad use of this project as ‘green growth’ which provides countermeasures to climate change in the international society. The Four Rivers Project is simply a fake of ‘green growth’, blocking natural flow of the rivers with deforming concrete dams. Please let us be informed of your support so that we can be encouraged to fight.

(3) Send messages of support and encouragement to the three ecological warriors and KFEM.

We are convinced that you will extend warm and strong support to our struggle in safeguarding our nature and society. Thank you for your attention.

In solidarity,

Professor Seejae Lee
Co-President
KFEM
seejaelee@korea.com

* Contact for further information:

Mr. Ma Yong-un, Director, Nature Conservation Team, ma@kfem.or.kr
Ms. Yangyi Wonyong, Director, KFEM Public Relations Service, yangwy@kfem.or.kr
Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM)/Friends of the Earth Korea
251 Nuha-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-806, South Korea

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Call for Nominations; SBS Eco Water Awards 2010

2010-08-22T22:35:00.005+09:00

SBS Eco Water Awards 2010

International Section (Gaia Prize)

The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM)/Friends of Earth South Korea, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) and Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea present the third ‘SBS Eco Water Awards’ in November 2010 to those who have worked to protect water environments in Korea and the world.

The ‘SBS Eco Water Awards’ are given in recognition of contributions of individuals, communities and institutions to protect water environments and improve water resources management and water quality in a sustainable way. The awards hope to honor those who work to find sustainable solutions to diverse challenges that arise in water resources management and water related ecosystem conservation.

Though water is essential for the survival of many forms of life, water shortage and contamination due to rapid population, economic growth, industrialization and urbanization are posing big threats to human and other life forms on the Earth. We think it is our own responsibility to restore the availability of clean and safe water and healthy environment for the future generations.

There are five sections in the awards which are citizens' actions, society and culture, research and education, policy and environmental business administration, and international accomplishments. The Gaia Prize for the international accomplishments section winner will be given to an individual or institution working outside of South Korea.

Award winners will be chosen by the award committee, and a TV crew from the SBS accompanied by some young adult award recipients will visit the winner of the Gaia Prize in October to produce a short TV documentary about the achievements of the winner.

The awards ceremony will be held in Seoul in November 2010. The winner of the Gaia Prize will be given a monetary prize of 20,000 US dollars as well as a certificate.

A confederation of 50 local chapters and 5 affiliated organizations, KFEM is one of the first and largest environmental NGOs in South Korea. KFEM has actively taken part in the fields of water resources management, river and wetland protection in the country.

SBS was established in 1990 and is one of the largest broadcasting companies in South Korea. It is comprised of one national TV channel and three radio channels. For the past ten years, SBS has produced public interest TV programs such as 'Water is Life' which worked to elevate the public awareness of water related environmental issues.

The ‘SBS Eco Water Award’ was established in 2008 and the 2008 winner of the Gaia Prize was the Revive Ariake Sea! Lawyers' Association in Japan whose efforts focused on the protection and restoration of the tidal flats of Isahaya Bay, a coastal wetland in Kyushu, Japan from a reclamation project.

The Onon-Ulz River Movement of Mongolia won the 2009 Gaia Prize. They nullified the mining licenses of two mining companies near the Onon-Ulz River and conducted a purifying project on the surrounding polluted land.

- Nomination Deadline: August 31st, 2010

- Application: send the nomination form to Mr. Peter Kwon at KFEM at yspk298@gmail.com

- Inquiries: Mr. Peter Kwon at KFEM at yspk298@gmail.com

* Please download the nomination form here

* More information on the SBS Eco Water Awards 2010
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A Story of the Oriseom Islet

2010-08-22T17:40:00.001+09:00

Here is a short video, "A Story of the Oriseom (Ori Islet)" produced by Reverend Jiyul. The Oriseom is a small islet in the middle of the Nakdong River in South Korea. It used to be a great wetland and habitats for many wildlife species, but it is being devastated by the Four Rivers Project.

The River Is Us

2010-08-22T14:55:00.001+09:00

Here is a good article on the Four Rivers Project published on the August Issue of the Gwangju News written by Ms. Alva French.

The specter of the Grand Korean Waterway

2010-08-20T18:58:00.000+09:00

Here is a very good column which shows what are problems of the Four Rivers Project in South Korea. The project is building more than 18 new dams and dredging more than 520 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from the bottom of the four largest rivers in the country.

[Column] The specter of the Grand Korean Waterway

The Hankyoreh
Posted on : Aug. 20, 2010 14:24 KST

By Cho Hong-seop, Environmental Reporter

The previous allegations that the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project is in fact the preliminary stage for President Lee Myung-bak’s Grand Korean Waterway have been resurrected. Despite two assurances from President Lee that he is not executing the waterway project, suspicions have only deepened.

In particular, the decision to pull an episode of MBC’s “PD Notebook” entitled “The Six-Meter-Deep Secret of the Four Major Rivers” has a number of people asking what type of content could have sparked the move to shelve the program, adding to suspicions that the Grand Korean Waterway is under way.

The more than 2,000 viewer opinions that went up overnight Wednesday on the bulletin board of the “PD Notebook” web site were a clear indication of the anger and despondency citizens felt.

One viewer vented, “Look, the viewers aren’t so brainless that you have to tell them not to watch this.”

Others wrote things like “This is a scary country” and “It seems like we are returning to the 1980s. I have tears in my eyes.”

The Lee Myung-bak administration has been working overtime to clear away concerns, stating that “there was no secret team” and that “the zones with depths of six meters or more represent 26.5 percent of the entire project.”
However, their statements do not seem to be quelling the controversy, as they has yet to provide a single convincing answer to the fundamental question of why the rivers have to be dug so deeply and blocked off with weirs.

Large weirs and extensive dredging were not part of the project initially presented. The minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) gave a report to President Lee during a Presidential Committee on Balanced National Development meeting on Dec. 15, 2008. The report contained a plan to install natural stone weirs at depths of one to two meters so that citizens could use the water for recreational purposes. Dredging was restricted to zones with severe sedimentation. The project centered on building small to mid-sized dams and reservoirs, and weirs and dredging were to be used merely as supplementary means.

However, in the master plan for the project that showed its face for the first time in April of the next year, the four natural stone weirs had transformed into 16 dam-sized weirs, and the dredging amounts ballooned by three times the initial plan. The Lee administration has stated that there were slight changes in the process of fleshing out the project, but the reality is that the substance of the project underwent a fundamental transformation. It stands to reason that people would begin to harbor suspicions about this metamorphosis that took place behind closed doors.

Why is the river being dredged so deeply? According to experts, nowhere in the world will you find flood prevention measures that involve digging up the riverbed. The Lee administration says that it is intended as a way of preparing for future climate change, that it has developed “water basins” for the eventuality of unanticipated flooding and drought. This explanation is an insult to the fellow public officials who toiled for the past decade to generate advanced flood control policies. The climate change issue was already been reflected in the government’s own water resource policies some ten years ago.

South Korea’s flood control policy hit a turning point in the late 1990s. Northern Gyeonggi Province suffered its worst-ever flooding in three different years, in 1996, 1998, and 1999. Once-in-500-years rainfall struck in three out of four years, resulting in the collapse of Yeoncheon Dam.

The government established the flood disaster prevention task force in the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) in 1999 and embarked on a thorough reexamination of its flood control plans. At the heart of this was a shift from levees to basins, from lines to planes. Since it was impossible to prevent flooding simply with levees on the main course of a river, the idea was to build flood control dams and riverside reservoirs in the upper region to spread the flood control burden throughout the basin. A strategy of selective flood defense was adopted, one that involved not fighting the flood, but accepting strategic losses according to the location.

Based on this understanding, a variety of mid to long-term flood control plans have been formulated in the intervening years. The Four Major Rivers Project is now taking the new flood control system built over the past decade and reverting it overnight to the way it was before the 1990s.

The same goes for drought prevention measures. What do they expect to do with the water trapped in the main courses of the four rivers when dealing with a drought that strikes remote farming villages, coastal areas, or islands?

Speaking at a discussion last year held by the National Assembly Research Service, one of the drafters of the master plan hit the nail on the head, saying, “After we did the dredging, we found that some one billion cubic meters of water was secured” - not that the dredging had been done to match the water shortfall.

So why do they insist on building large weirs and dredging so extensively when this can address neither flooding nor drought issues? Therein lurks the specter of the Grand Korean Waterway.

Message of Support by Mr. Nnimmo Bassey, Chair of Friends of the Earth International

2010-08-07T22:37:00.000+09:00

August 6, 2010

I send you greetings of peace and solidarity from Nigeria. The courageous campaigns/protests of the KFEM activists is already on the website of Friends of the Earth International. The news of this struggle is being spread widely and we will continue to do so.

Since I visited Korea in March this year I was fully convinced that the 4 Rivers project is not what is needed. It is clear that the reasons given for embarking on the project are merely used to promote the scheme and will not give the result being claimed. There is no way a dam can revitalise a river! With regard to securing water for the expected shortage in future, we can say that climate change is merley being used as a cover up for a project that is not needed, now or in the future.

I fully support your actions and send this message to all the activists to keep on fighting for the truth and for justice. The natural environment is the best security for a safe, healthy and liveable future.

Your struggle for Korea is a struggle for all of humanity. We stand with you in this.

Your brother

Nnimmo Bassey
Chair, Friends of the Earth International

Dams and Dredging: Korea's River “Restoration” Project

2010-08-03T11:08:00.000+09:00

http://paralleluniverse38n.blogspot.com/2010/07/dams-and-dredging-koreas-river.html

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Dams and Dredging: Korea's River “Restoration” Project

Seoul is a city of 10 million people now, but hundreds of years ago, it was a newly founded village along the banks of a pretty creek called Chonggyecheon. As the city grew, the creek became a sewer and finally was covered over by concrete and a freeway. Until recently, that is, because Mayor Lee Myung-bak brought the creek back to the daylight and pushed construction of a semi-natural running water experience for the urban dwellers in Seoul. We were impressed with the creek walk as an urban park, though water from the Han River is pumped at considerable energy costs to enhance the flow.

Now Lee is the nation's president and he seems determined to re-design the nation's four largest rivers, an objective that seems much less wise. The Han is one of South Korea's four major rivers, along with the Nakdong, Geum, and Yeongsan . From a watershed that gathers runoff from mountains to the east, the great Han River passes through the capital city of Seoul (37°35'N), then turns northwest to enter the ocean at the northern boundary of the country at the Demilitarized Zone (37°46'N). Late last year, excavators began carving away riverside bluffs to as much as double the width of the channel, while also digging out miles of riverbed to deepen it by 12 to18 feet. On the two days we explored a 6-mile stretch along the south fork of the Han River near Yeoju, construction crews were at work on 3 dams (weirs) while trucks were constantly being loaded with riverbed sand and gravel to be added to mountains of material already piled nearby. We had never seen so many gigantic excavators at work at once.

Yet this is just one part of a much grander $20 billion project. A total of 16 new dams are planned on the main channels of the four rivers, plus 5 more on their tributaries, while enlarging 87 existing small dams and armoring over 200 miles of riverbanks. The big dams under construction were close enough together so that the series of excavated “water basins” and gates could conceivably become a continuous canal. Opponents of the project think that is exactly the point, as a navigable canal connecting the nation's rivers was a key objective for President Lee when he took office, until national opposition stopped that grandiose plan. The current effort is part of Lee's “Green New Deal,” with stated objectives to store water against the prospects of drought, prevent flooding, improve water quality, restore river ecosystems, promote river-related recreation, and stimulate the economy (read more about the government program here)

The goals sound commendable, but a closer look raises questions. Clearly, lots of money is moving toward jobs and construction company profits. But, as we learned from the environmental group KFEM (Korean Federation for Environmental Movement) (KFEM blog here) at their headquarters in Seoul, and then with others from the KFEM Yeoju office, who took us along the Namhan--the south fork of the Han River--the listed benefits seem exaggerated. This nation, though densely populated, has a good water supply; episodes of flooding occur primarily on upper tributaries, rather than the main channels where the work is focused; and the engineering approach seems likely to degrade water quality, because slowing the flow will increase accumulation of algae and pollutants. Most blatantly, the removal of natural wetlands and streamside vegetation is not “river restoration,” but rather destruction of habitat and natural processes.
The United States went through a river damming and channel straightening/concrete armoring stage in the last century. In California we lost 90% of our wetlands and riparian woodlands and our extensive list of endangered species is closely tied to that lost habitat. We, along with many other nations, learned that a more effective way to manage watershed systems is to protect and restore wetlands and allow floodplains to absorb high water episodes, regulating those flows while reabsorption and riverbank vegetation filters impurities.

So it was sad to watch the living river-bed being pulled out and lush riverside plateaus being excavated, to know that endangered plants and animals were being pushed even closer to extinction, and that small family farmers near the river were also being displaced. Though the construction destruction continues every day now, opponents of the project are determined that it must stop. On a poster in the Yeoju KFEM office, an excavator is being restrained by an aster plant, one of the endangered species being threatened by the project. Mr. Ma told us the words say, "Be Persistent, It is Your River."

Currents - Episode 4 - South Korea

2010-08-03T10:52:00.004+09:00

Currents - Episode 4 - South Korea from Five 2 Nine Productions on Vimeo.

Currents is a river stewardship focused WebTV program (online video documentary) which uses white water kayaking as a means to educate a broader audience about the risks threatening the world’s rivers and to help highlight the intrinsic value of preserving rivers in their natural state.

The 'Currents - Episode 4 - South Korea' is a short documentary on rivers of the country, especially on the four largest rivers impacted by the Four Rivers Restoration Project which is building more than 18 new dams amd removing 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from the bottom of the rivers and their riverine wetlands.

Sitting in on the Ipo Dam

2010-08-02T11:16:00.000+09:00

On July 22, three environmental activists of Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM)/Friends of the Earth Korea went up to the more than 20 meter high top of the Ipo Dam which is one of the 18 new dams being constructed as the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project of South Korea.

It is 12th day, today and they are still sitting in on the top of the dam with banners saying "Listen to the Voices of People", "SOS 4 Rivers" and "Let the 4 Rivers Flow". Though they are suffering from heat wave, fatigue, food and water shortage and communication problems, they are very determined that they would not stop their sit-in before S. Korean government to stop the project and to let an independent body to be formed to examine the feasibility of the project.

Here is a short video of the first day of the sit-in produced by the Hani News.

Ramsar Network Japan's Statement to stop the Four Rivers Project

2010-08-02T10:44:00.001+09:00

Here is a statement of the Ramsar Network Japan urging South Korean government to stop the Four Rivers Project.

韓国四大河川事業の工事中断を求める緊急声明

ラムサール・ネットワーク日本

　私たち、ラムサール・ネットワーク日本は、韓国、イ・ミョンバク政権に対して、四大河川開発事業の工事を直ちに中断し、環境保護団体や地域住民との対話の中で、事業のあり方を根本的に見直すことを要請します。

　私たちは、長年にわたり、日本の干潟・湿地の保全に取り組んできた草の根のグループのネットワークです。この15年間は、日本と韓国のNGOの相互交流を深めることによって、両国での活動を活発化してきました。

　特に、2008年に韓国で行われたラムサール条約第10回締約国会議（Ramsar COP10）は、湿地保全に関わる世界のNGOのネットワークを強化する意味でも重要な機会となりました。

　そのRamsar COP10の直後に、韓国政府がすすめている四大河川開発事業は、ハンガン（漢江）、クムガン（錦江）、ナクトンガン（洛東江）、ヨンサンガン（栄山江）の四つの河川に20ヶ所以上のダムと堰を建設し、土砂浚渫の総量は 5.7億立方メートルに及ぶなど、極めて大規模なものです。韓国政府は、この事業による生態系へのダメージを否定していますが、四大河川開発事業は、国際的に重要な渡り鳥の渡来地を消滅させ、河川流域の希少な動植物の生息を脅かすものに他なりません。すでにラムサール条約に登録されている条約湿地への悪影響も懸念されています。

　私たちは、Ramsar COP10の開会式で、イ・ミョンバク大統領自身が「ラムサール条約の模範的な国家になる」と演説したことを忘れていません。その直後に、このような大規模な湿地環境の破壊を主導する韓国政府の行為は、ラムサール条約への挑戦と言っても過言ではありません。

　私たち、ラムサール・ネットワーク日本は、韓国湿地NGOネットワークとの共同で、今年に入ってすでに二回、四大河川開発事業の工事現場を視察しました。

　2月26日から 3月1日の視察では、ハンガン、ナクトンガンの上流域、クムガンの12ヶ所を訪ね、7月9日から11日の視察では、ナクトンガンの上流、中流から河口部の10ヶ所を訪れました。私たちが見たものは、河川を遮断するように巨大なダムが建設され、河畔林が根こそぎ切り払われ、背後地に、膨大な浚渫土砂がうず高く積み上げられている現実でした。あわせて、事業の目的である治水、利水について、専門の研究者の意見を聞きましたが、この事業の有効性は認められませんでした。

　私たちは、このような環境破壊の現場を目の当たりにして、大きな怒りを覚えました。それとともに大変残念に思うことは、失われてしまった河川環境が、日本の河川環境と比べても、はるかに素晴らしいものであったということです。現時点で破壊を免れている自然環境は、ぜひとも保全し、すでに破壊のおよんでいる部分についても、復元を目指すべきであるというのがラムサール条約の立場です。

　環境問題に国境はないと言いますが、韓国の四大河川の環境は、アジアの中でも、国際的にも、大きな価値を持つものであるにもかかわらず、韓国政府は、その価値を正しく評価していません。

　今回、7月22日からは、韓国環境運動連合（KFEM）のメンバーが、南ハンガンのイポ堰と、ナクトンガンのハマン堰のゲートの上で座り込みを始め、政府に対し、工事の中断と、代替策を検討する機関の設置を求めています。

　私たちは、彼らがこのような行動に至ったのは、政府側の環境影響調査や、合意形成の手続きが不十分であったことに原因があると理解し、彼らの要求は、問題解決のために必要不可欠なものであると考えます。

　今年10月には、日本の名古屋で生物多様性条約の第10回締約国会議（CBD-COP10）が行われます。韓国の四大河川開発事業は、生物種・遺伝子・生態系の多様性の保全を掲げる生物多様性条約の観点からも重要な問題であり、現在のように、自然保護団体や多くの住民からの反対の声を無視し、工事を続行したまま、韓国政府が CBD-COP10に参加することとなれば、国際的な批判を免れることはできません。

　私たちは、韓国政府が、この状況を放置することなく、冷静な判断の下に、四大河川の工事を中断し、環境保護団体や地域住民との対話の中で、事業のあり方を根本的に見直すことを要請します。

-------------------

한국 4대강 사업 공사 중단을 요구하는 긴급 성명

일본 람사르네트워크

우리 일본람사르네트워크는 한국의 이명박 정부가 4대강 사업 공사를 즉각 중단하고, 환경 단체 및 지역 주민들과 대화를 통하여 4대강 사업의 목적을 처음부터 재검토할 것을 요청합니다.

일본람사르네트워크는 오랜 기간 일본의 갯벌과 습지 보전에 노력해온 민간 풀뿌리 단체의 네트워크입니다. 지난 15년 동안 한국의 NGO와 긴밀한 교류를 통하여 한국과 일본 두 나라에서 활발한 활동을 이루어 왔습니다.

특히 2008년 한국에서 열린 제10차 람사르협약 당사국총회는 습지 보전과 관련된 세계의 NGO 사이에 네트워크를 강화하는 의미에서도 중요한 기회가 되었습니다.

람사르총회가 끝난 직후부터 한국 정부가 추진하고 있는 4대강 사업은 한강과 금강, 낙동강, 영산강의 네 하천에 20여 개 이상의 댐과 보를 만들고, 토사 준설 총량이 5.7억 ㎥에 이르는 매우 큰 규모의 사업입니다.

한국 정부는 이 사업으로 인한 생태계 피해를 부인하고 있지만, 4대강 사업은 국제적으로 중요한 철새 도래 지역을 파괴하고, 하천 유역의 희귀 동식물 서식지를 위협하고 있다는 점을 부정할 수 없습니다. 이미 람사르협약에 등록되어있는 습지도 악영향이 미칠 것으로 우려되고 있습니다.

우리는 람사르총회 개회식에서 이명박 대통령 자신이 "람사르 협약의 모범적인 국가가 될 것"이라고 연설한 것을 잊지 않고 있습니다. 그런데 총회 직후에 이 같은 대규모 습지 환경 파괴를 주도하는 한국 정부의 행위는 람사르협약에 대한 도전이라고 해도 과언이 아닙니다.

우리 일본람사르네트워크는 한국습지NGO네트워크와 공동으로 올해 들어 벌써 두 번째 4대강 사업 공사 현장을 조사했습니다.

2월 26일부터 3월 1일의 1차 조사에서 한강과 낙동강 상류 지역, 금강 일대의 12곳을 방문하였고, 7월 9일부터 11일의 2차 조사에서는 낙동강 상류에서 중류와 하구의 10곳을 방문했습니다.

우리가 본 것은 하천을 단절하는 듯한 거대한 댐이 건설되고 있었으며, 강변의 숲이 뿌리째 뽑혀지고 있었고, 배후 지역에는 준설된 토사가 엄청난 높이로 쌓여 있는 현실이었습니다. 아울러, 사업의 목적인 치수와 이수에 대하여 전문 연구자의 의견을 들었습니다만 이 사업의 유효성을 확인할 수 없었습니다.

우리는 이와 같은 환경 파괴 현장을 목격하고 큰 분노를 느끼지 않을 수 없었습니다. 동시에 매우 유감스럽게 생각하는 것은 한국에서 파괴되어 버린 하천 환경이 일본의 하천 환경과 비교해도 훨씬 더 좋은 환경이었다는 점입니다.

현 시점에서 파괴를 피할 수 있었던 자연 환경은 반드시 보전해야 하며, 이미 파괴된 자연환경도 반드시 복원을 해야 한다는 것이 바로 람사르협약의 입장입니다.

환경문제에는 국경이 없다고 합니다만, 한국의 4대강 하천 환경은 아시아에서도, 또한 국제적으로도 중요한 가치를 가지고 있습니다. 그럼에도 불구하고 한국 정부는 그 가치를 정확하게 평가하고 있지 못합니다.

7월 22일부터 한국 환경운동연합의 활동가들이 남한강의 이포보와 낙동강 함안보의 수문 위에서 농성을 시작하고 한국 정부에 대해 공사 중단과 대안을 검증하는 기구 설치를 요구하고 있습니다.

우리는 그들이 이 같은 행동에 이르게 된 것은 정부의 환경영향평가와 합의 형성 절차가 충분하지 못했다는 점에 그 이유가 있다고 이해하며, 그들의 요구가 문제 해결 위해 필요 불가결하다고 생각합니다.

올해 10월, 일본 나고야에서 제10차 생물다양성협약 당사국총회(CBD COP10)가 열립니다. 한국의 4대강 사업은 생물종과 유전자, 생태계의 다양성 보전을 내건 생물다양성협약의 관점에서 보더라도 중요한 문제이며, 지금과 같이 환경단체와 많은 주민의 반대 목소리를 무시하고 공사를 진행한 채 한국 정부가 생물다양성협약 당사국총회에 참가한다면 국제적인 비판을 피할 수 없을 것입니다.

우리는 한국 정부가 이 상황을 방치하지 않고 냉정한 판단을 통해 4대강 사업의 공사를 중단하고 환경단체와 지역 주민과 대화를 통해서 사업의 목적을 처음부터 재검토할 것을 요청하는 바입니다.

KFEM Activists Sitting-in at 2 New Dams in South Korea

2010-07-25T12:33:00.004+09:00

KFEM Activists Start Sitting-ins at 2 New Dams Construction Sites in South Korea

“Stop the Destructive Four Rivers Project and Seek to Find Alternatives”

At 04:00, 22 July 2010, 5 KFEM activists occupied a 20 meter high top of the Ipo Dam on the South Han River (or Namhan River) and 40 meter high tower crane at the Haman Dam on the Nakdong River which are under construction as Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. Mr. Yum Hyung-cheol, Director of KFEM Seoul, Mr. Park Pyung-soo, Chair of Executive Committee of KFEM Goyang, and Mr. Jang Dong-bin, Director of KFEM Suwon are sitting in the Ipo Dam on the South Han River and Mr. Choi Soo-young, Director of KFEM Buan and Mr. Lee Hwan-mun, Director of KFEM Jinju are sitting in the tower crane at the Haman Dam on the Nakdong river.
They will keep sitting in there until their requests will be accepted by President Lee Myung-bak and his administration. They said in a statement which was released on the day that “we can not put up with the destructive Four Rivers Project as environmentalists. This is the only thing we can do at the moment because the government would not listen to voices of people and ignores all suggestions from any concerned people”.

The South Korean government published the master plan for the 'Four Major Rivers Restoration Project' on 8 June 2009. The project is building more than 20 new dams on the four largest rivers of the country and dredging 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from 691 km long sections of the rivers with total expense of 17.4 billion U.S. dollars which is the tax payers’ money. The project is one of the economic stimulus packages to create jobs in accordance with so-called “Low Carbon & Green Growth” strategy of the S. Korean government.

The four rivers are sources of drinking water for two-thirds of S. Korean population and are home to many wild animals and plants including a lot of endangered and protected species.

We, KFEM, demand that the President Lee Myung-bak;
- to recognize public concerns on the project and stop it immediately
- to create a mechanism to find alternatives to the project
- and to consult with concerned civil society organizations and local people.

Five activists will continue their sit-ins on the top of the dam and the tower crane until Pesident Lee Myung-bak answer to their request. We hope our requests to the government will be accepted and carried out.

* Please write letters to President and Ministers of S. Korea and show your concerns over the 4 Rivers Project.
- Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of Republic of Korea webmaster@president.go.kr
- Mr. Chung Jong-hwan, Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs chungceo@mltm.go.kr
- Mr. Lee Maanee, Minister of Environment eman2mev@me.go.kr
= with cc to Mr. Ma Yong-un at KFEM/FOE Korea at ma@kfem.or.kr

For more information, please contact Mr. Ma Yong-un at KFEM/FOE Korea via ma@kfem.or.kr.

Thank you very much in advance for your support.
Let the river flow!!!

▲ "SOS 4 Rivers", "Let the Rivers Flow". 3 Environmental activists of KFEM went up to the top of the Ipo Dam which is being built by the 4 Rivers Project in South Korea.

▲ "Let the 4 Rivers Run!" Environmentalists of KFEM went up to the top of the Ipo Dam which is being built by the 4 Rivers Project in South Korea.

▲ "SOS 4 Rivers", "Let the 4 Rivers Run!" Environmentalists of KFEM went up to the top of the Ipo Dam which is being built by the 4 Rivers Project in South Korea.

▲ "Listen to the Voices of People" Environmentalists of KFEM went up to the top of the Ipo Dam which is being built by the 4 Rivers Project in South Korea.

▲ Two activists of KFEM started sitting-in protest on a tower crane at Haman Dam construction site on the Nakdong River, South Korea. (Photo by Kim Yong-man, Newsis)

▲ Two activists of KFEM started sitting-in protest on a tower crane at Haman Dam construction site on the Nakdong River, South Korea. (Photo by Radioin)

▲ "Stop the 4 Rivers Project", "Are 4 Rivers Yours? Listem to the Voices of the People". Two activists of KFEM started sitting-in protest on a tower crane at Haman Dam construction site on the Nakdong River, South Korea. (Photo by Radioin)

▲ Two activists of KFEM are keeping sitting-in protest on a tower crane at Haman Dam construction site on the Nakdong River, South Korea. (Photo by Kim Yong-man, Newsis)

※ Updates:
The two environmental activists who had been sitting in on the 40 meter high tower crane of the Haman Dam construction site for 20 days from July 22nd stopped the sitting-in in the evening of August 10th because a typhoon was approaching. The typhoon was expected to pass near the site early tomorrow morning and there was heavy rain with strong wind at the site.

Leaders of local environmental organizations, civil society organizations and religious groups had a meeting in the afternoon and decided to persuade them to stop the sitting-in. Governor of the Gyeongnam Province and local politicians also came to the site to persuade them.
The two activists had been refusing to stop the sitting-in as their demands for the government to stop the Four Rivers Project, to form a mechanism to review the project were not met. But, they decided to stop it when leaders of local civil society organizations came to the tower crane and refuse to leave in the heavy stormy rain unless the two activists stop the sitting-in and come down to the ground.
The two activists had been arrested by the police after having a short press conference on the ground, but they were released after two day long police custody when the local court dismissed the warrant of arrest submitted by a local prosecutor.

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Nakdong River from the Air

2010-07-07T15:18:00.000+09:00

It is a news report by the Busan MBC broadcasted on June 13, 2010. It shows that what is happening to the Nakdong River which is being damaged by 8 new dams construction and extensive dredging. The S. Korean government is extracting 440 million cubic meters of sand from the river. Both damming and dredging will cause big negative impacts on the ecosystem and biodiversity of the river which used to have a few important riverine wetlands for birds and other wildlife species.

Rivers Must Flow - a short movie on the 4 Rivers Project

2010-07-07T11:29:00.001+09:00

Here is a short movie titled with "Rivers Must Flow".
You will be able to see how beautiful the rivers in South Korea were. Unfortunately the four largest rivers of the country are being destroyed in the name of the "Four Rivers Restoration Project" which builds more than 20 new dams and removing 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from the rivers.
The movie was editted by Seopung with photos taken by many people from religious and environmental groups, and Seopung.

▶◀ A Buddhist Monk Burned Himself to Death in His Protest against the 4 Rivers Project

2010-06-01T00:22:00.000+09:00

Reverend Munsu, a Buddhist monk and zen master burned himself to death in the afternoon of May 31, 2010, in his protest against the Four Rivers Restoration Project of South Korea.

It is his own will written by his hand. It says "Lee Myung-bak administration should stop and scrap the Four Rivers Project. Lee administration should eradicate cor...ruption. Lee administration should try its best to support ordinary, poor and underprivileged people instead of chaebols and rich people."

In South Korea, the government is just pushing ahead the Four Rivers Project which is building more than 20 new dams and to dredge 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from riverbeds and riverine wetlands in the name of 'River Restoration'. The project is faced with strong opposition from local environmental groups, religious leaders and opposition parties, but the Lee administration is not willing to listen to voices of various concerns.

Here is his own hand-written will.

▶◀ May he rest in peace.

Impacts of the Four Rivers Restoration Project on the South Han River in Yeoju, South Korea

2010-05-27T11:34:00.000+09:00

Impacts of the Four Rivers Restoration Project on the South Han River in Yeoju, South Korea

The government of S. Korea has been destroying four largest rivers in the country by building more than 20 dams and dredging 570 million cubic meters of sediments from the bottom or the rivers since November, 2009. Though the government argues that it is to restore the rivers, but hundreds of important riverine wetlands including sand bars, gravel bars, riverine forests and vegetations are being destroyed due to extensive dredging and dams construction.

Such riverine wetlands are important habitats for many rare and endangered wildlife species such as many waterbirds including White-naped Cranes, Hooded Cranes and Long-billed Plovers; mammals including Eurasian River Otters and Korean Water Deers; reptiles including Korean Tiger Lizards; and plants such as Aster altaicus.

Here are some photos showing the impacts of ongoing Four Rivers Project on riverine wetlands along the Namhangang (South Han River) in Yeoju, South Korea. The river is one of the four rivers to be impacted by the projet and there are three dams being built in the area.

▲ Jeonbuk-ri Wetland

The natural riverine wetland is being damaged to make new park area with a swimming pool, walking path, bicycle trail, picnic area, parking lots and artificial wetland.

▲ Geumsa Wetland
The natural riverine wetland is being damaged to make new park area with walking path, bicycle trail, picnic area, parking lots and artificial wetland.

▲ Ipo Dam 01
Large sand and gravel bars downstream of the Ipo Bridge was gone due to the Ipo Dam construction. The shallow water down the bridge used to be an important habitat for two endemic and endangered freshwater fish species, KUGURI Gobiobotia macrocephala and DOLSANG-EO Gobiobotia brevibarba. The large sand bars between the dam and the bridge in the back will be turned into a football park, a in-line stake park and other sports and recreational area.

▲ Ipo Dam 02

▲ Ipo Wetland 01
Almost all the natural riverine wetland area is being damaged to make a camping grounds with walking path and bicycle trail.

▲ Ipo Wetland 02
Almost all the natural riverine wetland area is being damaged to make recreational areas including a football park, an in-line stake park, walking path, bicycle trail and camping grounds.

▲ Dangsan-ri
It is a riverine wetland along the South Han River at the Dangsan-ri, Yeoju, South Korea has gone because of massive dredging.

▲ Eunmorae-Geummorae Beach
The name of the beach means 'Silver Sand and Golden Sand Beach'. But almost all the sand and gravel from the beach have already been removed from it because of the massive dredging to deepen and widen the river's waterway.

▲ Iho Wetland
The riverine wetland with willow forest, reed-bed and other wetland vegetations has completely destroyed because of the extensive dredging. The rest of the land by the riverbank will be changed into recreational area with sports park, walking path, and bicycle trail.

▲ View from the Iho Bridge
When they dredge and deepen the river, they built a dyke in the middle of the river and drain the water of the half of it. And then, excavators and dump trucks go into the drained riverbed to dig up and remove sediments and bedrocks from it.

▲ Sinjin-ri Iho Wetland
The natural riverine wetland is being damaged to make a park area including artificial fishway for freshwater fishes to pass the Gangcheon Dam.

▲ Gangcheon Dam 01
Gangcheon Dam is one of the three large dams being built on the South Han River in Yeoju, South Korea. Construction of the dam started in November, 2009.

▲ Gangcheon Dam 02
Gangcheon Dam is one of the three large dams being built on the South Han River in Yeoju, South Korea. Construction of the dam started in November, 2009 and all the riverine wetland and sand and gravel bars are gone now.

▲ Gangcheon Wetland 01
Gangcheon Wetland, located at the lower part of the Bawi-neupgubi Wetland, is an important riverine wetland along the South Han River in Yeoju, South Korea. The wetland was full of willow forest and reed beds. It also used to be a habitat for an endangered and endemic plant species, DANYANGSSUKBUJAENGI Aster altaicus, but the wild population of the plant had been transplanted in early April and the wetland is being damaged because extensive dredging was started in mid April.

▲ Gangcheon Wetland 02

▲ Gangcheon Wetland 03

▲ Bawi-neupgubi Wetland
Bawineupgubi is a wetland area located in the mid/downstream area of the South Han River where sand and silt gets accumulated along tributary streams branching off. The current flows slowly along the streamlines due to the rivers very wide. There are large riparian wetland, floodplain, small islet, sand bars and gravel bars in the wetland area. Bawi-neupgubi wetland is an important habitat for an endangered and endemic plant species, DANYANGSSUKBUJAENGI Aster altaicus and Korean Tiger Lizard Eremias argus. Both are protected species designated as Endangered Species Category 2 by the Ministry of Environment.

Rivers project puts church and state at odds in South Korea

2010-05-26T18:38:00.000+09:00

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/world/world-news/5992-rivers-project-puts-church-and-state-at-odds-in-south-korea

Rivers project puts church and state at odds in South Korea

Tue, 25 May 2010 15:46
By Hannah Bae

SEOUL: As South Korea gears up for local elections on June 2, church and state are clashing over a large-scale public works project on the nation's main rivers.

Christians and Buddhists have been stepping up their opposition to the four major rivers restoration project, said Mark Whitaker, a professor of environmental sociology at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

"I was quite shocked to see focusing in front of my eyes 'eco-religion,' the thing I've been writing about in the past five to six years," he said.

The 22.2-trillion-won (RM61-billion) construction scheme aims to improve water quality, prevent floods and droughts, secure water supplies, add tourist facilities and contribute to regional development, according to the government. It involves the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers.

Environmentalists criticised the ecological consequences after the government's June 2009 release of its master plan for the project, a pet initiative of President Lee Myung Bak.

Park Chang Kun, a professor of civil engineering at Kwandong University, questioned the planned installation of 16 weirs on the rivers.

"The essential function of a weir is maintaining the water level, which is far from flood control," Park wrote. "Furthermore, installing weirs actually makes the quality of the water worse, and causes irreversible destruction of the ecosystem."

Religious groups have begun to join the conservationists' efforts.

Hot spot
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea in March expressed concern about "potentially deadly environmental fallout". Some 200 churches across Seoul hung up banners bearing messages like "Stop the four major rivers restoration project now -- it goes against the order of creation."

Also in March, the Venerable Sugyeong, the standing chairman of Buddhist Environmental Solidarity, opened the Yeogang Zen Center, a protest site on the banks of the Han River.

There, members of conservationist groups like the Eco-Horizon Institute and Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) join Buddhists for weekly protests.

"We need to realise that we are the river and the river is us," Venerable Sugyeong said. "We need to be in a position to resist what's happening here."

"The first rule in Buddhism is don't kill other things, because humans rely on animals, water and air and cannot stand on our own," said Venerable Jigwan, chairman of a Buddhist committee opposed to the project.

"In the process of destroying the rivers, we are killing ourselves -- that's how we take it."

Ma Yong Un, a KFEM wetlands researcher, has been camping out at the Yeogang centre to raise awareness of endangered plant and animal species, like the fig marigold and Korean tiger lizard.

"This area is a hot spot on the four rivers project," Ma said. "If we miss this opportunity, it will be harder to conserve these plants and animals."

Growing opposition

The National Election Commission in late April reacted to growing public opposition to the project by deeming it a "hot issue" and banned political parties from making campaign pledges about it.

In addition, religious and civic groups have been barred from discussing the issue at rallies.

But the commission's gag has been ineffective. Criticism continues, most notably in a May 10 mass religious protest held at Seoul's Myeongdong Cathedral that drew about 10,000 people.

Kim Seung Kyum, a public relations specialist at the Office of National River Restoration under the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, said the environmentalists and religious leaders have been insisting on "preservation", but the rivers need more.

"Nothing built on nature is the best for the wildlife habitat," he said, adding that the government was reviewing the protesters' claims and was ready to accept reasonable conclusions.

Meanwhile, the government continues to paint a rosy picture of the project's economic benefits, with a recent land ministry report saying some 10,364 people were working on the construction sites as of mid-May.

The workers' collective 20-billion-won monthly wages "will revive the purchasing power of the middle class and revitalise local economies," the report said.

"I expected the quality of life and economy here to improve," said Hong Seong Beom, 25, who works at a riverside restaurant in Yeoju.

"But now that construction has started," he said, gesturing at the river, "the water isn't flowing, it's cloudier, and fish are dying."

Son Kyung Hee, a resident of Daejeon on the Geum River, said despite the real economic benefits, she thinks the four rivers are just a construction scheme disguised as an environmental project.

"There seems to be no national consensus," she said. "I think the government is not telling the truth... "

-dpa

South Han River from the air

2010-05-19T01:56:00.001+09:00

It is a short video which shows the areal view of the South Han River in Yeoju, South Korea.
The river is being destroyed in the name of "Rivers Restoration". The government of South Korea initiated so-called the '4 Rivers Restoration Project' last year building more than 20 new dams and dredging 570 million cubic meters of sediments from the four largest rivers of the country.
As you can see from the video, almost all the riverine wetlands and river shallows will be gone due to the dam building and extensive dredging.
The original photos were taken by an environmental activist of the National Committee to Stop the 4 Rivers Project working at the Yeogang Seonwon in Yeoju, South Korea.

4 Rivers Restoration; impacts on wetlands of the South Han River

2010-05-18T21:47:00.001+09:00

Pleae have a look at the short video which shows what is happening to the South Han River and wetlands along it in Yeoju, South Korea.
The government of S. Korea has been destroying four largest rivers in the country by building more than 20 dams and dredging 570 million cubic meters of sediments from the bottom or the rivers. Though the government argues that it is to restore the rivers, but hundreds of important riverine wetlands including sand bars, gravel bars, riverine forests and vegetations are being destroyed due to extensive dredging and dams construction. Such riverine wetlands are important habitats for many rare and endangered wildlife species such as many waterbirds including White-naped Cranes, Hooded Cranes and Long-billed Plovers; mammals including Eurasian River Otters and Korean Water Deers; reptiles including Korean Tiger Lizards; and plants including Aster altaicus.

Lies behind the 4 Rivers Project

2010-05-07T14:08:00.000+09:00

Here is a short video on the "Four Rivers Restoration Project" in South Korea. The S. Korean government is talking that it is restoring the 4 largest rivers in the country, but it is only destroying the rivers by building more than 20 new large dams and dredging 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from the rivers in the name of "River Restoration". The project is damaging more than 100 riverine wetlands along the 4 rivers which are important habitats for many rare and endangered wildlife species in the country.

SBS News Report on the 4 Rivers Project

2010-04-14T10:27:00.004+09:00

The SBS TV, one of national TV channels in South Korea reported a news yesterday, April 13th, 2010 that the Dori Islet, an important habitat for endangered animal species such as Korean Tiger Lizard Eremias argus and endangered plant species such as Aster altaicus var. uchiyamae is being damaged due to the Four Rivers Restoration Project of the country.
The government is trying to make an articifial Ecological Park at the site after dredging large amount of sand and gravel from the islet. The EIA report for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project did not include such endangered species inhabitating the site. And there is no measures to protect such endangered species at the site.
Why does the South Korean govern want to damage the precious natural habitat just to make an artificial park?

▲ SBS news report on April 13, 2010. (Click the white square in the middle of the picture, then after a short TV commercial about 16 seconds, you will be able to watch the news.)

▲ A shoot of endangered plant species Aster altaicus var. uchiyamae at the Dori Islet is about to be trampled down due to the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project (Photo: The Hankyoreh newspaper)

Decoding the Four Rivers confusion - The Hankyoreh

2010-04-10T11:17:00.000+09:00

Here is a very good article by the Hankyoreh on the Four Rivers Project. The Hankyoreh is one of national newspapers in South Korea and is considered as the most reliable newspaper in the country.

[Column］Decoding the Four Rivers confusion

The Hankyoreh Posted on : Apr.2,2010 12:59 KST

» Jeong Seok-gu, Senior Editorial Writer

Every time President Lee Myung-bak emphasizes the necessity of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, I find myself at a loss, confused as to whether he says such things with an understanding of the true picture, or if he is doing so according to some other political understanding. Most disconcerting of all is when he claims that the project saves animal and plant life and restores the ecosystem. Religious groups, including Catholics and Buddhists, are currently waging a campaign of strenuous opposition and calling the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project an act of killing. Which side is the one restoring life, and which is the one ending it?

President Lee says that the four rivers are severely polluted and that their birds and fish are dying. That severe pollution situation does arise from time to time during droughts or when wastewater and sewage flow into the river, but calling the rivers so filthy that birds and fish cannot live in them is a distortion of the truth. He also uses this misguided assumption as a basis for saying that the primary goal of the project is to save these precious lives. It is a mind-boggling logical leap.

Go to one of the construction sites for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. You will see that the once beautiful riversides, with their thick reeds and willows and their white beaches, are now being trampled by excavators and construction vehicles. A jet-black polluted layer of mud is being laid bare at the sites, while the formerly blue waters are turning yellow with mud. Far from saving lives, they are destroying the very habitats of these fish and birds. Some might say that all construction sites are like this at first. But will life go back to normal once the construction ends as planned? Every place will be blocked off with dams, the riverside decked out in concrete. It is not a natural, but an artificial river that drives away life. Currently, countries like Germany and the U.S. are tearing down the dams they have built on rivers over the years and are restoring them to their natural state. If the Lee Myung-bak government does not know the reason for this, it is simply ignorant, and if it does know and yet believes it can solve the resulting problems with the latest technology, it is indicative of an arrogant disregard for the order of nature.

President Lee says that the project is his own conviction, and that he needs to persuade the people who oppose it. He frequently cites examples such as the Cheonggyecheon and the Seoul-Busan Expressway. He seems to be saying that while those projects also had opponents, he followed through with them according to his own convictions, and everyone is pleased with the results. Every time I hear this, I find myself wondering whether the president thinks all South Koreans have the intellectual capability of a kindergartner. The Cheonggyecheon and the Seoul-Busan Expressway are completely different from the Four Major Rivers project. The Cheonggyecheon project changed a paved-over, rotting stream into a 5.8 km artificial concrete river. The Four Major Rivers Restoration Project involves no less than 1,300 km of living, flowing natural rivers. Comparing the two is a clear fallacy.

An even bigger cause for concern is when President Lee speaks as though he would be failing to fulfill his duty as president and committing some kind of crime against the state if he did not finish the project. The people never gave him the authority to blithely cut off and dig up the four rivers that form the mainstay of the Korean Peninsula. President Lee also said that if the project is turned into an instrument of political warfare, it is the nation’s future that will be sacrificed. However, the project itself is an act of barbarism, bringing down the country’s prestige and destroying the living space of our descendants.

Still, President Lee pushes stubbornly on, declaring that he will finish the project within his term. He completely ignores any recommendation to use just one of the rivers as a test case first, or any suggestion to implement the project in stages after carrying out a proper assessment of its environmental effects. No matter what problems or aftereffects are pointed out, it all falls on deaf ears.

What should be done now? Before doing anything, go to the four rivers and see the construction sites for yourselves. Even better, make a spring outing of it and go hand in hand with your children. If not, at least stop by the Nakdong River photo exhibition currently being held in Seoul, Busan and other locations throughout the country by Buddhist monk Jiyul. There, you will find the answer on what the true picture of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project is, and what it is that we must do.

Reservoir Dogs - Music Video of the 'Windy City'

2010-04-07T10:43:00.000+09:00

The 'Windy City', a South Korean music band produced a music video with the title of the . It was taken at the scene of the Four Rivers Project which is building more than 20 new dams and removing hundreds of million tonnes of sand and gravel from the four largest rivers of South Korea. You can see the workers at the project site were trying to block the atrists to sing songs along the river.

Impacts of the 4 Rivers Project on Waterbirds

2010-04-02T01:00:00.001+09:00

The Birds Korea published an excellent report which clearly shows that there will be a major impact of the Four Rivers Project in South Korea on bird population, especially waterbirds. Here is the executive summary of the report.

The Anticipated Impacts of the Four Rivers Project (ROK) on Waterbirds

Birds Korea Preliminary Report
Birds Korea

Executive Summary

Seasonal patterns of precipitation in the Republic of Korea resulted historically in seasonally shallow rivers and extensive floodplain wetlands supporting a rich avian biodiversity. Especially during the second half of the twentieth century, all large and most small rivers in the Republic of Korea have been modified to a greater or lesser degree by dams, reinforced banks and in some cases by estuarine barrages. Most stretches of river are also prone to disturbance from roads and other infrastructure along their flanks, and most floodplain wetland has already been converted for agriculture and other uses. While there are few historic data, several waterbird species have been lost to the Republic of Korea due to habitat loss and degradation or due to human pressure, while many other species have become more localised or have declined. Despite these changes, many stretches of river and estuaries still remain internationally important for waterbirds, and/or support globally threatened waterbird species, and should be conserved in accordance with national laws and e.g. the Ramsar Strategic Plan (2009-2015). The Four Rivers Project (launched in November 2009) threatens many of these remaining wetlands. It entails further simultaneous large-scale construction along the Han, the Nakdong, the Geum and the Yeongsan Rivers, four of the nation’s five largest rivers. It includes deep-dredging of 691 km of river, the construction of 16 new dams, the rebuilding of two major estuarine barrages, the strengthening of embankments and the construction of >1700 km of bicycle road and other tourist-related infrastructure. Predictions of the economic and social costs and benefits of the Four Rivers Project have been presented in a range of literature and statements. This preliminary report aims to assess some of the anticipated impacts on waterbirds of the Four Rivers Project through (1) reduced flood-pulse, (2) loss of shallow river habitat, (3) increased degradation and reduced opportunity for the restoration of estuaries, and (4) an increase in disturbance. Species and some of the sites that are likely to be affected are identified in the main through analysis of data generated by an annual bird census coordinated by the national Ministry of Environment (MOE Census) first conducted in 1999. Out of >140 sites now covered by the MOE Census, this report considers that 48 such sites are likely to be affected, in addition to several thousands of kilometre of stream and river that are not covered by the Census but which are included in related infrastructure plans. Data from these 48 sites can provide some insight into the numbers of waterbirds and the species likely to be most affected, and in future years should enable impacts of the Four Rivers Project to be monitored with greater confidence.

The MOE Census data also confirm that within the Republic of Korea shallow stretches of river and (near-natural) estuaries tend to support a higher density of waterbirds per hectare than river- impoundments, as also indicated by independent survey at the Geum Estuary during northward and southward migration and at the Yeongsan and Nakdong Estuaries throughout the year. In addition, the MOE Census data confirm that several species considered ecologically dependent on rivers, their floodplains and/or their estuaries are already nationally scarce, and in some cases have shown declines over the past decade. While analysis of the MOE Census is unable to produce national population estimates of very local and scarce species such as the globally Endangered Scaly-sided Merganser, in combination with other sources the data do confirm this species’ presence on a very few stretches of river and its ecological dependence on relatively undisturbed and free-flowing rivers.

This report concludes that without cancellation or adequate mitigation, the Four Rivers Project will impact ca. 50 bird species negatively (including 30 species of waterbird), causing further declines in several sensitive waterbird species that are ecologically dependent on shallow rivers, flood-plain wetlands and estuaries. It will also reduce the conservation value of at least one Ramsar site and negatively affect eight BirdLife-designated Important Bird Areas. As such the Four Rivers Project will hinder the nation’s efforts to achieve genuinely sustainable development as set out by the United Nations and the Millennium Development Goals (UN, 2008).

* For the full version of the report please go to http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/4-Rivers/BK-HA-Preliminary-Report-2010.shtml

Restoration or Devastation? - Science magazine, 26th, March, 2010

2010-04-01T04:37:00.001+09:00

The Science magazine reported a very good article on the Four Rivers Restoration Project of South Korea. Here is a summary of the article.

You can read the full text here

---------------------------

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/327/5973/1568

Science 26 March 2010:

Vol. 327. no. 5973, pp. 1568 - 1570
DOI: 10.1126/science.327.5973.1568

News Focus

Environmental Restoration:
Restoration or Devastation?

Dennis Normile*

Launched last November, the South Korean government's Four Major Rivers Restoration Project calls for building 16 dams, dredging 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel to deepen nearly 700 kilometers of riverbed, renovating two estuarine barrages, and constructing bike trails, athletic fields, and parks along the waterways. At $19 billion, it is one of the costliest engineering projects in the country's history. And it is attracting fiery opposition, notably from the Professors' Organization for Movement Against Grand Korean Canal, a group of 2800 academics who accuse the government and supporters of twisting data and ignoring expert panel recommendations on issues such as water quality, flood control, rainfall patterns, and environmental impacts to justify a massive construction boondoggle. Both sides agree on one point: The project will dramatically transform the Han, Nakdong, Geum, and Yeongsan rivers.

short movie on the 4 Rivers Project - South Han River

2010-03-27T22:31:00.002+09:00

It is a short movie showing the madness of the "Four Rivers Restoration Project" in South Korea. The project is building more than 20 dams on the rivers and removing 570 million ㎥ of sediments from riverbeds, which will affect the conservation of rivers' natural ecological character . The photos in the movie were taken from the South Han River, one of the 4 rivers.

Majority of Korean people don't support the 4 Rivers Project

2010-03-25T23:25:00.001+09:00

67% of Korean People are against firmly to the 'Four Major Rivers Restoration Project'

According to the result of an opinion poll released on March 24th, 2010 by the Kyunghyang Shinmun, a South Korean daily newspaper, majority of Korean people are still against the 'Four Rivers Project' of the country.

According to the poll conducted by the Kyunghyang Shinmun and Korea Society Opinion Institute, 66.8% of the respondents to the poll were critical to the project (36.3% supported stopping the project and 30.5% supported downsizing the project). Only 29.0% of the respondents supported the original plan of the project.

The ‘Four Major Rivers Restoration Project’ which started from November 2009 is to construct more than 20 new dams along the main streams of the four largest rivers in South Korea, dredging 570 million ㎥ of sediments from the riverbeds, and reinforcing 377 km of riverbanks under the stated purpose of preparing for water shortage and floods due to climate change. If the project continues, natural ecological characters of the 4 largest rivers and surrounding riparian wetlands of the country will be severely damaged; river shallows, sand bars and riparian wetlands may completely disappear.

For more information please refer to; http://koreawetlands.blogspot.com/2009/11/environmental-and-social-impacts-of.html

short movie on the 4 Rivers Project - Nakdong River

2010-03-23T10:06:00.002+09:00

The movie shows the reality of the 'Four Rivers Restoration Project' in South Korea. You can see the destruction of wetlands on the Nakdong River, one of the four rivers in the country. It was produced by Reverend Jiyul.

Lawmakers struggle during formation of budget sub-committee for four rivers project

2009-12-18T23:35:00.001+09:00

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/394164.html

Lawmakers struggle during formation of budget sub-committee for four rivers project

While the DP continues strong protest against the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project’s budget, the Cheong Wa Dae has again refused to grant a tripartite meeting

The Hankyoreh Posted on : Dec.18,2009 12:34 KST

The lawmakers from the opposition Democratic Party (DP) occupied the chairman’s seat at the Budget and Accounts Committee in order to prevent the budget of Four Major Rivers Restoration Project from passing at 9:35 a.m. on Dec. 17. Following the DP’s occupation of the chairman’s seat, there was some conflict between lawmakers from ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and DP when GNP lawmakers attempted to pull DP lawmakers out of the seat.

Lee Si-jong, DP lawmaker and representative on the committee, sitting in the chairman’s seat, said “We will wait until the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) reveals its plans for the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project budget.” Lee added “Without knowing the Lee government’s position on the budget, we cannot allow the formation of the Sub-committee for Adjusting the Budget Bill.” Lawmakers from opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) including Chairman Kang Ki-kap joined the DP in efforts to occupy the chairman’s seat.

After occupying the chairman’s seat, Chung Sye-kyun, Chairman of the DP said during a general meeting of lawmakers, “The core of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project is President Lee Myung-bak, because the GNP is merely acting as the president’s puppet.” Chung added, “It was the right course of action for the main opposition party to occupy the chairman’s seat.” Opposition party lawmakers also engaged in a sit-it demonstration far into the night.

However, Ahn Sang-soo, floor leader of GNP, criticized the DP’s move to occupy the chairman’s seat by saying, “Today the DP was a party of violence and occupation.” Ahn added, “It is right for us to form a Sub-committee for Adjusting the Budget Bill.”

Regarding the proposal made by GNP Chairman Chung Mong-joon of convening a tripartite meeting between President Lee Myung-bak and Chairmen of the GNP and DP to resolve the budget issue of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, Lee Dong-kwan, the senior presidential secretary for public affairs, said, “The budget issues should be discussed between ruling and opposition parties.”

.

Ambitious Rivers Project Meets a Sea of Opposition

2009-12-15T15:01:00.000+09:00

Ambitious Rivers Project Meets a Sea of Opposition

By CHOE SANG-HUN

New York Times

Published: December 13, 2009

NAJU, South Korea — Last month, on a gravelly embankment of the Youngsan River here, President Lee Myung-bak broke ground on a $19.2 billion public works project to remake the country’s four longest rivers, an ambitious and controversial undertaking that has spurred a national debate over what constitutes green development.

Mr. Lee says the project will generate thousands of jobs, improve water supply and quality, and prevent flooding, while providing a model for environmentally sound development.

But critics call it a political boondoggle, say it will be an environmental disaster and have sued to stop it. More South Koreans oppose the project than support it. And opponents charge that it is simply a repackaging of Mr. Lee’s earlier dream of linking the Han and Nakdong Rivers to create a “Grand Korean Waterway” across the nation, a proposal he abandoned in the face of widespread opposition.

Meanwhile engineers have already begun work to rebuild the Han, Nakdong, Kum and Youngsan Rivers, work that is likely to make Mr. Lee famous or infamous long after his five-year term ends in 2013 and could even determine who succeeds him.

“If they build a weir here, I fear it will trap the water and make the river more polluted than it is now,” said Choi Han-gon, 55, a farmer here who admits to conflicted feelings about the project. Gazing at a government billboard depicting the futuristic waterfront town promised to rise here within two years, he added, “I can also see why everyone will love it once it’s done.”

Mr. Lee, a former chief executive of the Hyundai construction company who is nicknamed the Bulldozer for his penchant for colossal engineering schemes, aims at nothing less than rethinking the ecology and economy of the rivers, some of which were heavily polluted during the country’s rapid industrialization. For three years, workers will dredge river bottoms and build dikes, reservoirs and hydroelectric power stations.

When the work is done, the government says, the rivers will “come alive” with tourists, sailboats and water sports enthusiasts. Sixteen futuristic-looking weirs will straddle the rivers, creating pristine lakes bordered by wetland parks. A 1,050-mile network of bike trails will run along the rivers.

Mr. Lee has engaged in this sort of development before, overcoming similar opposition and ultimately reaping a political fortune. As mayor of Seoul, in 2005, he silenced protests from urban shop owners and peeled back asphalt to reveal a long-forgotten, sewage-filled stream. He cleaned it and let it run again through downtown Seoul by pumping in water from the Han River.

Today, the four-mile Cheonggyecheon River is the capital’s most visible landmark. Its popularity helped win him the presidency in 2007.

Now, with an eye to his legacy, Mr. Lee is determined to repeat that success, this time on a national scale.

He wants the work done fast, in time for the 2012 parliamentary and presidential elections. Although he is constitutionally barred from seeking re-election, his governing Grand National Party bills the river project as the centerpiece of a Green New Deal, a strategy of economic growth through eco-friendly projects.

“As with the restoration of Cheonggyecheon, our efforts to save the four major rivers will generate greater benefits than we can even imagine now,” Mr. Lee told 2,000 guests at the groundbreaking ceremony on the Youngsan River.

The political opposition, however, calls it “quick-fix window-dressing” ahead of the 2012 elections. More than 400 environmental and other civic groups filed a joint lawsuit last month to stop the project. They argue that dredging river bottoms will disrupt the ecosystem and the new dams will create catch basins, worsening pollution and flooding.

“He just broke ground for an environmental catastrophe,” said Woo Sang-ho, spokesman of the main opposition Democratic Party. In Parliament, the opposition is trying to block further financing for the project, while Mr. Lee’s party, the majority, is determined to push it through.

After his decision to allow American beef imports last year was met with huge street protests, Mr. Lee’s approval ratings have begun to bounce back amid signs of economic recovery. Now he is courting a new generation of affluent Koreans who want a greener environment in their neighborhoods, a bet that paid off handsomely in Seoul.

That he chose this southwestern town for the official start of the four rivers project was no accident. The Youngsan River is one of the country’s most polluted, and many in the province support Mr. Lee’s efforts.

But the surrounding Cholla region is a traditional stronghold of the opposition, posing a dilemma for local politicians. At the groundbreaking event, the provincial governor and the mayor of Kwangju, the region’s main city — both members of the Democratic Party — praised the project.

Some of the project’s most avid supporters are those who live near the rivers.

“I have great expectations,” said Choi Hyun-ho, 61, a farmer in Yeoju, a Han River town south of Seoul. “Land prices here have risen 40 percent in the past two years.”

But some locals fear the loss of their traditional way of life.

“Those trucks and bulldozers are slashing the rivers around the country to build a personal monument for an engineering president and his friends: greedy developers and construction companies,” said Kim Jae-sun, 46, a farmer on the Youngsan River. “I don’t foresee any tourists coming here, just garbage from upstream piling up at the new dam, right in front of my village.”

Mr. Kim joined dozens of environmental activists who protested at Mr. Lee’s ceremony.

“You can’t improve water quality by building more dams,” said Park Mi-kyong, a local environmental activist who led the demonstration. “It’s best to let the river flow its natural course.”

Lee Yong-soo, 77, who lives in Mokpo, a town farther downstream, expressed nostalgia for 30 years ago when the water was so clean that children dived for clams and fishing boats sailed up the Youngsan to sell anchovies and skate fish to inland villages. But then the riverbed rose with layers of toxic silt. So he was willing to give the president the benefit of the doubt.

“He cleaned up that ditch in Seoul, didn’t he?” he said. “If he can clean up this river, everyone will applaud him.”

A version of this article appeared in print on December 14, 2009, on page A6 of the New York edition.

World Wetland Network's Letter on the 4 Rivers Project of Korea

2009-12-11T19:38:00.000+09:00

11th December 2009

Dear President Lee Myung-Bak, Mr. Prime Minister Mr. Chung Un-chan, Chung Jong-hwan, Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, and Mr. Lee Maanee, Minister of the Environment,

Re: Four Rivers Project, Republic of Korea (ROK)

The World Wetland Network (WWN), established at the Ramsar COP10 in Changwon, is a rapidly growing network of over 200 wetland Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) from across the world. A central committee of representatives from each continent, plus technical advisors, meets on a regular basis to plan, feedback and exchange information.

As a global network of wetland specialists, the WWN would like to advise the ROK government to cancel the Four Rivers Project.

In Europe, the US and Japan, there were numerous river engineering projects in past decades which included straightening river channels, dredging river beds, putting in built water management structures and re-enforcing banks. The world has since learnt from these mistakes. Disconnecting rivers from their flood plains, straightening and deepening them has led to huge problems with floods, erosion, poor water quality, changing ecological systems and reduced biodiversity, not to mention disconnecting local communities from their rivers. This of course also has an economic and human cost.

While the Four Rivers project in the ROK has been described as a ‘restoration’ project by its proponents, it is clear to the WWN and to all wetland experts around the world that the construction of new dams and river dredging cannot be called restoration. Further, the construction of bicycle trails and resort areas proposed as part of the Four Rivers project will increase disturbance to sensitive species and systems. As proposed, the Four Rivers project will lead to a massive loss of biodiversity and cause enormous environmental costs, some of which will be immediate, and others which will emerge longer-term as the rivers and watersheds can no longer function in a natural way.

The Four Rivers project, with its emphasis on construction is clearly contrary to the wise use principle that Ramsar promotes, and ignores existing Ramsar guidance on wetland restoration and management, environmental impact, and community involvement (e.g. resolution X.19: Wetlands and River Basin Management; VIII.16: Principles and guidelines for wetland restoration; resolution X.17: Environmental Impact Assessments; and resolution VII.8: Guidelines for establishing and strengthening local communities’ and indigenous people’s participation in the management of wetlands). In addition, it is clearly “unsustainable development” that will prevent the ROK from fulfilling its obligations to numerous international agreements, including Ramsar, the Millennium Development Goals and the Convention on Biological Diversity .

In contrast to the ROK Four Rivers project, in Europe, the Water Framework Directive is reversing these types of hard-engineering works, at great expense, to revert to a more naturally functioning, catchment-based approach. All member nations of the European Union have implemented the Water Framework Directive into their national policies. In the US, water companies now manage catchments to improve water quality, regulate flow naturally, and reduce the risk of flood. The WWN is happy to provide this information to decision-makers in the ROK, in order to assist the nation in its moves towards wetland conservation and wise use.

We therefore strongly urge the ROK to reconsider the Four Rivers Project. It is not too late to stop the destructive works, and to value your river systems as the natural treasures and providers that they are. It is not only in the interest of the ROK to do so, but also in the interest of all the nations of the East Asian - Australasian Flyway, and of all contracting parties to the Ramsar Convention.

Respectfully,

Chris Rostron, Chair of WWN
Melissa Marin, Neotropics Representative, WWN
Esteban Biamonte, Secretary, WWN
Peter Lengyel, Europe Representative, WWN
Baboucarr Mbye, Africa Representative, WWN
Cassie Price, Oceania Representative, WWN
Tsuji Atsuo, Asia Representative, WWN
Becky Abel, North America Representative, WWN
Kashiwagi Minoru, Technical Advisor, WWN
Luc Hoogenstein, Technical Advisor, WWN

www.worldwetnet.org

Wetland destruction means migratory birds will starve

2009-12-05T13:02:00.000+09:00

Though some stories in the article below is not exactly correct, it is very nice to know that there are people in Australia concerned about wetlands conservation in South Korea.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/wetland-destruction-means-migratory-birds-will-starve/story-e6frg8y6-1225806349755

Wetland destruction means migratory birds will starve

Leigh Dayton, Science writer
The Australian
December 03, 2009 12:00AM

MIGRATORY shorebirds face starvation from the planned destruction of their wetland "pit stops" in South Korea.

The world's population of great knots has already plummeted 20 per cent because of previous wetland destruction in South Korea, but last month the Environment Ministry approved the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project. A day later, President Lee Myung-bak broke ground on the project, which includes 21 new dams, destruction of 87 old dams and dredging of almost 700km of rivers.

Birds such as the great knot, curlew sandpiper and tiny red-necked stint "winter" in coastal waters in Tasmania and southeastern Australia before flying to Siberia to breed in the northern summer.

Hobart-based shorebird ecologist Eric Woehler -- with Birds Tasmania and the University of Tasmania -- said migrating birds used South Korean wetlands to fuel up for the onward journey to Siberia.

"The birds have no alternative feeding areas. They feed on intertidal invertebrates like clams and shellfish that live in the mud, put on weight and then fly to the next staging area," said Dr Woehler.

"We've already seen the impact of the reclamation of the Sae Man Geum Wetland along South Korea's west coast.

"The reclamation has destroyed the food, so when the birds arrive they starve."

The Sae Man Geum Reclamation Project represents the world's largest tidal flat destruction, claims environmental group Friends of the Earth Korea.

The group estimated that, three years after it began in 2000, roughly 200,000 migrating birds failed to return to Australia.

And a tanker collision in January last year released 10,500 tonnes of crude oil off Sae Man Geum. "That was a double whammy for the birds," Dr Woehler said yesterday.

A spokesperson for Environment Minister Peter Garrett said the minister was aware of the new project but had no evidence it was driving the decline in waterbird populations. He said the minister would "seek advice" from Korea should evidence emerge.

According to FOEK, the new project will reclaim more than 1000sq km of critical coastal wetland for industry, roads and port developments.

Spokesperson Ma Yong-un said more than 100 river wetlands on the country's National Wetland Inventory would be affected, some linked to Korea's 11 Wetlands of International Importance, protected under the 1971 Ramsar convention.

Fraudulent “4 Rivers Project” Budget Plan

2009-11-25T01:11:00.000+09:00

The Fraudulent “4 Major Rivers Restoration Project” Budget Plan

November 24, 2009

Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) / Friends of the Earth Korea

Almost all working expanses for large-scale engineering projects in South Korea increase drastically in comparison to what is originally planned. The still on-going Saemangeum Reclamation Project, the largest tidal flat destruction project in the world, initially estimated a working budget of 1.3 trillion Korean Won, but the Korean Research Institute for Human Settlements, a think tank on land use policy for the government, announced lasted year that a total budget of 18.9 trillion Won, or more than 14.5 times than the original budget, will be required. The Incheon International Airport constructed on reclaimed tidal flats cost 7.5 trillion Won, 2.2 times more than the initially planned budget of 3.4 trillion Won, and the Gyeongbu High-speed Railroad cost 18.4 trillion Won, 3.17 times more than initially reported.

The “4 Major Rivers Restoration Project” project is no exception. The original project budget announced in the project draft of December 2008 had been about 13.88 trillion Won but the project budget in the final draft announced in June 2009 was 22.2 trillion Won (about USD 19.2 billion), totaling a spike of 1.5 times from the original budget.

But even this 22.2 trillion KRW doesn’t include additional costs of 2 trillion KRW including a 1.5 trillion KRW worth government funded interest cost for Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water) which will have to issue corporate bonds to cover costs for its involvement in the 4 Rivers Project and the costs for supplement facilities collecting river water for urban and industrial use. It is also expected that the estimates for compensation cost for farmlands included in the 4 Rivers Project zone will ultimately double or even triple from what was originally planned. Therefore the project cost could end up requiring 30 to 40 trillion Won rather than the promised 22 trillion Won.

In the 2010 budget bill, the government proposed in late October to the National Assembly, parliament of South Korea, 3.5 trillion Won (about USD 3 billion) for the 4 Major Rivers project budget for deliberation. But according to the “2010 Budget Bill Analysis” published on November 3rd by the National Assembly Budget Office, the actual budget for the 4 Rivers Project will end up as much as at 5.33 trillion Won (about USD 4.6 billion), roughly 2 trillion Won more than the government argues. Though the government of South Korea maintains that the budget for the project next year is 3.5 trillion Won proposed by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, it fails to include budgets from other ministries including budgets for river water quality improvement and ecological river restoration by the Ministry of Environment and raising existing irrigation dams by the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The National Assembly Budget Office pointed out that it lacked legal basis to classify the ecological river formations and bicycle road constructions of the 4 Rivers Project as national river management projects and recommended that their budgets should be reduced or that the projects be reorganized as different projects.

On November 12th, the National Assembly of South Korea has begun standing committee evaluations of the government’s proposed budget bill for the year 2010 worth 291.8 trillion KRW. But according to budget plans for 2010 submitted by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs the 4 Major River project requires a total governmental investment of 3.5 trillion Won of which no specific budget details have been outlined.

The Democratic Party, the leading opposition party in South Korea, stated that a single line’s description for the budgets of the 4 Rivers Project was not enough for them to review and refused to review budget bills for the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee and Special Committee on Budget and Accounts until more specific budget details concerning the 4 Rivers Project are submitted.

The government submitted a 15-page long “the 4 Major Rivers Restoration Project Budget Bill for 2010” containing project costs and compensations for each project section involved on November 12th. On November 18th, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs submitted to the National Assembly a 71-page long “National River Management Project Reference Material” report.

But most of the details on the newly submitted reports remain the same in comparison to the original submissions with the exception of a few editing changes and information concerning involved sections. The specific details of involved sections list project summaries, construction and compensation costs for individual project sections as well as the names and locations of involved rivers and streams. Once again, only the total construction and compensation costs have been stated for individual sections without any references specifically clarifying where or how such budgets will be used in detail. The opposition parties including the Democratic Party are still refusing to review the budget.

There are comments even from members of the ruling Grand National Party criticizing such problems concerning the fraudulent and unreliable 4 Major Rivers budget plan.

South Korean Wetlands Under Threat after the Ramsar COP10

2009-11-20T23:18:00.008+09:00

South Korean Wetlands Under Threat After the Ramsar COP10

November 19th

Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) / Friends of the Earth Korea

1. Riparian Wetlands

‘The Changwon Declaration On Human Well-being and Wetlands (Ramsar COP10 Resolution X.3)’ proposed by the South Korean government and adopted at the Ramsar COP10 resolves to urge decision makers of the world to demonstrate preservation and wise use of wetlands, stop destroying and damaging wetlands, and to preserve the natural ecological characters of wetlands. The Ramsar COP10 Resolution X.3 Annex clearly states that “many climate change policy responses for more water storage and transfers, as well as energy generation, if poorly implemented, may deleteriously impact wetlands” and “restoring wetlands and maintaining hydrological cycles is of utmost importance in responses for addressing climate change, flood mitigation, water supply, food provision and biodiversity conservation.”

COP10 Resolution X.19, ‘Wetlands and River Basin Management: Consolidated Scientific and Technical Guidance’ urges the “incorporation of wetland conservation and wise use to river basin management” and COP 10 Resolution X.24, ‘Climate Change and Wetlands’ also urges “maintaining the ecological characters of wetlands in national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.”

Additionally, COP10 Resolution X.13, ‘The Status of Sites in the Ramsar Convention of International Importance’ requests that the South Korean government “advise the Ramsar Secretariat of any significant change in the ecological character of those Wetland Protection Areas and Ecosystem Landscape Conservation Areas that are wetlands.”

1) Four Major Rivers Restoration Project and its Impacts on Rivers’ Ecosystem

The South Korean government has started the ‘Four Major Rivers Restoration Project’ on November 10, 2009 constructing more than 20 new dams along the main streams of the four largest rivers in Korea (Han, Nakdong, Geum, and Yeongsan Rivers), dredging 570 million ㎥ of sediments, and reinforcing 377 km of riverbanks under the stated purpose of preparing for water shortage and floods due to climate change. If through this project the rivers’ depths are maintained at 4-6 meters the natural ecological characters of the 4 major rivers and surrounding riparian wetlands will be severely damaged; river shallows, sand bars and riparian wetlands may completely disappear.

Many diverse forms of inland wetlands of South Korea are formed along the four largest rivers of Korea which are subjected to the 4 Rivers Project. Upo Wetland, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, and Junam Reservoir, a very important wetland in the City of Changwon, the venue of the Ramsar COP10 in 2008, are representative wetlands formed in floodplains of the Nakdong River.

There are many riparian wetlands such as sand bars all the way along the rivers from the upstream to downstream, which were formed by doposition of sands by the rivers. Such riparian wetlands are important stop-over sites for migratory waterbird species including endangered White-naped Cranes Grus vipio, and Hooded Cranes Grus monacha.

Estuaries of the four rivers have very large esturine wetlands such as the Han River Estuary, Geum River Estuary, Nakdong River Estuary all of which are internationally important for migratory waterbird species. Such important inland wetlands of Korea are formed by free flowing river’s dynamic activities of erosion, transportation and deposition. Thus damages to the natural flow of the four rivers will result in loss and degradation of inland wetlands of the country.

As much as 68 wildlife species protected by Korean domestic laws including freshwater fish species such as Nakdong Gudgeon Gobibotia naktongenis and Nakdong Nose Loach Koreocobitis naktongensis, plant species such as Fox Nut Euryale ferox and Aster altaicus var. uchiyamae Kitam, and Cockscomb Pearl Mussel Cristaria plicata are living and/or using in the project sites of 634 kilometres along the rivers. There are around 60 endemic freshwater fish species in Korea and most of them inhabit in shallows that massive dredging and construction of dams will affect negative impacts on freshwater fish diversity.

The Dalseong wetland, Damyang wetland and Nakdong River Estuary are three Wetland Protection Areas, which are included within the 4 Rivers Project area. Should dams be constructed up and downstream, massive dredging occurs and water depth changes in these areas the ecological characters of said protected areas will undergo significant changes.

South Korean government just finished the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in only four months including ecosystem survey, EIA report writing, collection collecting public opinions which is the one of the most important in a project development process. The government just finished the EIA, though it didn’t make a full study of ecosystems of the four rivers and could not provide an estimate for the impact from the project.

Though the 4 Rivers Project has started, around 70% of the South Korean people still do not support it. And, legal experts in colllaboration with civil society organizations are preparing to raise a lawsuit against the project as it violated River Act and National Finance Act. So far around 10,000 people joined as plaintiffs for the lawsuit.

2) Han River Estuary Wetland Protection Area

The government of Korea maintaining that we need to introduce more vessels as means of transport under the name of so-called Low Carbon Green Growth initiated construction of the Gyeong-In Canal, 18 kilometer long artificial canal which connects Seoul and Incheon. Local governments along the canal are putting forward many related projects to develop inland navigation. In order for large vessels to sail on the lower Han River, Sin-gok submerged weir is to be moved about 14km lower on the river in conjunction with Gyeongin Canal, Han River Renaissance of Seoul City and 6 Projects Linking the Han River of Gyeonggi Province. When the submerged dam is moved about downstream of the river and massive dredging take place for vessels to navigate, many parts of the brakish zone of the Han River Estuary Wetland Protection Area will be changed into freshwater ecosystem and important wetlands in the Wetland Protection Area such as Janghang Wetland and Sannam Wetland which are used as important wintering grounds for waterbirds including internationally endangered bird species such as White-naped Crane Grus vipio, Swan Goose Anser cygnoides, and Bean Geese Anser fabalis will be flooded and ecological character of the estuary will be greatly degraded.

The proposed Gimpo Cargo Terminal will replace large rice paddy fields which are usde as feeding grounds for White-naped Cranes, and wild ducks and geese and there is a plan to build a ferry and cargo terminal at Isanpo in the Han River Estuary Wetland Protection Area.

Rice paddy fields along the estuary which are important feeding grounds for wintering migratory waterbirds are disappearing due to large urban development project such as the Han River New Town development in Gimpo City which is a large new apartment project and is one of the 6 Projects Linking the Han River of Gyeonggi Province.

3) Bamseom (Bam Islet) Ecosystem Landscape Conservation Area

The Han River Canal currently being promoted by Seoul City also threatens wetland conservation along the lower areas of the Han River. The Han River Canal is being promoted as a part of the “Han River Renaissance” Project and plans to dredge 15 km of the Han River from Gimpo, Gyeunggi Province to Yongsan, Seoul at a depth of 6.3m and construct an international terminal at Yeoyido in Seoul to operate 5000 ton class vessels from Seoul to Incheon.

This project threatens to damange the ecological characters of the Bamseom (Bam Islet) Ecosystem Landscape Conservation Area which is in the middle of the Han River in Seoul and serves as an important urban wetland and wintering ground for thousands of migrating birds in the winter.

4) Bawineupgubi Wetland

The Bawineupgubbi Wetland is a riparian developed in a floodplain in the lower midstream part of the South Han River as sediments from upstreams has been deposited where the flow of the river is slow.

It is the only place in the world where an endangered endemic plant species Aster altaicus var. uchiyamae Kitam can be found. A rare plant species Sparganium stoloniferum and an endangered freshwater fish species Short-barbel Gudgeon Gobiobotia brevibarba are also found here. There also are various plant and bird species in the riparian wetland which deserves to be protected. However, the wetland is under a big threat from massive dredging in the area and flooding by dam construction in the downstream from it.

5) Geum River Estuary

The 400 kilometre long Geum River has formed a big estuarine wetland where it meets the Yellow Sea. There are large tidal flats and rice paddy fields at the stuary area which attracts large numbers of waterbird species including Baikal Teals Anas formosa, Oyestercatchers Haematopus ostralegus osculans and swans. It supports 300,000 to 500,000 Baikal Teals Anas formosa, 60-70% of Northeast Asian population of Oyestercatchers Haematopus ostralegus osculans, and more than 10% of the global population of Saunders's Gull Larus saundersi., which deserves protection. However the extensive dredging in the upstream of the river will affect the estuary’s natural ecosystem and its ecological character.

6) Hapgangni Wetland

The Hapgangni Wetland is a riparian wetland with large sand bars developed in the area where the Geum River and Miho River which is the largest tributary of the Geum River meet. Around 19,000 birds of 103 bird species were recorded at a study including 4,600 Bean Geese Anser fabalis, 3,500 Spot-billed Ducks Anas poecilorhyncha, 2,700 Mallards Anas platyrhynchos, 1,300 Common Teals Anas crecca. It supports 15 protected bird species including Steller’s Sea Eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus, White-tailed Sea Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla, Long-billed Plover Charadrius placidus, Baikal Teals Anas formosa, and Bean Geese Anser fabalis and 2 protected mammal species; Leopard Cat Felis bengalensis and Eurasian Otter Lutra lutra. The wetland is affected by dredging in the area and a dam construction in the downstream from the Four Rivers Project.

7) Nakdong River Estuary Wetland Protection Area

The Nakdong River estuary is one of South Korea’s most important wetlands; it supports the most winter migratory birds in both as its species diversity and abundance of species. The area is being protected such as a Wetland protection Area and a Natural Monuments, but the waterbird habitats are continuously deteriorating due to rapid urbanization and industrialization of surrounding areas. Furthermore, the Nakdong River estuary’s protected area are being lifted little by little as development occurs.

Additionally, we believe that the negative impacts on Nakdong River estuary’s Wetland Protection Areas due to large dredging projects upstream related to the 4 Rivers Project will be quite significant. Specifically, there is the currently planned construction of a second estuary dam gates west of Eulsukdo (Eulsuk Island) within Nakdong River estuary’s Wetland Protection Area which plans to undertake massive dredging and shore maintenance which will greatly damage the ecological character of the Nakdong River estuary.

8) Dalseong Wetland Protection Area

The Dalseong Wetland is located where the Nakadong River meets the Geumho River, a tributiary of the Nakdong River. It has well conserved riparian vegetation and is a stop-over and wintering site for Black Vuntures Aegypius monachus, Hooded Cranes Grus monacha, White-naped Cranes Grus vipio and Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica. The wetland will be impacted by dredging and dam construction due to the Four Rivers Project.

9) Haepyeong Wetland

The Haepyeong Wetland in Gumi is a riparian wetland with vast sand bars and reed beds along the midstream Nakdong River. 1,500ha of farm lands around the wetland are important feeding grounds for many migratory waterbirds, especially in winter. It was designated as an Wildlife Protection Area in 1998 and its area was expanded in 2001, but it was unlisted from the protection site list in April, 2008 due to big pressure for development in the surrounding area. It is regularly used as a stop-over site during the annual migration of approximately 2,000-4,000 Hooded Cranes Grus monacha and 400-800 White-naped Cranes Grus vipio. It also is an important wintering ground for thousands of White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons, Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus and ducks. Such an important wetland will be severely impacted by the dredging and dam construction due to the Four Rivers Project.

10) Damyang Wetland Protection Area

The Damyang Wetland which was designated as a Wetland Protection Area in 2004 is a riparian in the upper midstream of the Yeongsan River with diverse forms of vegetations. It has a large willow forest and a bamboo forest along the river. It also has diverse forms of river habitats with shallows, deep pools and sand bars. Freshwater fish species including a protected fish species Fareastern Brook Lamprey Entosphenus reissneri and many endemic fish species such as Microphysogobio yaluensis can be found here. It also support bird species such as Little Egret Egretta garzetta, Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, Green-backed Heron Butorides striatus and Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis. There is a large breeding sites for herons and egrets in the wetland. The Damyang Wetland Protection Area will be impacted from dredging and dam construction around it.

2. Coastal Wetlands

Ramsar COP10 Resolution X.22, ‘Promoting International Cooperation for the Conservation of Waterbird Flyways’ urges in its Annex that “the Yellow Sea is facing a multitude of threats, from pollution, siltation, and particularly past and ongoing large-scale conversion of mudflats for agricultural and urban and industrial development……Conservation of the Yellow Sea intertidal wetlands and associated habitats should be advanced at an ecosystem scale through integrated coastal zone management and international cooperation……Conservation measures should include the designation of the highest priority sites as Marine Protected Areas, and/or their listing as Ramsar sites.”

The Resolution X.22 states that the Conference of Contracting Parties “WELCOMES the statement by the Republic of Korea to the 35th meeting of Ramsar’s Standing Committee that intertidal mudflats should be preserved and that no large-scale reclamation projects are now being approved in the Republic of Korea, and ENCOURAGES all Contracting Parties in their efforts to protect such habitats in future and to monitor them and mitigate any past development impacts on or losses to them.”

But the Korean government has approved 11 new reclamation projects totaling 8.1㎢ of coastal wetlands including the Songdo tidal flat in Incheon which meets the criteria for the wetland of international importance, in March of 2009, just four months after the Ramsar COP10, and 11 additional reclamation projects totaling 1.06㎢ were approved as well on November 9th, 2009. Not only is this the case, but many additional damages to coastal wetlands are being carried out throughout the nation including the Saemangeum reclamation project which is the single largest tidal flat destruction going-on in the world.

1) Songdo Tidal Flat

Over 140㎢ of tidal flats in Incheon have fallen victim to or are being destroyed by reclamation projects to provide lands for Seoul metropolitan area’s landfill site, Incheon International Airport, Songdo New Town development and other projects. And the 7.16㎢ large Songdo 11th Zone tidal flat, which is the last inland tidal flat at Incheon, was aproved for reclamation last March with plans to develop the Incheon Free Economic Zone on the area. The Songdo tidal flat is an internationally important wetland that is visited by approximately 40,000 shorebirds each year and used by 178 species of birds including the Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor, the Saunder’s gull Larus saundersi, the Relict Gull Larus relictus, the Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, and the Little Tern Sterna albifrons. 17 endangered species designated by the Korean Ministry of Environment inhabit the area, and 9 pairs of Black-faced Spoonbills bred at nearby Namdong water detention pond and sought food at the Songdo tidal flat.

2) Ganghwado (Ganghwa Island) Tidal Flat and Black-faced Spoonbill Breeding Site

One of the world’s largest tidal power plant is being planned in Korea. The Ganghwa tidal power project will take place by constructing a 6.5 km long artificial sea wall that connects the four islands of Ganghwado, Gyodongdo, Seogumdo and Sukmodo islands. This area is the only wholly preserved estuary tidal flat in Korea and is one of the most productive river estuary zones, providing habitat to countless migratory birds and fish species.

If the Ganghwa tidal power plant is constructed this will cut off the tidal flow and environmental damage such as change in ocean currents and underwater environment, seawater quality degradation, loss of tidal flats, destruction of breeding grounds for migratory fish and food web destruction for marine ecosystems will be inevitable. This region is particularly special as it is designated as the Korea’s Natural Monument No. 419 under the title of ‘Ganghwa tidal flat and Black-faced Spoonbill Breeding Sites’ Including Yudo and Yodo, the largest breeding grounds for the Black-faced Spoonbill, 200~300 Black-faced Spoonbills breed in the area around the proposed project site and should the Ganghwa tidal power plant be constructed the negative impact on Black-faced Spoonbill breeding will be inevitable.

3) Tidal Flat at the Southern End of Ganghwado (Ganghwa Island) and the Jangbongdo (Jangbong Island) Tidal Flat Wetland Protection Area

The tidal flat at the Southern end of Ganghwa Island is located on the East Asian—Australian flyway for various waterbirds and is an important tidal flat that approximately 30,000 shorebirds use as staging sites during their annual migration. Important waterbirds such as the Chinese Egret Eugretta eulophotes, Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor, Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia, Red-crowned Crane Grus japonensis, White-naped Crane Grus vipio, Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus, Spotted Greenshank Tringa guttifer, Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis, and the Saunder’s Gull Larus saundersi are observed here. 10 to 20 Red-crowned Cranes spend the winter here every year and it was identified that 322 Black-faced Spoonbills inhabit the tidal flat at the Southern end of Ganghwa Island in 2009.

But the Incheon Bay Tidal Power Project involving the construction of 15.09km of artificial sea wall that connects Ganghwa Island and Yeongjong Island is currently under planning and this partially includes the Jangbongdo Tidal Flat Wetland Protection Area. The construction of sea walls and tidal power plants around the tidal flat will negatively impact the natural tidal flow which is critical to maintaining the tidal flat’s ecological character, and the water level within the sea walls will increase by approximately 2 meters greatly impacting the tidal flat ecosystem.

4) Garorim Bay Tidal Flat

The Garorim Bay tidal flat was identified as the best preserved tidal flat in Korea according to a 2005 research by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries (MOMAF), and once again evaluated as having the most environmental value in the nation in a 2007 MOMAF Environmental Value Analysis contract research. The Bay is one of only two habitats in Korea for the Spotted Seal Phoca largha, classified as an Endangered Species Category Ⅱ by the Ministry of Environment but the area is also under serious threat; 80㎢ of tidal flats is under danger of having its ecological character damaged by the Garorim Bay Tidal Power Project.

Tidal power projects in Korea were already concluded in the past as having no economical benefit when including the environmental costs but are being pursued once again as part of the renewable energy development project in reaction to climate change conventions under the name of “green growth.”

Such projects not only do not match the definition of “renewable energy” or the objectives of the climate change conventions but the seawalls and other artificial constructs also go against government policies to restore damaged tidal flats.

5) Gangjeong Coastal and Marine Area in Jejudo (Jeju Island)

Rare soft coral communities have developed in the ocean adjacent to Jeju’s Gangjeong coast and is registered and protected as a Natural Monument, and is in the Buffer Zone of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. But a new naval base is scheduled to be constructed in an approximate 5 ㎢ wide area in this region, and approximately 40% of the base site will be constructed on reclaimed land. The construction of such a new naval base on Jeju Island, which boasts itself as the Island of Peace, and the operations of naval warships in the region are expected to negatively impact surrounding coastal wetlands and marine ecosystem conservation.

6) Saemangeum Tidal Flat

Saemangeum tidal flat used to be the nation’s largest tidal flat and the single most important stop-over sites for migratory shorebirds in the country but the reclamation project that started in 1991 has significantly changed the tidal flat’s ecological character and the number of regularly visiting migratory shorebirds has dramatically decreased. Furthermore the water quality of the artificial lake within the seawall is severely deteriorating. The reclamation project originally proposed to create farmlands but the government is now only utilizing 30% of the reclaimed land as farmlands and the rest are being planned to be used for various purposes including industrial and metropolitan area development.

Resolution X.13 ‘The Status of Sites in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance’ recommended that the government of the Republic of Korea continue to provide the Secretary General with updated reports of monitoring concerning the ecological impact, especially in relation to population declines in internationally important migratory waterbird populations of the Saemangeum land-claim. As seen, the ecological value that the Saemangeum tidal flat holds is most significant but maintaining the ecological character of the Saemangeum tidal flat in accordance to the mitigation measures concerning ecological impacts presented by the Republic of Korean government will prove to be difficult to achieve its goals.

※ For more information please contact Mr. Ma Yong-un at KFEM/FoE Korea at ma@kfem.or.kr

Implementation of Changwon Declaration in Korea?

2009-11-20T22:44:00.012+09:00

South Korean Wetland NGOs sent a letter to the government of S. Korea asking if the government is implementing the Changwon Declaration which was proposed by the Korean government and adopted at the Ramsar COP10 in 2008 in Changwon, S. Korea.

Inquiry to the Republic of Korea Government

regarding the implementation of

'The Changwon Declaration on Human Well-being and Wetlands', Resolutions X.3 of the Ramsar 10th Conference of the Parties

In a speech during the opening ceremony of Ramsar COP 10 held in Changwon, Korea, from October 28 to November 4 last year, President Lee Myung-bak declared that "The Korean government will make South Korea an exemplary member of the Ramsar convention, as we continuously increase Wetlands Protection Area and Ramsar site."

The Conference of the Contracting Parties showed its thanks and appreciation to the Republic of Korea for its "efficient, comprehensive and thorough preparations which ensured the smooth running of the COP and all its associated events" and it also expressed "its gratitude to His Excellency Lee Myung-bak, President of the Republic of Korea for his outstanding commitment to and support for wetland conservation" through Ramsar COP 10 Resolution X.32.

The government of the Republic of Korea was complimented "for its initiative in preparing the Resolution X.3 'The Changwon Declaration on Human Well-being and Wetlands' to provide an agenda for future action on wetlands for the people of the world" and was welcomed in particular "for its plan to inaugurate the Ramsar Regional Centre for East Asia to enhance implementation of the Ramsar Convention" through Ramsar COP10 Resolution X.32.13.

The Main Contents and Meanings of the Changwon Declaration

1. The Changwon Declaration recognizes that "efforts need to be redoubled to halt and reverse present declines of wetlands regarding the vital contribution of wetlands to human well-being, livelihoods and human health, as well as to biodiversity". It also recognizes "the urgent need for governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society to understand more fully the roles they can and should play in securing the future health of wetlands and the maintenance of their ecological character". It emphasizes "the importance of collaboration and partnerships between governments and local communities for the conservation and wise use of wetlands", and highlighted "the shared responsibility of both governments and local communities in the implementation of the Ramsar Convention".

2. It strongly urges "the Contracting Parties and other governments to encourage their heads of state, parliaments, private sector, civil society and all government sectors and agencies responsible for activities affecting wetlands, especially in order to respond to the call for wetlands embodied in the Declaration." It expresses its special gratitude to "the government of Korea for declared intention to champion the dissemination and uptake of this Declaration in future."

3. The Chanagwon Declaration states that "Declarations have been issued from many international environmental conferences. It aims not to cover "standard" ground, but to add value by being directed primarily to audiences beyond the Ramsar Convention itself, and to opportunities for action, offering positive, practical action steps, and defining the ways in which the Declaration’s impact will be assured." It even "instructs the Ramsar Secretariat to consolidate, as necessary, into this Resolution any text language adopted by this Conference of Parties, so as to achieve consistency of terminologies."

4. The Changwon Declaration shows that the degradation and loss of wetlands in turn negatively affects food production, human health, and economic development, and it can increase societal conflict. Also, instead of being demand-driven, which promotes over-allocation of water, we need to recognize that there is often not enough water to meet our direct human needs and to maintain the wetlands we need. Environmental flows, placing upper limits on water allocations (water ‘caps’), and new water management legislation, must be strengthened. In order to close this “water gap”, we need to use our available water more efficiently, stop our wetlands from becoming degraded or lost, and restore our wetlands that are already degraded.

5. It shows that destruction and damage of wetlands contributes to climate changes. The effects of climate changes, such as floods, droughts, and famine, weaken human beings. In order to cope with climate changes, it is necessary to restore wetlands, maintain waters' hydrological circulation, and intelligently use and preserve wetlands.

Not only was the Changwon Declaration proposed and adopted for this purpose, a plan was submitted regarding how to use the Resolution in the future and the Korean government even received special thanks for its initiative in preparing the declaration. The government must set the example for practicing "conservation and wise use of all wetlands not only the local and national levels, but also the international level through international cooperation."

Questions Regarding the Korean Government's Implementation of the Changwon Declaration.

The Korea Wetlands NGO Network Preparation Committee welcomes the First Meeting of Changwon Declaration Implementation Network that will be held in Changwon, the site of the Ramsar Convention 10th Conference of the Parties, on November 18th and 19th, which will be attended by Dr. Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, members of the standing committee, international wetland experts, officials from the Korean Ministry of Environment and others. We hope that, through this meeting, there will be close reviews on how the Changwon Declaration has been being implemented in Korea, which is one of the most important results of the Ramsar COP10.

In addition, we ask Korean government to provide sincere answers to the following questions regarding how well the various development projects being carried out by the government, including the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, are keeping the spirit of the Changwon Declaration, and what the government is doing to implement the Declaration.

Question 1) 4 Major Rivers Restoration Project

According to the master plan of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, it is to secure 1.3 billion cubic meters of additional water for the future water shortage, to build more than 16 new dams on the mainstreams of the four rivers and 5 new dams on their tributaries, to reinforce 377km of riverbanks and to dredge 570 million cubic meters of sediments for the flood control due to climate changes.

Dam constructions and extensive dredging works will cause to remove river shallows, sand bars and riparian wetlands. Dozens of endemic freshwater fish species in the country will be threatened by blockage of free flow of river water and maintenance of the 4-6m deep water which lead to changes in character of freshwater habitats.

Many important riparian wetlands along the rivers, which are important habitats for diverse forms of life including internationally endangered bird species, such as White-naped Cranes Grus vipio, using riparian wetlands for staging sites during their migration are predicted to be degraded.

We would like to ask Korean government whether this project is indeed "efforts to halt and reverse the degradation and loss of wetlands" and a work "in securing the future health of wetlands and the maintenance of their ecological character".

Question 2. Please define how well the various development projects below meet the spirit of the Changwon Declaration.

1) Saemangeum reclamation project

Saemangeum reclamation project is "the world's largest reclamation project". The original purpose of the project was to create land for agriculture. However, its original plan of agricultural use has flipped to be only 30% into agricultural use and the rest into either industrial or other purposes.

Reclamations of tidal flats have great negative impacts on ecosystems. From the results of Saemangeum Shorebird Monitoring Program (SSMP) through 2006 and 2008 by Australian Wader Studies Group and Birds Korea, the number of shorebirds recorded in Saemangeum areas has been greatly decreased more than 70% in two years. Due to the loss of the tidal flats as the single most important shorebird staging area, likewise, the world population of Great Knot has been known to drop down about 20%, which caused big concern from international society.

Please answer whether this Saemangeum reclamation project meet the contents of the Changwon Declaration which urges that "decision-making should, wherever possible, give priority to safeguarding naturally-functioning wetlands" according to 'land use change, biodiversity and wetlands' and "more actions are required to address the root causes of the loss of biodiversity and to reverse these losses."

2) Construction of New International Airport, Eomgung Bridge, and the 2nd Nakdong River Estuarine Barrage as an addition to the Nakdong River Estuary.

The Nakdong River Estuary is one the most important wetlands in Korea in terms of overall wetland characters such as its species diversity and abundance of species.

However, the government of Korea is conducting the feasibility study on construction of the New International Airport which will have a direct impact on the estuary.

Moreover, the Busan city government is planning to build a new bridge dividing a riverside which plays a crucial role as a feeding ground for winter migratory birds in the Nakdong river estuary.

Also, as a part of the Four Major Rivers Project, construction of the 2nd estuarine barrage is scheduled to take place in the western Eulsukdo on the Nakdong river. Along with that, dredging and bank protection works will follow at the upper and lower parts of the river barrage. These ongoing construction plans will cause serious damage to functions as wintering sites for migratory birds and an ecological character of the Nakdong river estuary which are protected as a Wetland Protection Area.

3) Incheon Bay and Ganghwa, Garorim Bay Tidal Power Plants Projects.

The mega tidal power plants will be built in the largest and internationally important tidal flats of Ganghwa Island which overlaps with protected Natural Monument and in Jangbongdo (Jangbong Island) tidal flat, a Wetland Protection Area.

This project will have a significant negative impact on feeding, breeding and staging sites for shorebirds as well as an endangered migratory waterbird, the Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor.

According to a research by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of South Korea in 2005, the tidal flats of Garorim Bay are the most well conserved tidal flats in the country. And according to a research commissioned by the same ministry in 2007, the bay's environmental values were rated as the highest among all the coastal areas of the country.

The bay is one of only two habitats of the Spotted Seal Phoca largha in South Korea. This species, which is protected under Endangered Species Category Ⅱ designated by the Ministry of Environment of Korea, is also under threat by the proposed Garorim Bay Tidal Power Project.

4) Construction of Gyeongin Canal and Development Plan of Han River Estuary

Unlike other major river estuaries in Korea, there is no estuarine barrage at the Han River Estuary. The natural scenery, animals, and plants have been well preserved in its brackish water zone where freshwater meets oceanic water.

But in order for large ships to sail on the lower Han river, Sin-gok submerged weir is to be moved about 14km lower on the river in conjunction with Gyeongin Canal, Han River Renaissance of Seoul City and 6 Projects Linking the Han River of Gyeonggi Province. Massive dredging operations are planned as well. In this case, ecosystem in the brackish water zone on the lower Han river will be mostly desalinized. The Janghang and Sannam Wetlands, which are core areas in the Han River Estuary Wetland Protection Area and wintering sites for waterbirds including internationally endangered bird species such as White-naped Crane Grus vipio, Swan Goose Anser cygnoides, and Bean Goose Anser fabalis will be flooded and ecological character of the estuary will be greatly degraded.

5) Reclamation of Songdo Tidal Flat

7.16 square kilometers of tidal flat reclamation at Songdo Zone 11, the last remaining tidal flat on the Incheon City's mainland part, was approved in last March for the expansion of Incheon Free Economic Zone.

Sondo tidal flat is annually visited by about 40,000 waterbirds and used by 178 species of birds such as Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor, Relict Gull Larus relictus, and Saunders’s Gull Larus saundersi, which can meet the criteria to be a wetland of international importance. Last summer, 9 pairs of Black-faced spoonbills bred at a small rock island in the Namdong detention pond and found food at the Songdo tidal flat.

6) Jeju Naval Base Construction in Gangjeong Village.

The soft coral areas off coast the Gangjeong Village in Jeju Island, which is protected as a Natural Monument and is included in the Buffer Zone of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, are under threat by a project to build a new naval base. In order to build the base, important part of the coastal wetland is scheduled to be reclaimed. Therefore, it will have a negative impact on the coastal ecosystems of Gangjeong Village.

7) Rice Paddies and biodiversity

Though the governments of South Korea and Japan jointly proposed Resolution X.31 'Enhancing biodiversity in rice paddies as wetland systems' which encouraged the "Contracting Parties to promote research on flora, fauna and ecological functions in rice paddies and on the cultures that have evolved within rice-farming communities that have maintained the ecological value of rice paddies as wetland systems" and invited "Contracting Parties to consider offering recognition and/or protection to such sites through, for example, their designation as Wetlands of international Importance". We would like to hear what kind of efforts the government of Korea have given to implement the resolution.

November 18, 2009

Kim Duck-sung, Chairperson

Korea Wetlands NGO Network Preparation Committee

Contact: Park Chung-Rok, Co-Representative of Wetlands and Birds Korea (011-9906-6314, greennd@hanmail.net)

Protest against the 4 Rivers Project - Han River, Nov. 17, 2009

2009-11-18T02:08:00.002+09:00

South Korean environmental organizations, religious leaders and politicians from opposition parties joined a protest against the Four Rivers Project amid freezing temperature at a sandbar on the South Han River in Yeoju, Kroea, on November 17, 2009. Such sandbars will be romoved by the massive dredging due to the 4 Rivers Project.

Opposition parties’ lawmakers ramp up to defeat Four Rivers Restoration Project budget

2009-11-14T04:03:00.000+09:00

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/386867.html

DLP Lawmaker Woo Wi-yeong calls it the worst civil engineering project ever, and DP lawmakers prepare legal actions to suspend construction

The Hankyoreh Posted on : Nov.10,2009 12:06 KST
Opposition parties’ lawmakers, who have been demanding the termination of the “Four Rivers Restoration Project” that the Lee administration announced will begin Tuesday, are calling the project a dictatorial scam and have launched a full-scale campaign to suspend construction, including filing for an injunction. Moreover, opponents to the Four Rivers Restoration Project have agreed on a plan to cut the entire 23 trillion Won budget for the project with the exception of the 1 trillion Won earmarked for water quality improvement. 　

Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Chung Sye-kyun slammed the Lee administration during a party supreme council meeting Monday, and said he was enraged that the administration’s dictatorial behavior was manifesting in pet projects such as this one. He added the administration has questioned why the public refers to it as a “dictatorship,” but the label is fitting when it decides to move forward unilaterally as it is doing now.

Chung said the administration had not conducted a proper feasibility study or a cultural properties study, and it conducted a slap-dash environmental impact assessment on the 634-kilometer area, completing it in just four months with unconvincing findings. He also said that the parliamentary screening of the budget put fourth by the administration has yet to begin, and that it is intorelable that the administration has commenced construction for the Four Rivers Restoration Project based on the assumption that the National Assembly will be passing the budget bill in its original form.

The DP is also actively considering filing an administrative suit or applying for a provisional disposition to suspend the project, which is suspected of being the “Grand Canal” project in disguise. During the party’s supreme council discussion on the Four Rivers Restoration Project, Lawmaker Park Ju-seon provided the argument that it violates the National Finance Law, the Rivers Law, the Basic Law on Environmental Policy and the Korea Water Resources Corporation Law.

The DP is also warning of a “budget struggle” in an attempt to cut the Four Rivers Restoration Project budget. An official connected to the party’s parliamentary leadership said the DP’s position is that it cannot allow the 23 trillion Won earmarked for the project, with the exception of the 1 trillion Won for flood damage and water quality improvement.

In a statement Monday, Woo Wi-yeong, spokesperson for the Democratic Labor Party, called the Four Rivers Restoration Project the worst civil engineering project since the time of Dangun, as well as the greatest scam. He said the arrogance and go-it-alone tendencies of the administration that is pushing forward with project construction, regards the project as an established fact, and believes it can hush up any further debate on the matter has come to a dangerous place.

We cannot bear the responsibility of allowing the destruction of the four great rivers

2009-11-14T03:40:00.001+09:00

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/386866.html

[Editorial] We cannot bear the responsibility of allowing the destruction of the four great rivers

The Hankyoreh
Posted on : Nov.10,2009 12:04 KST Modified on : Nov.10,2009 12:06 KST

The Four Rivers Restoration Project begins in earnest today. The construction is to begin immediately, after seemingly waiting for the findings of the Ministry of Environment‘s (MOE) environmental impact assessment. All sorts of concerns about reductions in water quality and destruction of the environment were completely ignored. It appears it is impossible to hope for any more rational discussion with an administration that remains obstinate about pushing the project.

Just imagining the effects of executing the Four Rivers Restoration Project as planned is horrible. Instead of flowing, river water will rot as it is trapped behind dams and weirs, while the wildlife growing on the riverbanks will die under dikes of concrete. Most of the aquatic ecology will be destroyed as river floors are dredged, and it is clear that the terrace land by the four rivers will be suffocated underneath cement as 1,700 kilometers of bicycle routes are built. Indiscriminate developmentalists are mangling our four main rivers, the Han, Nakdong, Guem and the Youngsan, which should be wholly preserved and bequeathed to our descendants.

The greatest responsibility for the Four Rivers Restoration Project coming to this point lays with President Lee Myung-bak. He is using his success with the Cheonggyecheon restoration project accomplished during his time as Seoul mayor to push forward this project. The restoration of the Cheonggyecheon, no more than a neighborhood stream, and the restoration of the four great rivers that feed the lands of southern Korea, are incomparable matters. The aim to complete this project that will cost taxpayers an estimated 20 trillion Won in just two to three years is nothing more than an act of greed intent on achieving a project of scale during his term. The four rivers are about to be destroyed as a result of President Lee’s egoism that stems from ignorance about the environment.

Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Chung Jong-hwan and Environment Minister Lee Maan-ee will be unable to escape historical responsibility as accessories to the destruction of the four rivers. Chung, who styles himself a “Little MB” to a sickening extent, has been pushing the Four Rivers Restoration Project using all sorts of expedients and illegalities. In particular, Lee, by tacitly approving the environmental destruction caused by the Four Rivers project, has abandoned his role as Environment Minister. He will be recorded as a blot on South Korea’s history of environmental policy.

At any rate, construction for the Four Rivers Restoration Project commences today. It will soon be revealed just how much the four rivers will be destroyed as a result. We cannot just standby and watch it happen. To do so is ultimately no different than participating in the destruction of the four rivers. For this reason, just as the full-scale launch of the Four Rivers Restoration Project takes place today, so must the launch of a full-scale fight to save our four great rivers.

UN CESCR's concern over the 4 Rivers Project

2009-11-14T01:49:00.000+09:00

CESCR draws a grim picture of human rights in South Korea

UN representatives points out concerns with migrant workers’ issues and forced evictions, and suggests funds for river project could be better spent elsewhere

The Hankyoreh Posted on : Nov.13,2009 12:01 KST
(http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/387506.html)

Experts of the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has been examining current issues in South Korea, including the Yongsan tragedy, through the lens of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) at the UN building located in Geneva, Nov. 11. The experts stated that the Yongsan tragedy might have resulted from excessive police force and the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project has been pursued without sufficient discussion. This is results of discussion on the South Korean issue.

On the National Human Rights Commission of Korea

An expert questioned why the staff of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) had been reduced by 30 percent. Another expert noted that its budget had also been drastically reduced and that the Chairman of the Commission does not have competence in human rights. One expert wondered if the ICESCR was considered non-judiciable by the Republic of Korea. If so, the government would be denying even the minimum standards applicable to the provisions of the ICESCR.

On pursuing the privatization of public services

One expert said that the privatization of certain public services, such as healthcare, water and electricity, in the Republic of Korea has become a cause of concern because the state risks being no longer able to comply with its obligations under the ICESCR. The expert asked how the state party anticipates being able to comply with the essential minimum obligations to protect economic, social and cultural rights from the influence of third parties.

On the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project

Regarding development projects, an expert noted that the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project is being criticized because of its tremendous budget allocation, and because the economic return derived from it would be too little. They are saying the money used for it could have been better used.

One expert also clarified that she had not previously stated a concern in how the budget for the project had been taken from the government’s welfare budget, but rather had intended to highlight the fact that there have been no prior consultations held with groups directdly affected by the project.

On the downsizing at the Ministry of Gender Equality

An expert noted that the Ministry of Gender Equality has been downsized, and that this has had a weakening effect on plans to improve gender equality.

On labor issues

In addressing working hours, an expert noted that the Republic of Korea had the highest number of working hours in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the highest record of industrial accidents in the OECD area and also had a high rate of deaths in the workplace. There are currently only 350 labor inspectorates in the country. The expert said labor inspectors are apparently more focused on investigating undocumented migrant workers rather that inspecting corporations for safety and occupational hazards.

On demonstrations

Turning to the matter of strikes and demonstrations, one expert noted that holding demonstrations in downtown Seoul have become no longer possible due to an article of the penal code regarding obstruction of business. The expert questioned why trade unions’ rallies and demonstrations were being banned and the exact meaning of “obstruction of business.”

One expert made reference to a disproportionate number of military and police personnel deployed in Seoul around a peaceful demonstration she had witnessed.

On migrant workers

Turning to the situation of migrant workers in the Republic of Korea, one expert noted that there were several problems linked to restriction of labor mobility, safety and health, and services offered to foreign workers.

An expert said Amnesty International had reported about the problem of exploitation and trafficking of workers in the Republic of Korea’s entertainment industry. The country has signed, but not yet ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.

In addition, the Republic of Korea seems to have a very narrow definition of trafficking, which only includes trafficking for prostitution. However, there have been incidences of sex trafficking within the entertainment industry. Women from the Philippines are often recruited to work in bars and nightclubs and at the end of the day are very often forced to offer their sex services to the clients by their employers. If they fail to do so, the employer threatens to cancel their work permit and sends them back to their country. These workers do not fall within the definition of trafficking, under the current legislation.

On the Yongsan Tragedy

On forced evictions, an expert cited an event that had taken place in the Republic of Korea where 40 persons had been evicted by force. In response, 1,400 riot police officers plus members of private security forces were sent in and violence was used. This had resulted in the death of five protesters and one police officer. This clearly showed that excessive force is being used in forced evictions. Furthermore, no alternative settlement programs have been offered in this case and the bodies of the victims have not yet been buried as their families are still asking for an official apology and compensation.

The expert said the Republic of Korea must establish a law on forced evictions, and said this could be simply done by adopting the guidelines included in the Committee’s General Comment on forced evictions.

On the issue of the Korean National University of Arts

An Expert noted that the Korean National University of Arts had been asked by the government to concentrate only on practical teaching and its theoretical courses had been cut. The Expert questioned why the state felt that it had the right to dictate to academic institutions at the tertiary level what they should teach and to whom they should teach. The Expert added that this infringed on academic freedom.

On Press Freedom

Another expert mentioned and questioned the arrests of journalists who have written critical reports about Lee administration policies. The expert asked whether this did not amount to censorship of some kind.

Marchan Romero, Chairperson of the Committee, said that he hopes that the South Korean delegation will add leverage to how the South Korean government gives consideration to the Committee’s recommendations.

In response, Paik Ji-ah, director-general for International Organizations Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said that the intense discussions have been highly constructive. She believes that the Committee’s advice and recommendations will serve as a valuable guide and source of inspiration for the government in years to come.

This was the third examination conducted in the eight years since South Korea ratified the ICESCR. The Committee will compile final results from its study and will be submitting its recommendations to the South Korean government.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

Korea approved 11 new coastal reclamation projects

2009-11-12T03:29:00.006+09:00

The government of South Korea approved 11 new coastal wetlands reclamation projects on November 9th. 1,058,000㎡ of coastal wetlands will be reclaimed to provide lands to renewable energy project, shipbuilding industry, port redevelopment, road construction, etc.

As you can see from the table above, some of the public waters and coastal wetlands will be reclaimed to provide lands for private investors and developers such as shipbuilding and energy companies. Because they can possess the land formed by reclaiming public waters and tidal flats, many South Korean companies want to reclaim coastal areas for their own economic benefits.

The natural environment of the Garorim Bay will be affected severely due to the new reclamation project linked to the Garorim Bay Tidal Power Project, especially on tidal flats of 8,000 ha in the bay.

The problem is that such a destructive energy project is promoted by the South Korean government in the name of it's Green Growth National Vision. (http://koreawetlands.blogspot.com/2009/11/impacts-of-tidal-power-projects-of-s.html)

South Korea was the host country of the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Wetlands, last year. The Resolution X.22 'Promoting international cooperation for the conservation of waterbird flyways' was adopted at the Ramsar COP10 which states that the Conference of the Contracting Parties "WELCOMES the statement by the Republic of Korea to the 35th meeting of Ramsar’s Standing Committee that intertidal mudflats should be preserved and that no large-scale reclamation projects are now being approved in the Republic of Korea, and ENCOURAGES all Contracting Parties in their efforts to protect such habitats in future and to monitor them and mitigate any past development impacts on or losses to them".

The government of South Korea approved 11 coastal wetland reclamation projects of 8.1㎢ in March this year and approved 11 new reclamation projects of 1.06㎢ again, the day before yesterday. It is hard to believe that South Korean government is following its own statement and the resolutions of the Ramsar Convention.

Such destructive reclamation projects show the reallity of things happening in South Korea in the name of Green Growth and Green New Deal policy.

Haepyeong Wetland under threat from the 4 Rivers Project

2009-11-10T04:49:00.001+09:00

The Haepyeong Wetland is a riparian wetland along the Nakdong River. It is an important staging sites for 20-70% of the global population of Hooded Crane Grus monacha and 10% of White-naped Crane Grus vipio.

The Nakdong River will be affected the most from the 4 Rivers Restoration Projects of South Korean Government. The river will damaged from heavy dredging of 440 million cubic meters of sediments from the 330 kilometer long section of the river from its mouth by 2011. There are plans to build more than 8 dams of 10 to 13 meters high on its mainstream and a couple more on its tributaries. As a result of the project, depth of the mainstream of the Nakdong River will be maintained more than 6 meters deep.

Though, government of South Korea maintains that they will not dredge sediments in the Haepyeong Wetland and to protect it, how can the wetland and its sand bars survice such a massive dredging right upstream and downstream. It is just a nonsense to protect the wetland when the 4 Rivers Restoration Project starts.

We are about to lose the natural beauty and ecological character of the Haepyeong Wetland.
And, we might not be able to see the beautiful birds and the wetland any more.

EIA passed and the 4 Rivers Project will soon start

2009-11-10T02:24:00.002+09:00

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the controversial "Four Major Rivers Restoration Project" was just approved by the Ministry of Environment of South Korea, last Friday, 6th November and the construction work is about to start today, 10th November 2009.

The 'Four Major Rivers Restoration Project' is one of the largest infrastructure projects in South Korea which will spend 22.2 trillion Korean Won (USD 17.8 billion) by 2012 to "restore" four largest rivers of the country. The project was proposed to cope with climate change, to resrote riverine environment and to boost local economy in the name of Green Growth and Green New Deal. The purposes of the project is to store water to be prepared for drought and water shortage; to prevent flooding; to improve water quality and restore ecosystems; and to promote local tourism.

As all the necessary processes were cleared, the government of South Korea will start to build more than 16 new dams on the mainstreams of the four largest rivers and 5 new dams on their tributaries, to raise 87 existing irrigation dams, to reinforce 377 kilometers of riverbanks and to dredge 570 million cubic meters of sediment from 691 kilometer long sections of the rivers to keep the rivers to be 4 to 6 meter deep.

The EIA reports of thousands of pages long for such a great project had been prepared in only about 40 days from late June to late July or early August. They didn't make a through field survey, but went out to the rivers for only a few days and just utilized old reports some of which are about 20 years old to write the EIA report. Thus the reports failed to show biological information of many important species living along the 4 rivers.

South Korea is the country which hosted the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar COP10) just about one years ago. Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea stated that "South Korea will keep increasing the number of Wetland Protection Areas and Ramsar Sites and it will be a model country of the convention" at his speech at the opening ceremony of the Ramsar COP10. But neither he nor his government which adopted so-called "Green Growth National Vision" as the country's development strategy keep the promises made at Ramsar COP 10.

There have been no wetlands in South Korea added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance during the year since the Ramsar COP10. Instead, the government approved several new coastal wetland reclamations early this year and is driving the 4 Rivers Project.

At Ramsar COP10, the Contracting Parties adopted the Resolution X.19 'Wetlands and river basin management: consolidated scientific and technical guidance' asking Contracting Parties to integrate wetland conservation and wise use into river basin management, and Resolution X.24 on 'Climate change and wetlands' asking Contracting Parties to make every effort to consider the maintenance of the ecological character of wetlands in national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies.

However, the government of South Korea wants to drive the 4 Rivers Project in its efforts to develop measures to the climate change impacts, which threatens conservation of riverine wetlands by greatly affecting the maintenance of the ecological characters of the rivers flowing relatively freely. It is expected that more than 100 riverine wetlands on the National Wetland Inventory compiled by the government of South Korea including a couple of Wetland Protection Areas will be affected by the 4 Rivers Project when the project starts.

Don't we all know that wetlands play a crucial role in flood control, water supply and water purification; construction of levees and dams on rivers to improve flood control have often had the reverse effect; and floodplain restoration and removal of structures can be a solution?

Why Korean government wants to insists on building more than 20 new dams, reinforcing riverbanks and dredging sediments from the rivers in the name of Green Growth?

It is very hard to understand why our government wants to spend tremendous amount of money to restore rivers and riverine wetlands and building many dams at the same time. And, it is almost impossible for us, South Korean environmental NGOs to persuade our government to keep rivers to flow naturally and to protect ecological characters of the rivers.

Please share your experiences of wise use and good management of rivers with us. And, please tell South Korean government what is the real restoration of rivers and wetland at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-4-rivers-in-Korea

Impacts of Tidal Power Projects of S. Korea

2009-11-07T09:36:00.004+09:00

Tidal Power Projects of South Korea and Their Impacts on Tidal Flat Conservation

6th November, 2009

Korea Federation for Environmental Movements

The government of South Korea is pursuing its Green Growth National Vision and under this vision plans to introduce a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) in 2012 to "increase the share of new and renewable energy in total energy use". Local electricity companies have to find ways to increase 'new and renewable' energy generation share to 10% of their electricity generated to meet the requirements of the new RPS by 2020. They have not taken the environmental and social implications into consideration in their plan to increase new and renewable energy generation but just want to pursue the easiest course to meet the new standard, with the large-scale tidal power projects. (Map 1. Tidal Power Projects of S. Korea)

The Ganghwa Tidal Power Project is a 2.1 trillion Korean Won (about USD 1.8 billion) project of Incheon City, Korea Midland Power Co. Ltd., and Daewoo Engineering and Construction to build a plant with a power generation capacity of 813MW. The planned project will connect four islands in the West of Ganghwado (Ganghwa Island) with an artificial concrete sea-wall 6.5 kilometres long. The project is expected to have a significantly negative impact on the Tidal Flats of Ganghwa Island and the Breeding Ground of an endangered migratory water bird, the Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor which are listed as protected Natural Monument No. 419. Some part of the protected Natural Monument area will lie within the artificial seawater lake created by the sea-walls.

(Map 2. Ganghwa and Incheon Bay Tidal Power Projects which overlaps the protected tidal flats of the Natural Monument and Wetland Protection Area)

The Incheon Bay Tidal Power Project is a 3.4 trillion Korean Won (about USD 2.9 billion) project of Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. Ltd., and GS Engineering and Construction with a power generation capacity of 1,440MW. It is going to connect two islands, Ganghwado (Ganghwa Island) and Yeongjongdo (Yeongjong Island) with an artificial concrete sea-wall 15 kilometres long. The project is expected to have a significantly negative impact on the Wetland Protection Area of Jangbongdo (Jangbong Island) Tidal Flat. Some part of the Wetland Protection Area and the Natural Monument will lie within the artificial seawater lake created by the sea-walls.

The natural flow of tides will be dramatically changed if these tidal power projects are implemented. The protected tidal flats around the Ganghwa and Yeongjong Islands, which are very important breeding, nourishing and feeding grounds for numerous marine animals and migratory waterbird species, will lose their important ecological character. The planned projects will also have impacts on the livelihood of many local fishermen as a lot of the productive tidal flats and the sea will be severely degraded or lost. The voices of these fishermen were not considered in the planning of the projects. In addition, the results of the Feasibility Studies for the two projects were not open to the general public for comment.

(Map 3. Garorim Bay Tidal Power Project)

The Garorim Bay Tidal Power Project is a 1 trillion Korean Won (about USD 0.85 billion) project of Korea Western Power Co. Ltd., POSCO Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd., Daewoo Engineering and Construction, and Lotte Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. to build a power generation plant with a capacity of 520MW. It is proposing to build a 2km long concrete sea-wall at the mouth of the bay. The project is expected to have a severely negative impact on the environment of the bay.

According to a research by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of South Korea in 2005, the tidal flats of Garorim Bay are the most well conserved tidal flats in the country. And according to research commissioned by the same ministry in 2007, the bay's environmental values were rated as the highest among all the coastal areas of the country. The bay is one of only two habitats of the Spotted Seal Phoca largha in South Korea. This species, which is protected under Endangered Species Category Ⅱ designated by the Ministry of Environment of South Korea, is also under threat by the proposed Garorim Bay Tidal Power Project. Free movement and migration of the seals will be impossible if the sea-wall is built. The tidal flats in the bay which support important numbers of migratory waterbird species including migratory shorebirds will face changes to the ecological character of their habitat.

The largest tidal power facility operating in the world is in France and it has a generation capacity of 240MW. The tidal power projects being planned in Korea are two to six times larger in their capacity and consequently, their environmental impacts will be greater. Though a great deal of damage to marine and coastal environments are expected from the tidal power projects in South Korea, they are just being pushed as one of green energy projects under the Green Growth National Vision of this country. Such projects should be stopped and important coastal wetlands and marine environment of the country should be protected. The proponents of the Green Growth Plan of South Korea should pay more attention to the conservation of natural environments and biodiversity. Any project that results in severe degradation of the natural environment can hardly be called green growth.

Statement of Korean Wetland NGOs - 1 Year After the Ramsar COP10

2009-11-02T17:43:00.002+09:00

Statement of Korean Wetland NGOs Marking the 1 Year After the Ramsar COP10

The Government of South Korea Should Recall the Spirit of the Ramsar Convention and Stop Destruction of Wetlands

27th October 2009
Preparation Committee for the Korea Wetland NGO Network

One year has passed since the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar COP10) was held in Changwon, South Korea from 28 October to 4 November 2008. The meeting was held successfully with the most participants in the history of the Ramsar convention. Thirty two resolutions were adopted including the Resolution X.3 ‘the Changwon Declaration on human well-being and wetlands’. However, we feel it is very regrettable that many of the resolutions and promises made at the Ramsar COP10 have not yet been implemented and wetlands of South Korea are faced with greater threats.

Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea stated that "South Korea will keep increasing the number of Wetland Protection Areas and Ramsar Sites and it will be a model country of the convention" at his speech at the opening ceremony of the Ramsar COP10. Unfortunately, there have been no wetlands added to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance during the year since the Ramsar COP10, even though there are about 60 wetlands which have international conservation values in South Korea. Two wetlands were designated as Wetland Protection Areas on October 1st, but only one of them, the 1100 Highland Wetland in Jeju Island with an area of 0.126㎢ was actually added to protected wetlands in the country. The other had already been listed as a Ramsar Site before the Ramsar COP10.

The 'Changwon Declaration on human well-being and wetlands (Resolution X.3)', which was proposed by the government of South Korea and adopted at the Ramsar COP10 emphasized the conservation and wise use of wetlands, urged decision makers of the world to stop the loss and degradation of wetlands and to maintain their ecological character. But, right after the Ramsar COP10 is over, the government of South Korea proposed the so-called 4 Rivers Restoration Project which poses threats to the conservation of riverine wetlands and natural ecosystem along the rivers by building more than 20 dams on the rivers and dredging 570 million cubic meters of sediment from the rivers.

Resolution X.19 'Wetlands and river basin management: consolidated scientific and technical guidance' asked Contracting Parties to integrate wetland conservation and wise use into river basin management, and Resolution X.24 on 'Climate change and wetlands' asked Contracting Parties to make every effort to consider the maintenance of the ecological character of wetlands in national climate change mitigation and adaptation policies. However, the government of South Korea wants to drive the 4 Rivers Project to cope with the climate change, which threatens conservation of riverine wetlands by greatly affecting the maintenance of the ecological characters of the rivers. It is expected that around 130 riverine wetlands on the National Wetland Inventory compiled by the government of South Korea will be affected by the 4 Rivers Project if it is implemented.

Resolution X.22 'Promoting international cooperation for the conservation of waterbird flyways' noted that migratory shorebirds in the Yellow Sea area are under threat from the loss of tidal flats and pollution, and urged international cooperation and expansion of protected areas for the conservation of these habitats. However, the government of South Korea approved 11 coastal reclamation projects of 8.1㎢ including the reclamation of Songdo Tidal Flat (7.2㎢) in March this year, just 4 months after the Ramsar COP10. Also, the Saemangeum Reclamation Project, the largest tidal flat destroying project in the world, is going ahead while its initial purpose of creating of farmland, was abandoned.

Although the Tidal Flat of Jangbongdo is protected as a Wetland Protection Area and the Tidal Flat of Ganghwado and Breeding Ground of Black-faced Spoonbills is protected as a Natural Monument, both are under threat by the Incheon Bay Tidal Power Project and the Ganghwa Tidal Power Project, respectively. The tidal flat of Garorim Bay is the most well conserved tidal flats in South Korea and is one of the only two habitats of Spotted Seal Phoca largha in the country which is protected as Endangered Species Category Ⅱ designated by the Ministry of Environment of South Korea is also under threat by the proposed Garorim Bay Tidal Power Project.

The Nakdong River Estuary which is one of the most important sites for migratory waterbirds in Korea and is protected as a Natural Monument. It is under threat from a plan to halve its size of the Natural Monument area. It is also threatened by plans to build the Eomgung Bridge and the new international airport both of which will damage its ecological character as an important migratory bird habitat.

There is international concern about the loss and degradation of wetlands in South Korea. Resolution X.13 'The status of sites in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance' recommends that the government of South Korea advise the Ramsar Secretariat of any significant change in the ecological character of those Wetland Protection Areas and Ecosystem Landscape Conservation Areas that are wetlands. The plans to remove the Sin-gok Underwater Weir in the lower part of the Han River and to build a new one 14 kilometres downstream along with the Gyeongin Canal (Gyeongin Waterway) Project, the Han River Renaissance of Seoul City and the 6 Projects to link the Han River of Gyeonggi Province are threatening the conservation of the Han River Estuary Wetland Protection Area.

The marine area with soft corals off coast the Gangjeong Village in Jeju Island which is protected as a Natural Monument is very close to the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve is under threat by a project to build a new naval base.

Though the governments of South Korea and Japan jointly proposed Resolution X.31 'Enhancing biodiversity in rice paddies as wetland systems' which encouraged the contracting parties to promote research on flora, fauna and ecological functions in rice paddies and on the cultures that have evolved within rice-farming communities that have maintained the ecological value of rice paddies as wetland systems, there has been no specific effort made by the government of South Korea to implement the resolution.

Though the Ramsar COP10 was held one year ago in South Korea, many important wetlands of South Korea are still not well protected, but rather face destruction and degradation due to various development projects of the government. Though the South Korean government adopted the so-called Low Carbon Green Growth Plan as the country's basic development strategy, it is destroying wetlands with various development projects in the name of Green Growth.

The government of S. Korea should recall the Spirit of the Ramsar Convention, "Conservation and Wise Use of Wetland", stop large-scale wetland destruction projects and implement President Lee's promise to be a model country of the convention.

27th October 2009
Preparation Committee for the Korea Wetland NGO Network

for more information please contact Mr. Park Chung-rok, Co-Representative of Wetlands and Birds Korea (WBK) at greennd@hanmail.net or Mr. Ma Yong-un, Director of Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) at ma@kfem.or.kr

Korea’s Four Rivers Project: Economic Boost or Boondoggle?

2009-11-02T17:32:00.000+09:00

The following article was posted on http://e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2188 by James Card

Korea’s Four Rivers Project: Economic Boost or Boondoggle?

The natural landscape of South Korea has been largely re-engineered, with nearly every river damned or forced into concrete channels. Now the government is reviving plans for a mammoth water project that would dredge and develop hundreds more miles of waterways and put added stress on the country's remaining wildlife.

21 Sep 2009
by james card

The Korean peninsula was once called geum-su-gang-san, “a land of embroidered rivers and mountains.” Before South Korea industrialized in the postwar years, the rivers were wild-running freestone streams barreling down the mountains and turning into sandy shallow rivers edged by wetlands as they reached the sea. In her 1898 book Korea and Her Neighbors, 19th-century travel writer Isabella Bird described the upper Namhan River as “where pure emerald water laps gently upon crags festooned with roses and honeysuckle, or in fairy bays on pebbly beaches and white sand.”

That world is long gone now, as the Namhan and nearly every other South Korean river has been dammed, forced into concrete channels, or otherwise re-engineered by successive governments that have funneled billions of dollars to the powerful construction industry to fund countless public works projects designed to tame the country’s rivers. Today, besides a handful of creeks deep in the mountains or protected in national parks, only one major river, the Dong, exists in a natural meandering and un-dammed state.

Now, in part to boost the fortunes of the construction cartel in a global recession, there is a new pubic works offensive: the Four Rivers Restoration Project. The $18 billion plan will further develop Korea’s four major river systems — the Han, Nakdong, Geum, and Youngsan — with the stated goals of preventing water shortages, improving water quality, bolstering flood control, and creating “eco-friendly culture spaces” for tourism. The work would require building 16 new dams on those rivers, rebuilding 87 old dams, reinforcing 209 miles of riverbanks, and dredging 570 million cubic meters of sediment from 428 river miles. On 14 tributaries there will be five new dams and nine more will be rebuilt, and 151 miles of riverbank will be buttressed with concrete.

The four rivers targeted in the project no longer exist in a natural state as many stretches have been straightened and channelized. But for the large numbers of migratory birds that still pass through South Korea, the ceaseless work will further erode dwindling habitat. The Geum River, for example, still has a massive flock of Baikal teal, but many of those birds will have to find new roosting territories as the river’s remaining shallow, reed-filled areas are excavated and deepened. One researcher at the state-funded Korea Institute of Construction Technology called the Four Rivers Project a “grand disaster that any expert can clearly foresee with common sense.”

South Korea has over 18,000 dams that create man-made reservoirs. By comparison, China has a world-record 87,000 dammed water reservoirs, but China has roughly 100 times the land area and nearly 30 times as many people. South Korea is roughly the size of Indiana, which means that almost every creek, stream and river in the country is dammed or has water barriers — such as weirs or drop structures — that impede fish migration. Floodplains are now rice paddies safely behind the levees and excavators plow into the streambeds and flatten them out for flood control.

One of the most recent riverine “restoration” schemes was the Saemangeum reclamation project on the west coast. South Korea’s largest public works project, the Saemangeum wiped out the estuaries of two rivers and an expansive tidal flat of critical importance to the migratory birds of the Australasian flyway. Bureaucrats are still wrangling about what to do with the newly created landfill area that is six times the size of Manhattan.

Korean environmentalists opposed the Saemangeum, to no avail. They are aware that other countries are restoring streams and rivers by removing dams and taking down concrete walls and that South Korea’s river restoration projects are diametrically opposed to internationally accepted principles for the ecological restoration of aquatic resources.

Despite the fractured riparian habitat, wildlife do their best to survive and abound in some places. Korean water deer, leopard cats, and raccoon dogs skulk along the shoreline, their tracks easily seen in the mud. Korean anglers cast lures for river tarpon and largemouth bass that must continually adapt to disturbances in river systems.

Environmentalists have had a few victories, primarily their successful fight in 2000 to preserve the Dong River — Korea’s last, large, undammed waterway — from a giant dam that would have drowned the entire Dong River valley ecosystem.

The environmental movement also played a part in torpedoing one of the most grandiose public works schemes in recent decade, the Pan Korea Grand Waterway. Proposed in December 2007 by President Lee Myung-bak — the former Hyundai Construction CEO nicknamed the “Bulldozer” — the waterway was to have been a super canal system with the 336-mile-long main canal connecting Seoul to Busan. Cargo freighters would have gone up Korea’s longest river, the Nakdong, floating through flooded mountain tunnels to connect to the Han River, which eventually winds through Seoul. South Korea’s four main rivers, the Han, Nakdong, Guem and the Youngsan, were to be heavily dredged, channelized and fitted with locks and dams. Seventeen other smaller canals were added to the plan for a total of 1,926 miles of rivers to be transformed into slow-water canals.

The canal scheme was too much, even for Korea. The president’s proposal was met with a groundswell of opposition from critics who said it would be an environmental catastrophe and a massive boondoggle.

President Lee’s popularity plummeted in the summer of 2008 because of his decision to allow the importation of American beef, resulting in violent demonstrations on the streets of Seoul. To regain the public’s favor, he promised to drop the canal project. At a mid-June press conference he said, “I made a pledge to construct the Pan-Korea Grand Waterway. However, if the people object to it, I will not push it.” Stocks of construction companies across the nation immediately fell.

But President Lee’s plan is now back, in more modest form, in the guise of the Four Rivers project. Under a so-called “Green New Deal” to create an estimated 960,000 new jobs, Lee proposed development of solar, wind, and tidal power; stepped-up production of hybrid vehicles; introduced a tree-planting program; and expanded railways. But the item receiving the largest allocation of money was the previously unheard-of Four Rivers Restoration Project. They are the same four rivers that were the lynchpin of the Pan Korean Waterway.

“President Lee said nothing about greening Korea during his election that I remember,” said Mark D. Whitaker, a professor of environmental sociology at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. “He is attempting to rebrand himself, and [the] same policies, as ecological modernization.”

The Four Rivers project, which is moving forward, will rival the Saemangeum reclamation project in budget, and already mission creep has set in. In March, an additional 50 smaller rivers were targeted to be dredged and embanked. In June, the government announced that one of South Korea’s cleanest major rivers, the Seomjim, would be included. The budget for the Four Rivers project was increased by 60 percent and in July, the Land Ministry announced it had started drafting a master plan to develop 43 more rivers. “It is a plan to renovate virtually every river in the country,” Kim Dong-yeon, an official at the Land Ministry told the JoongAng Daily.

As with the Saemangeum project, the government has provided little information on how the scheme will affect the environment. Scientists and environmentalists accuse the government of hastily preparing an Environmental Impact Statement so construction can begin next month.

“It is not a proper process for such a large development project which will cause a big impact on the riverine environment of the country,” Ma Yong-un, the top wetland expert of the Korean Federation for the Environmental Movement, said in an e-mail.

Nial Moores, co-founder of Birds Korea and one of the top field ornithologists in East Asia, noted that South Korea still has large numbers of birds, many of them migratory. But surviving has become a game of musical habitat for the country’s bird population, and when the sound of the construction stops and starts for the Four Rivers project, the birds must fly to new roosting areas. He predicted that Baikal teal from the new Geum River project “will shift to the Saemangeum reclamation area until that, too, becomes unusable.”

The government has repeatedly stated that the Four Rivers project is completely unrelated to the canal project, but critics think otherwise and the public doesn’t seem to buy that argument either.

Kim I-tae decided to speak out. The 48-year-old researcher at the state-funded Korea Institute of Construction Technology was part of a team assigned to come up with a blueprint for the Four Rivers project for the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. Kim posted his opinion on Agora, the country’s most popular discussion board. Entitled “A Researcher Participating in the Grand Korean Waterway,” Kim claimed the Four Rivers project was nothing more than the Grand Canal project in disguise and termed it a “grand disaster.”

Ye was suspended from his job for three months.

POSTED ON 21 Sep 2009 IN Policy & Politics Water Asia

South Korea's Green Growth National Vision; Is It Really Green?

2009-11-02T17:23:00.001+09:00

South Korea's Green Growth National Vision; Is It Really Green?

August 20th, 2009

The Group of South Korean Academics Opposing the Canal and Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM)/Friends of the Earth Korea

The government of South Korea adopted the so-called Green Growth National Vision last year and proposed quite a few new policies and projects based on the Green Growth Plan.

However, we can find out so many flaws in the plan as described below.

Presidential Committee on Green Growth

The government of S. Korea proudly tells the world that it set up the Presidential Committee on Green Growth. However, most of the members of the committee are government-friendly people who would not raise their voices against any government's policy. Andthere is no enough communication between the committee and civil society organizations in the country. The three largest environmental organizations of the country were not invited to the committee at all and there is only one person representing an environmental organization in the committee of 47 people. It just shows that the committee can hardly reflect suggestions from the civil society of the country.

Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard

The government of Korea will introduce a Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard (RPS) in 2012 to increase the share of new and renewable energy in total energy use. Actually the government of S. Korea had adopted fixed minimum price for renewable energy in 2002 which contributed to increase renewable energy use in the country. However, the new RPS to be introduced in 2012 will not guarantee the minimum price for renewable energy producers, which is expected to shrink confidence of investors in renewable energymarket and to affect the related industry. A UNEP report "Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in Sustainable, Low-Cabon World)" published in September 2008, recommended governments to guarantee producers of renewable energy fixed minimum prices.

Promotion of Nuclear Energy

The 5 Year Green Growth Plan of S. Korea also includes promotion of nuclear power in energy supply from 24% of nuclear power in power generation in 2009 to 32% in 2020, where as a UNEP report "Green Jobs: Towards Decent Work in Sustainable, Low-Cabon World)" published September 2008, recommended governments to reduce support for nuclear power as well as fossil fuels.

There is no safe technology to deal with high-level nuclear wastes including spent fuels and it is still controversial in and outside the country whether the nuclear power can be included as green energy or not.

Incineration of Solid Wastes

The government of Korea included promotion of waste-to-energy in the 5 year Green Growth Plan as a measure to cope with climate change. However, the government's plan is just to increase incineration of solid wastes rather than trying to reduce the amount of wastes generated. Burning of wastes will only cause damages to air quality and public health.

Reduction of Taxes

The government of S. Korea reduced taxes including income and corporate tax since the start of the President Lee Myung-bak government, early last year. Though the reduction of taxes may bring the 'business-friendly' environment for corporations and the rich, S. Korea is expected to have a record deficit of more than 400 trillion Korean Won (about USD 335 billion) next year, which is causing a threat to managing balanced finance of the country. The government is going to spend a lot of money in the 4 River Project when they have reduced tax revenue, which can be used for social welfare programs supporting vulnerable and marginalized people of the society.

The sustainable development strategy, which the all countries of the world should adopt and implement, has the three pillars of economic development, environmental conservation and social equity. The Green Growth Initiative of the country is about to threat the balance among them.

4 River Restoration Project as a Key of S. Korea's Green Growth Plan

Though, S. Korean government is proposing the 4 River Project as a measure to climate change impacts including droughts and floods, they failed to provide sound grounds based on scientific research on the climate change impact on the country. The project is based on simple assumption that droughts and floods will be increased.

There is no enough environmental and social impact assessment on the project. And the government can not provide scientific grounds to build so many dams and to dredge rivers so much. Though, the most of damages from droughts and floods happened in the areas of tributaries of the 4 rivers rather than mainstreams of the 4 rivers, the government just want to build dams, strengthen river banks and dredge the mainstreams. The ecosystems of the 4 rivers will be severely impacted from dams constructions and dredging, there is no enough explanation from the government on how to restore rivers.

The amount of the total budget for the 4 Rivers Project just increased from 13.9 trillion Korean Won (about USD 11.6 billion) at the announcement of the interim plan on April 27th, 2009 up to 22.2 trillion Korean Won (about USD 18.6 billion) at the announcement of the final plan on June 8th, 2009. We can not help but doubt about that project is well planned when we saw that the total budget of the project had increased about 8.3 trillion Korean Won (about USD 6.9 billion and 60% of the total budget) increased in a period of just one and a half month. The project will turn out to be a failure when the project is not scrupulously planned. And the people of Korea will have to pay for all the costs from the waste of tremendous amounts of budget, irreversible damage to natural rivers' environment and social discords surrounding the project.

New Dams on the Nakdong River

According to the "National Water Resources Plan(2006-2020)"v, the top level water resources management plan produced every 10 years, which was drawn up in July 2006 by then Ministry of Construction and Transportation in consultation with experts and civil society organizations, there will be 11 million cubic meters of surplus water in the Nakdong River basin in 2011. And, there is no solid ground for the government to provide 1 billion cubic meters of extra water in the river basin by building more than 8 dams on the river's mainstream. The dams will eventually reduce flow rate of the river water and to deteriorate the water quality severely.

Flood Control and Water Quality Improvement

If the government really wants to prevent flooding and to improve water quality, it should invest on managing small tributaries rather than mainstreams of the 4 rivers. More than 97% of the mainstreams of the 4 rivers already have finished river bank strengthening. And, most of the flood damages in the country are happening along small rivers and tributaries so that investing most of the budget in mainstream of the rivers is not proper. And, it is more effective to improve the water quality of tributaries rather than trying to improve in the mainstreams.

4 River Restoration Project and Job Creation

The government of South Korea argues that the Green New Deal policy including the 4 River Restoration Project will be effective in providing jobs. However, it will not provide any decent jobs, but only jobs for simple and manual labors, which will not helpto solve the social problem of increasing jobless young people with higher education who do not want dirty, dangerous and difficult jobs. Many of manual labors in the country are filled with foreign workers and the 4 River Project will create jobs for them.

Bicycle Lanes along the 4 Rivers

The government of S. Korea also argues that it promotes the green transport and the construction of 1,728km long bicycle lanes newly paved along the water front of the 4 rivers will help increase the use of bicycles from 1.5 per cent in 2009 to 5 per cent in 2013, thus contribute to the reduction of carbon dioxide emission. However, if the government really wants to increase the use of bicycles as a green alternative to driving cars, they should promote the use of bicycles in urban areas instead of country-side areas along the 4 rivers. The bicycle lanes along the 4 Rivers will only increase leisure opportunities for people. And, the construction of the bicycle lanes will only result in the destruction of riverine environment and isolation of the rivers from the surrounding environment.

Lack of Democratic Decision Making

There has been no enough communication about the 4 River Project. Government-funded research institutes made up the largest development project of the country worth of 22.2 trillion Korean Won (about USD 18.6 billion) in just 6 months. The government strictly controlled to keep the related information from reaching out to the public. Though there were just few public hearings and meetings with local people, all of them were merely formalities and concerns of local people and civil society organizations were not reflected at all.

Environmental and Social Impacts of the 'Four Rivers Project' in Korea

2009-11-02T17:06:00.001+09:00

Environmental and Social Impacts of the 'Four Major Rivers Restoration Project' in Korea

31 July 2009
Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM)/Friennds of the Earth Korea

The proposed 'Four Major Rivers Restoration Project' is one of the largest development projects in South Korea, which will cause very big impacts on environment and people living along the 4 largest rivers of South Korea.

According to the master plan of the project which was made public on 8 June 2009, it was proposed to store water to be prepared for drought and water shortage; to prevent flooding; to improve water quality and restore ecosystems; and to promote local tourism.

Most of the total budget of 22.2 trillion Korean Won(USD 17.8 billion) will be spent by 2012 to build more than 16 new dams on the mainstreams of the 4 rivers and 5 new dams on their tributaries, to raise 87 existing irrigation dams, to strengthen 377km of river bank and to dredge 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from 691km long sections of the rivers to keep the water 4-6m deep of the 4 rivers and to strengthen 243km of river bank and to raise 9 existing irrigation dams in other tributaries and river basins.

KFEM is worried about the negative impacts the project will bring on to environment and society of Korea and would like to point out a few major concerns it has and to propose a few policy suggestions for the real restoration of the rivers.

Water Supply

The Korean government argues that we need to build new dams and to raise existing irrigation dams to secure 1.25 billion cubic meters of additional water as water shortage of 1 billion cubic meters is expected by 2016 due to climate change. Especially, it plans to secure 1 billion cubic meters of water in the Nakdong River basin by building more than 8 new dams on the mainstream of the Nakdong River to secure 650 million cubic meters of water and 3 new large dams on its tributaries to secure 250 million cubic meters of water and raising 31 existing irrigation dams in the basin to secure 100 million cubic meters of water.

However, according to the 「National Water Resources Plan(2006-2020)」, the top level water resources management plan produced every 10 years, which was drawn up in July 2006 by then Ministry of Construction and Transportation in consultation with experts and civil society organizations, only 21 million cubic meters of water will be in short by 2016 in the Nakdong River basin.

There is no solid ground for the government to predict water shortage in the river basin and to build such a many new dams in the basin.

Korean water supply system is already so much developed, especially in most populated area, that droughts and water shortages in recent years happen only in remote areas such as mountainous areas and islands. Therefore there is no need to build many new dams on the mainstream of the 4 rivers.

Flood Control

The government argues that we need to reduce the waste of annual tax money of 7 trillion Korean Won(US$ 5.5 billion) spending on flood damage and recovery. However this amount of money include all the damages far from the mainstream of the 4 rivers. Most parts of the 4 largest rivers are embanked that there has been few flood damages along the mainstream of them. Most of flood damages in recent years have occurred in mountainous and urban areas which can not be prevented by construction of new dams on the mainstream of the rivers.

Water Quality Improvement

About two thirds of all the S. Korean people depend on the two largest rivers, the Han river and the Nakdong River for their sources of drinking water. And, it is expected that the water quality of the rivers will deteriorate rather than improve when about 20 dams are built on the mainstream of the rivers as dams will block free flow of river water. When the free flow of river water is blocked by dams depletion of dissolved oxygen in the water, eutrophication and algal bloom will be induced.

According to an independent research of a professor in environmental engineering, more than 10 dams on the mainstream of the Nakdong River will degrade water quality as retention time of the river water will be increased from the current 18.3 days up to 191 days. It will also induce blooms of green algae and brown algae in the water.

Dredging also bring about water quality deterioration as it will remove river shallows and riparian wetlands which facilitate aeration into river water and absorption of excessive nutrients from the river water.

The government plan to finish all the necessary works within only three years by 2012. Massive construction works to build dams and to dredge 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from the 4 rivers will dramatically increase suspended particles in the river water which is normally clean and clear. The suspended particles will be another concern especially during the project period.

Impact on Environment

The project will cause negative impacts on the conservation of many important wetlands along the 4 rivers which support diverse forms of wild animals and plants as it include a lot of dams construction and dredging. Most of riparian wetlands, vegetations and sand bars along the rivers will lose their natural integrity and habitat diversity due to dam constructions and extensive dredging of 570 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from the 4 rivers.

The Nakdong River will be affected the most from the heavy dredging of collecting 440 million cubic meters of sand and gravel from the 330 km long section of the river from its mouth by 2011. There are plans to build more than 8 dams of 10 to 13 meters high on its mainstream and a couple more on its tributaries. As a result of the project, depth of the mainstream of the Nakdong River will be maintained more than 6 meters deep.

There are many important wetlands developed in the floodplain of the Nakdong River including Upo Wetland, Haepyeong Wetland, Hwapo Wetland, and Gudam Wetland as well as many along the Han River, Geum River and Yeongsan River.

The Nakdong Estuary Ecosystem and Landscape Conservation Area is a protected wetland with 5 different domestic laws and regulations. The project will impair the integrity of the wetland including which meet the criteria to be listed as a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. Many endangered bird species use the estuary for their wintering, breeding and/or staging sites including Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor, Spoon-billed Sandpiper Eurynorhynchus pygmeus, Steller's Sea Eagle Haliaeetus pelagicus, and Saunders's Gull Larus saundersi.

The Upo Wetland, one of the Ramsar Wetladns of International Importance in the country will get negative impact from the project. As the Upo Wetland has developed in the floodplain of the Nakdong River, change in the hydrology of the river due to dam construction and dredging will be expected to change the hydrology of the wetland in a negative way.

The Haepyeong Wetland is a riparian wetland along the Nakdong River and is protected as a Wildlife Protection Area. It is an important staging sites for 20-70% of the global population of Hooded Crane Grus monacha and 10% of White-naped Crane Grus vipio.

The Junam Reservoir in the lower stretch of the Nakdong River is an important wintering sites for White-naped Crane Grus vipio supporting more than 10% of the global population of them in winter. White-naped Cranes of the Junam Reservoir find their roosting sites in nearby riparian wetlands of the Nakdong River which is under threat from the dredging.

The Geum Estuary also is an important wetland supporting 300,000 to 500,000 Baikal Teals Anas formosa, 60-70% of Northeast Asian population of Oyestercatchers Haematopus ostralegus osculans, and more than 10% of the global population of Saunders's Gull Larus saundersi. It is also under threat due to the extensive dredging along the river.

Dozens of Freshwater fish species will also be threatened by the project as dam construction and dredging will result in the loss of rivers' natural habitat diversity. About 40 fish species among 60 endemic freshwater fish species of the country tend to spawn and find foods in river shallows which are expected to be eliminated due to dam building and dredging. Most of the diverse freshwater habitats of the 4 rivers will be changed into that of artificial lakes with more depth and less turbulence. And, such changes in characteristics of freshwater habitats, especially in turbidity and turbulence which is crucial for survival and diversity of freshwater fish species will result in the loss of freshwater fish species diversity.

Endangered endemic freshwater fish species, Gobiobotia nakdongensis is dependent upon sandy shallows of the Nakdong River and Koreocobitis naktongensis is dependent upon gravelled shallows of the river. Another endangered endemic freshwater fish species, Iksookimia choii is living in shallows of the upstream Geum River. Their survival is critical when the shallows are disappeared by dams and dredging.

Extensive dredging will also impact on many freshwater fish species as dramatically increase suspended particles in the river water will impair breathing of fishes as well as other organisms which are food sources of fishes. Photosynthesis and survival of algae will be impaired by dredging which will result in decrease of important food sources for fish.

Dams are also expected to prevent migratory freshwater fishes, such as Plecoglossus altivelis and Anguilla japonica, from moving freely up and down the rivers for spawning and feeding.

Environmental Impact Assessment

The project was made public for the first time on 15 December 2008 and its master plan was announced in 8 June 2009. And the government wants to start the project from October 2009 and finish it by 2012.

When the government announced its interim plan on 27 April 2009, the total budget of the project was about 14 trillion Korean Won and it just increased to 22.2 trillion Korean Won when the master plan was announced on 8 June 2009. The total budget increased by 59% in just one and a half months, which implies that the planning of the project might be made with poor consultation among government bodies, let alone consultation with concerned local people and civil society organizations.

Though it is the one of the largest development projects of the country costing more than 22.2 trillion Korean Won(US$17.8 billion) by 2012, there is no proper Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) carried out. Though 5.2 trillion Korean Won(USD 4.2 billion) will be spent on dredging and 2.7 trillion Korean Won(USD 1.7 billion) on building new dams which will have tremendous impacts on rivers’ environment, there was no Feasibility Study about the project, either.

The government wants to finish the EIA in just a couple of months and start the project from October, this year. It is not a proper process for such a large development project which will cause big impact on riverine environment of the country.

Social Impact

The government also plans to relocate thousands of farms along the rivers to restore them. It is estimated that there are about 17,000ha of farmland in floodplains along the rivers.

In the case of Paldang area which is one the oldest and largest organic farming clusters in the country, about 100 farms of 81ha will have to be relocated that local farmers are very much concerned. Actually their farming in organic way was promoted by local governments as it was considered the best way to lead sustainable livelihoods for local farmers and to protect the water quality of the Paldang lake which is the source of water for almost 25 million people in Seoul and its vicinity. Farmers were informed of the situation that their farms will have to just a couple of months ago.

Recommendations

It is very important to restore rivers, to supply water and to prevent flooding in a sustainable way. Many international bodies including the UNEP, other UN agencies and Ramsar Convention have tried to implement the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM).

The Fifth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity defined the Ecosystem Approach as ‘a strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way’. It requires the taking into consideration of the effects of actions on every element of an ecosystem, based on the recognition that all elements of an ecosystem are linked.

If the South Korean government really want to restore its 4 major rivers, it should make restoration plans for the Integrated Water Resources Management with ecosystem approach to restore full functions and interactions among living organisms and their environment.

It is known that natural riverine wetlands provide diverse ecosystem services including water supply, flood control, water quality improvement and tourism promotion when they are managed in sustainable way. If we manage rivers and riverine wetlands wisely based on the ecosystem approach, we can solve almost all the challenges related to river and water resources management.

A recent poll conducted by an independent research institute in late June 2009 showed that 67.4% of Korean people wanted that the budget for the 4 Rivers Restoration Project should be used in other areas such as public welfare.

Korean government must change its traditional water manager’s view which can provide limited jobs and boost local economy for during the project period, only three years to come. Instead, the government should try to look for a real approach for reviving rivers and their ecosystems based on participatory approach, involving all the stakeholders of the country.

Garorim Bay of Korea, threatened by Tidal Power project

2009-10-15T14:44:00.002+09:00

Garorim Bay of South Korea is under threat by a Tidal Power Project.
The bay is one of the only two habitats for Spotted Seals in the country, which is an endangered animal designated by the Ministry of Environment of Korea.
Local KFEM is working to stop the project to save the seals and tidal flats in the bay area.

Below is a TV news report of the SBS on July 25th, 2009.
They succeeded in filming 6 Spotted Seals from the Garorim Bay. You can also see the beautiful and healthy coastal wetlands, tidal flats from it.

SBS Eco Water Awards 2009 - call for nominations

2009-08-24T13:37:00.005+09:00

SBS Eco Water Awards 2009

International Section (Gaia Prize)

The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM)/Friends of Earth South Korea, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) and Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea are presenting the second ‘SBS Eco Water Awards’ in November 2009 to those who have worked to protect water related environment in Korea and the world.

The ‘SBS Eco Water Awards’ are given in recognition of contributions of individuals, communities and institutions that conserve water related environment, and improve water resources management and water quality in a sustainable way. The award is to honor those who work to find a sustainable solution to diverse challenges related to water resources management, water quality improvement, fresh water ecosystem conservation and wetlands conservation.

Though water is essential for the survival of many forms of life, water shortage, contamination and mis-management of water sources and wetlands due to rapid population and economic growth, industrialization and urbanization are posing big threats to human and other life forms on the Earth. We think it is our own responsibility to revive the availability of clean and safe water and healthy environment for the future generations and other forms of life as well.

There are five sections in the awards including civil society, research, education and culture, business and international sections and the Gaia Prize for the international section winner will be given to anyone or institution outside of South Korea.

Award winners will be chosen by the award committee, and a TV crew from the SBS and a few youth winners of the other section of the award will pay a visit to the winner of the Gaia Prize in October to produce a TV documentary about the achievement of the winner.

The prize will be awarded at an awarding ceremony in Seoul in November 2009. And the winner of the Gaia Prize for the international section of the award will be given the prize money of 20,000 US dollars and a certificate.

KFEM is one of the first and largest environmental NGOs in South Korea and is a confederation of 50 local chapters and 5 affiliated organizations. KFEM has actively taken part in the fields of water resources management, river and wetland protection in the country.

SBS established in 1990 is a one of the largest broadcasting companies in South Korea and has one national TV channel and three radio channels in the country. It has produced public interest TV programs such as ‘Water is Life’ for the last nine years, which focuses on water related environmental issues.

The ‘SBS Eco Water Award’ was established in 2008 and the winner of the Gaia Prize, international section of the award in 2008 was the Revive Ariake Sea! Lawyers' Association in Japan which has tried hard to save and restore the tidal flat of Isahaya Bay, a coastal wetland, in Kyushu, Japan from a reclamation project.

- Nomination Deadline: August 31st, 2009
- Nomination Form and other Inquiries: please ask Mr. Ma Yong-un at KFEM ma@kfem.or.kr

Help Save 4 Major Rivers in S. Korea

2009-07-20T23:04:00.004+09:00

President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea is so much development-oriented that he is pushing ahead a lot of destructive projects which will impact a lot on the conservation of rivers and riverine wetlands of the country.

Lee's prime pledge at the presidential election in 2007 was construction of so-called the "Korea Grand Canal (Great Korea Canal, or Korean Peninsular Great Waterway)" which was to connect 4 largest rivers of the country for inland navigation. He argued that it would boost S. Korean economy by the improvement in logistics systems and local tourism using the canal system. He even argued that inland navigation is environment-friendly as it would emmitt less carbon than land transportation, not considering the carbon emission from the hugh construction works.

S. Korean environmental groups including KFEM/FoE Kroea had been very concerned about the canal project as it would result in massive construction and civil engineering works along the 4 rivers which are home to many wild animals and plants and sources of drinking water for majority of S. Korean people.

We also feared that tremendous amount of tax money would be spent on such destructive projects which included building an 26km long underground waterway tunnel and 17km long artificial waterway made of concrete just to connect the two largest rivers of the country. We tried our best to stop the project to save many important riverine wetlands of Korea and to prevent tax money from being waisted.

When faced with strong opposition from the people and environmental groups from home and abroad, he had to promise that he would not proceed the project in June 2008.

Lee also mentioned that "Korea will try harder to restore degraded wetlands and rivers", when he delivered a congratualatory speech at the opening ceremony of the 10th Conference of Parties of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar COP10) in Changwon, S. Korea, on 28 October 2008.

Then, he came back with so-called the "4 Major Rivers Restoration Project" in December 2008, one month after the Ramsar Conven Meeting was over.

The master plan of the project was made public in 8 June 2009. It was proposed to store water to be prepared for drought and water shortage, and to prevent floods by building more than 20 dams on the main stream of the 4 rivers, 101 dams on tributaries, 377km of river bank strenghtening and 691km of dredging to keep the river water 4-6 m deep.

There are so many important wetlands along the 4 rivers which support a lot of wild animals and plants that S. Korean environmental groups including KFEM/FoE Korea are struggling hard to stop the project.

Your support and endorsement for the conservation of S. Korean riverine wetlands is very much appreciated.

Please read the following and send your letter of concern to Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of S. Korea at webmaster@president.go.kr and C.C. us at ecokfem@gmail.com

------------------------------------------------------------

July 19 2009

Dear Friends

I am writing on behalf of the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM)/Friends of the Earth Korea (FoE Korea) to draw your attention to the so-called “Four Rivers Restoration Project,” a set of very large development projects that threatens to destroy river ecosystems and biodiversity in South Korea.

Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea, is embarking on a project that will seriously damage the ecosystems of four largest rivers in the country. I hope you and your organization will support our campaign by endorsing the attached letter and/or write your own letter in opposition to President Lee’s Four Major Rivers Restoration project.

The South Korean government announced the Master Plan for the “Four Major Rivers Restoration” on 8 June 2009. The rivers are the Han River, Nakdong River, Geum River and Yeongsan River. They are four largest rivers in South Korea and sources of drinking water for two-thirds of the population of the country. The rivers are home to many wild animals and plants including a lot of endangered species.

The purpose of the project is to store water and to control flooding. According to the government, they want to dredge 691 km long sections of the four rivers extracting 570 million m3 of sand and gravel from the rivers and to construct 20 weirs of about 6 m high. The project will potentially prevent fish from laying eggs in the river shallows, eliminate river and wetlands where inhabited by wild animals and plants, and pollute drinking water sources used by much of the country’s population.

The government proposes to spend 22 trillion Korean Won ($17.4 billion USD) of tax payers’ money on the project. It is one of the economic stimulus packages to create employment in accordance with so-called “Low Carbon & Green Growth” promoted by the Lee government. We, however, recognize that large construction projects are not a model for sustainable development in the 21st century. According to the recent poll conducted on 30 June 2009, 66.6% of the Korean populations oppose the project, while 27.1% of them support it.

The bulldozers will start in October 2009. There are only three months left before the initiation of the project. Since its announcement, Korean environmentalists have organized sit-in campaigns from 9 June 2009 in downtown Seoul. We call for urgent action from the international communities and environmentalists around the world.

Please send e-mails to the people listed below to save Korean rivers and wetlands from this economically and environmentally unsound project.

Mr. Lee Myung-bak, President of Republic of Korea webmaster@president.go.kr
Mr. Chung Jong-hwan, Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs chungceo@mltm.go.kr
Mr. Lee Maanee, Minister of Environment eman2mev@me.go.kr

with cc to International Affairs, KFEM/FOE Korea at ecokfem@gmail.com.

For more information, please contact Ms. Kim Choony/Ms. Jang Seon-yeong at KFEM/FOE Korea via ecokfem@gmail.com, seon@kfem.or.kr.

Thank you very much in advance for your support.

Sincerely Yours,

Kim Jong-nam (Ms.)
Secretary General
KFEM/FOE Korea

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Sample Letter)

Dear Honorable President Lee Myung-bak,

I am writing to you to express my deep and sincere concern about your proposed Four Major River Restoration Project in your country.

I strongly urge you to reconsider your plan to construct 20 weirs and to extract 570 million m3 of sand and gravel in the name of “restoration of rivers”. This huge project will not restore nor improve the rivers, but only devastate them. It will cause destruction of habitats for many wild animals and plants and contamination of drinking water sources of many people. Moreover this is not a model for Low Carbon & Green Growth that you are initiating now, but the model of ‘algae’ due to deterrence of water flow from constructing weirs.

I understand that 22 trillion Korean Won ($17.4 billion USD) will be spent for this project. Such a large budget can be used to promote economically, socially, and environmentally sound programs in Korea.

Time Magazine chose you as an environmental hero in November 2007. I would like to ask you to show the world your new leadership in environmental protection as a real environmental hero by reconsidering the project.

On 5 May 2009, you also told a group of children that you would be an environmentalist. Please show them your leadership as an environmentalist by canceling this project.

Sincerely yours,

Name
Organization
Country

help save BFSs from reclamation project in Japan

2009-07-12T20:33:00.004+09:00

Save the habitat for the Black-faced spoonbills and other migratory waterbirds!

Wetland Forum is a conservation NGO dedicated to the protection of wildlife habitats in Hakata Bay, Fukuoka, Japan through public awareness and on-site conservation activities.

We need your help in convincing the mayor and city council members of Fukuoka of the need to reconsider the wild bird park plan to protect the habitat for migratory water birds including the endangered Black-faced spoonbills, which are only observed in brackish waters in East Asia.

Fukuoka city commenced the Island City Project, a project to construct a 401 ha. man-made island in the frontal waters of Wajiro tidal flat to develop port and harbor facilities and a new urban area despite citizens' protest in 1994. The project has had a significan environmental impact on Wajiro tidal flat, which used to support a large number of migratory water birds. Ironically, larger populations of water birds are now observed in the temporary wetlands on the man-made island which appeared in the process of reclamation. The temporary wetlands have now become established wintering grounds for ducks, shorebirds and the endangered Black-faced spoonbills, whose largest population in Japan is observed here. However, these wetlands will be filled in a few years with no effective protection measures for the migratory water birds.

Although the city has drawn up a wild bird park plan as part of mitigation measures, the proposed 8.3 ha. site is too small to support the current water bird populations, and this would accelerate the rate of extinction of some endangered and vulnerable species. As no timeline has been indicated about the plan, many of us are left worried whether any protection measures will be taken at all.

We appreciate your help in urging the mayor and the city council of Fukuoka to reconsider the wild bird park plan so that it can more effectively protect the migratory water birds. For details, please visit our website.

http://homepage3.nifty.com/wetlandforum/infor-English.html