hankyoreh

lawmaker of the Democratic Party

The Ministry of Environment (MOE) announced on Sunday that it has wrapped up discussions on the environmental assessment of the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project with the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs (MLTM). Thus, the project will commence on Nov. 10.

Environment organizations, however, are saying that the conclusions being drawn from ministries’ environmental impact assessment are based on unsatisfactory methods of investigation.

An official of MOE said that the project’s 61 construction sites that span 634 kilometers would have little effect on the ecosystem. Moreover, the ministry said that it expects water quality improvement by 2012, when the project is scheduled for completion. The official said, “According to the research conducted by the National Institute of Environment Research (NIER), water quality as compared with 2006 levels will be greatly increased in all areas impacted by the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project.

The same MOE official also said, “Even though there are 68 endangered species protected by law inhabiting the construction sites, as long as the government takes proper measures, there will be little direct effect on the endangered animals.”

Accordingly, MLTM has announced that construction of three weirs in the Nakdong River and one weir in the Youngsan River will begin on Nov. 10.

In response, environmental organizations have asked the Lee administration to stop plans for construction and are calling the environmental impact report’s findings unreliable. An environmental organization member, who chose to be unnamed, said, “The project will destroy the ecosystem and lead to a deterioration in water quality.”

Park Chang-geun, professor of Kwandong University said, “The environmental impact assessment is problematic because it projects an improvement in water quality without factoring in the impact the construction of 16 weirs will have on the rivers.” He added, “Without factoring in the impact of the weirs, the environmental impact assessment may be incorrect.”

The national No Canal Citizens’ Action issued a statement saying, “It is unreasonable that the environmental impact report for this project that cost 22 trillion to 30 trillion Won in funding has been completed in only four months.” The coalition also said that they intend to continue to campaign vigorously against the project.

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