The Four Major Rivers Restoration Project as a part of the National Green Growth Strategy in Republic of Korea

Since the 1960s, the Republic of Korea has enjoyed rapid development. Throughout this period, water use has increased sixfold and the intensive industrialization efforts have made Korea the world’s fourth largest energy importer (IEA, 2012). In view of the swiftly growing demands for both resources, the government has taken concrete steps to develop policies to adopt an integrated approach to managing water and energy. Among those policies is the Green New Deal, introduced in 2009 with a US$38 billion investment portfolio over four years. In broad terms, it focuses on four main themes: environmental protection, energy conservation, information technology infrastructure for the future and green neighbourhoods and housing (UNESCAP, 2012). This case study on the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project (4MRRP) features one of the projects conducted under the first theme, and puts the emphasis particularly on the small hydropower plants that were put into operation in 16 weirs.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Clean Water and Sanitation