Until now, we have mainly thought that the construction of dam or embankment were the all of the 'river-concerned projects'. It is not much to say that our waterfront areas have truly been neglected for a long time, leaving aside that there were some successful eco-friendly recreations in metropolis. Traditionally and naturally, waterfront areas have functioned as eco-corridors for wild lives, natural filter for contaminants inflow. However, they have suffered from indiscriminately wrongful uses as aggregate pit, sometimes as farming area and vinyl houses with agricultural chemicals. So, we lost accessibility to the riverside as natural companion with emotional distances. Waterfront functions as well as natural ecological function were what we have neglected and lost for a long time.
Presently the government pushes forward with the project. What we have to emphasize on during the project are the regular check-up if the notion of 'Room for the river' are applied with efficiency and if there are thing to be supplemented. For that, to make this, it is needed to introduce the notions of preservation, restoration and recreation collectively, with considering present state and restorable potential of waterfront area. Active restoration as amenity near urban areas, ecological restoration for inundation protection and species habitats in the rural areas, and waterfront area and natural environment preservation in mountainous area, we have to carry on those tasks. Of course, these basic notions are included already inside of the governmental master plan. Especially considering that rural areas make up the bulk of almost the waterfront of this project, you can easily find out that would be great restoration project harmonizing truly human and nature one another.
Regarding the successful fulfillment of the restoration on species habitats and waterfront amenities as common prosperity of nature and human, the primary thing considered deliberately is to restore back to the state as forest buffer zone which they were before indiscriminate and unsustainable behaviors in the name of development. Fortunately, since we can expect that illegal or wrongful agricultural areas and aggregate pit riverside are reportedly scheduled to be evacuated, it came to be possible to re-plant the species to proliferate again.
The second is about the recovery of back marshes, creeks, sand bars. There were wetland, creeks, sand fields and gravelly field in riverside ecosphere before our past unsustainable development. Those consist of large and small biotopes as themselves. In this project on the four rivers, many wetlands are scheduled to be recreated or restored, particularly, in the upper Yeongsan and the Namhan Rivers, the work of revitalizing the waterfront by connecting the revived old river channel waits its procedure.
The third, we have to get rid of excessively badly grown vegetations upon the deposit soil in sense of flood prevention, to get back the sandy field, sand bar into original natural shape. With this chance, it is strongly needed that constant observation for excessively flourishing some vegetations not to result in inundation disaster.
On the other hand, in the place which the white sands must be retained for particular meaning, like Andong Hahoe Village, we have to take deliberate management for its traditional and cultural value. In that case, the white riverside sand field in Hahoe Village is a favorable fact for it and also for tourists. However, the immigration of outer vegetation and taking root has already started in the sector, now it is needed to be improved for reckless proliferation of malign vegetative plants.
Finally, one of the project's cores, waterfront restoration is not unfamiliar field for us. Actually we have carried successfully forward big or small urban stream restoration projects. Accordingly, experience and technology of restoration for waterfronts are considerably accumulated, also government push forward to develop innovative technology with 'Eco-River 21 Research Institute' as a national R&D project. For an example for that, 'the Restoration Project of the Yangjae Stream in Seoul' was successful case of urban stream restoration project which was fulfilled by National Research & Development Projects (collaboration with Ministry of Environment and Korea Institute of Construction Technology) on a trial basis. In the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, the waterfront creation project can be explained as a microcosm of entire restoration project.
Written by WOO Hyo-Seop
