[Check against delivery]
Statement
by
H.E. Dr. Kyul-Ho Kwak
Minister of Environment and Head of Delegation of
The Republic of Korea
at
the Twelfth Session of
the Commission on Sustainable Development
28 April 2004
New York
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
I am very pleased to meet honorable Ministers and other heads of delegation
today, after getting to know many of you at the Eighth Special Session of the
UNEP Governing Council and Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Jeju,
Republic of Korea, last month.
The forum concluded successfully with the ?Jeju Initiative,? which presents the
key points of our constructive and interactive discussions. I expect the Jeju
Initiative to be fully considered and reflected at the first cycle of the CSD
programme of work.
Particularly, I believe that the best practices presented at the Jeju UNEP meeting,
along with partnerships among countries and regions with social, economic,
cultural and environmental differences will contribute to attaining the goals on:
ecosystem approach in integrated water resource management; water and
sanitation; as well as water, health and poverty.
As one of the best practices in Korea, where water scarcity and water
contamination are widespread, I would like to shed light on our newly
established water management policies along with the lengthy process that
brought conflicting parties to an agreement.
Between 1999 and 2001, Korea enacted a series of Special Acts for each of the
four major rivers in line with the paradigm shift toward demand-side,
ecosystem-based, and precautionary approach for integrated water resource
management.
Among others, the Korean Government has designated riparian buffer zones
along the riverbanks, in which land development is strictly limited. In order to
compensate upstream communities for land use restrictions, Water Use Charge
is levied on the residents of downstream regions.
In developing these measures, our Government spent three years coordinating
the divergent interests of affected residents, local governments, NGOs, and
experts on over 400 occasions. As a result, stakeholder conflicts have been
substantially mitigated, ensuring the effective enforcement of the Special Acts
with the extensive participation of all stakeholders.
Mr. Chairman, I hope that Korea?s experience will provide useful lessons for
other countries as they consider policy options in the field of water resource
management.
Thank you.
