Analysis of Environmentally Friendly Dredging Season for a Waterway Shared by South Korea and North Korea Considering Ecosystem Protection

Abstract

Recently, a survey was conducted of the waterway shared by South Korea and North Korea. In the Han River Estuary, the need for dredging emerged due to serious riverbed aggradation. Dredging is the most efficient way to remove deposited sediment. However, it is expensive and has negative impacts on society and the environment. The negative impacts of dredging occur both in water and on land, causing huge disturbances to ecosystems. In this study, an environmentally friendly dredging season was proposed using the non-structured method of environmental windows to minimize the negative impacts of dredging. To establish environmental windows, the growth stages of six species in the Han River Estuary were used. Results showed that dredging in November could minimize its negative impacts and that dredging between October and December would be appropriate when it had to persist for more than two months. The negative perception of dredging has been increasing from the Four Rivers Project. This study will be applied to this situation, to mitigate the negative impacts of dredging, provide basic data pertaining to river construction considering the ecosystem, and support decision-making. Keywords: Shared Waterway, Dredging, Ecosystem Protection, Han River Estuary