Climate Change Adaptation and Water Management in South Korea

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter deals with the first case in this study, South Korea (Korea). The first section describes scientific evidence of climate change and its impacts on water management in Korea. This book takes the Four Rivers Project for its case study, but the National Adaptation Plan and the Green Growth scheme are explained in order to understand the context of the project. In addition, there have been several policies for water management which have shaped river basins in South Korea. As Korean water policy has been divided into quality-quantity management for more than 20 years, the water policy section of this chapter is also organised accordingly. A brief history of water policy from 1960 until 2019 is introduced with a focus on critical events related to flood risk management in order to examine the path dependence of water management policy. The discussion then moves on to relevant discourses and institutions that influenced the Four Rivers Project. Social discourses related to water and adaptation policies such as developmentalism, techno-centrism, and environmentalism are analysed. Lastly, informal and formal institutions that influence water and adaptation policies are analysed.KeywordsSouth KoreaWater management policyFour Rivers ProjectNational Adaptation PlanGreen Growth