4대강 물관리 정책의 쟁점과 법적 과제

Abstract

It draws attention to what changes will be made to the water management policy under the Yun Seok-yeol government. As he has promised to succeed President Lee Myung-bak's four rivers project since his presidential candidacy, the Moon Jae-in administration's policy to re-naturalize the four rivers is highly likely to be abandoned. However, as the new government advocates pragmatism, I expect that it will continue to pursue what is useful for the national interest by weighing the pros and cons of the previous administration's policies. Integrated water management and water management governance reform have been continuously required for the past several decades. The big picture was finally drawn with the enactment of the 「Basic Law on Water Management」. The status of the National Water Management Committee and the Basin Watershed Management Committee, which can be said to be the core of the new structure, should be further strengthened. Since water is a commodity that is directly related to the life and health of the people and is the basis of food production and economic activity, the nation must be able to supply clean water stably, prepare for extreme floods and droughts caused by climate change, and promote biodiversity. In order to conserve the natural ecosystem, consideration should be given to it. These tasks are universal and permanent high-level goals that no government can neglect, and water management policies should maintain consistency based on scientific analysis based on accumulated information, technological feasibility, and economic feasibility considering costs. The 1st National Water Management Master Plan, established by the National Water Management Committee by collecting the opinions of a number of water experts and stakeholders, as well as related organizations such as the government and public institutions, is the highest level national water management policy that transcends partisanship. And regardless of the change of government, the principle should be maintained. Integrated water management does not mean unifying all water management authority to the Ministry of Environment. The goal is to make a more balanced decision by comprehensively considering the various functions and values ​​of water that water management should consider. Therefore, it would be a mistake to assume that integrated water management was completed only with the water management function unified with the Ministry of Environment. There is still a long way to go for integrated management. Since the National Water Management Committee and the Watershed Management Committee are the core contents of the introduction of new governance, they must ensure their legal character as a decision-making body and ensure their independence. As the changed integrated water management policy adopts the watershed management principle rather than the fragmented management of the river, it is necessary to clarify the principle that the water in the watershed should be shared equally by the residents of the watershed.