Fr Séan McDonagh, a Columban missionary priest, has written this report about the Four Rivers Restoration Project in Korea, which is opposed by environmentalists:
In response to the recent recession the Korean government set aside at least $18 billion for new construction projects, designed to re-engineer the four major rivers in the country – the Han, Nakdong, Keum and Youngsan. The scale of the plan is truly massive. It involves constructing 16 new dams, rebuilding 87 existing dams, reinforcing 209 miles of river banks, dredging 570 million cubic meters of sediment from the rivers. The project is the brainchild of the current president of Korea, Myung-bak Lee. Before he entered politics he was the chief executive officer of Hyundai Construction Corporation. In this capacity he managed an engineering project which effectively made a canal out of the Han River and in the process devastated many ecosystems.
Environmentalists are opposed to the project. Nial Moores, an ornithologist and co-founder of Birds Korea, argues that the project will have a very detrimental impact on bird life, especially migratory birds. A Report by Birds Korea published on March 17th 2010, concludes that, “without cancellation or adequate mitigation, the Four Rivers Project will impact negatively on 50 bird species (including 30 species of waterbirds).”
The Catholic Bishops also opposed the project. On March 12th 2010, Bishop Peter Kang (Jeju Diocese) told a press conference that, “All the Catholic Bishops of Korea are deeply concerned about the Four Rivers Restoration Project which was happening simultaneously all over the country.” “We have heard from the government sources involved in the Project, but we cannot understand why it is proceeding with such haste. We also note that the project does not have widespread support from the people and that many laws and procedures were bypassed in pushing through with the project.”
On June 9th 2010, The HANKYOREH reported that the Catholic Churches was taking nationwide action against the Four Rivers. According to the paper, for the first time since the Great June Struggle in 1987, a broad social movement is spreading in the Catholic Church: at churches all across the country, placards calling for the project to be suspended are being hung and signature campaigns are underway nationwide. These placards have appeared in about 200 Churches in the capital Seoul and in 50 churches in both Incheon and Gwangju. The posters read; “Stop the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project Immediately, Which Goes Against the Order of Creation!” and, “In Every Place Through Which the River Passes are Living Things.” These were designed and distributed by a group called, Seoul Diocese Committee for Priests of the Environment,
A signature campaign against the Four Major River Project is also gathering pace. Some 116 churches in the Gwangju Diocese and 119 in Suwon diocese are collecting signatures. Other diocese to join the signature campaign include, Daejeon, Daegu and Masan.
Churches are also handing out to parishioners 250 thousand copies of the comic brochure “Stop the Four Major Rivers Restoration Project, Which Goes Against the Order of Creation.” It is produced by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s Justice and Peace Committee. Catholics are expressing their opposition to the project is by celebrating Mass on the banks of the threatened rivers. I took part in one such event on the banks of the Nakdong river on April 17th 2010. The celebrant was Fr. Jeong Hong Kyu of Deagu archdiocese, who has been active in the environmental movement since the early 1990s.
Many commentators now claim that the controversy over the Four Rivers Restoration Project was a major factor in the defeat of the ruling party, the Grand National Party in the June 2nd 2010. The opposition party, the Democratic Party won 7 out of 16 provincial governors and also many of the mayoral elections in important cities. Religious leaders, including priests, encouraged people to vote for candidates who were opposed to the Four Rivers Restoration Project, in the recent elections. Many of the opposition politicians who were elected are opposed to the Four Rivers Restoration Project. The incoming governor of North Chungcheong Province, Lee Si-jong said that he plans to halt efforts on the project currently entrusted to the province by the Ministry of Lands, Transport and Marine Affairs (MLTM). He also plans to conduct an independent examination of its feasibility and environmental soundness. It will be interesting to see whether the Four Rivers Restoration Project will be severely curtailed in this new political climate.