For 'Ecosystem Restoration,' Nakdong River Estuary Bank to Open Up to 4 Months This Year

Current Status of Nakdong River Estuary Bank.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Environment announced on the 25th that, together with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Busan City, and Korea Water Resources Corporation, it will open the Nakdong River estuary barrage for an extended period this year to restore the estuarine ecosystem of the Nakdong River estuary.

This opening of the Nakdong River estuary barrage will begin with the first opening from April 26 to May 21 and will be conducted 3 to 4 times throughout the year. Additionally, during the opening periods, changes in the estuarine ecosystem will be monitored under various conditions depending on the Nakdong River water volume (such as low flow and flood seasons), and mid- to long-term ecological restoration plans will be established.

So far, related agencies including the Ministry of Environment have conducted opening experiments three times: twice in 2019 (June and September 2019, total 2 days) and once in 2020 (June to July 2020, total 1 month). The results of those experiments confirmed the possibility of ecological restoration by opening the barrage, as marine fish such as mackerel and blue anchovy moved upstream of the barrage and species diversity increased.

This year, the number of barrage openings will be expanded to 3 to 4 times to observe changes in various fields due to the prolonged opening period and to derive an operational plan for the barrage suitable for restoring the estuarine ecosystem.

The first barrage opening will take place from April 26 to May 21, and to ensure smooth management of the opening, a joint situation room (Estuary Integrated Operation Center) will be operated from April 25 by related agencies.

Park Jae-hyun, Director of the Water Environment Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, said, "This pilot opening will be a good opportunity to observe ecological and environmental changes in the Nakdong River estuary due to the long-term opening of the barrage. We will carefully analyze the results of this year’s pilot operation and establish a reasonable restoration plan for the Nakdong River estuarine ecosystem based on active communication with stakeholders."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.