Jang Seokhwan, President of Daejin University, Appointed as New Chairman of the Asia River Restoration Network

Sukwhan Jang, President of Daejin University, was appointed as the new chairman at the Asia River Restoration Network (ARRN) general meeting, which was held as a special session during the 26th International River Symposium in Brisbane, Australia.

Sukwhan Jang, President of Daejin University. Photo by Daejin University

The Asia River Restoration Network (ARRN) is a non-profit international network of river experts established in 2006, mainly by experts from Korea, Japan, and China, with the aim of river management and the restoration of rivers and ecosystems. At this year’s ARRN meeting, President Jang was elected as the new chairman and will lead ARRN for the next three years. As the new chairman, President Jang outlined his goals to expand ARRN membership to various Asian countries, promote the Asia River Prize award program, and broaden multinational joint projects.

Notably, during this symposium, the Asia River Restoration Network (ARRN) signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International River Foundation (IRF) and the European Centre for River Restoration (ECRR), laying the groundwork for expanding exchanges with various international academic societies.

Michael Wright, chairman of the International River Foundation (IRF), which hosted the symposium, remarked that it was a very meaningful event as the 19th ARRN International Seminar was held concurrently.

President Jang presented a paper at the ARRN special session on the ecological restoration plan for covered streams in Seoul.

In his presentation, President Jang received significant interest and praise from many international experts for his paper, which assigned priority items and weights in river restoration planning and determined restoration priorities based on economic analysis. Professor Lee Jaekyung, who also participated, presented a new decision-making system called the SVM model, which can efficiently address water shortages within a watershed. This was evaluated as a new method for solving water scarcity issues, such as the recent drought in Gangneung.

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