China, An Upstream Hegemon: A Destabilizer for the Governance of the Mekong River?

한희진 인하대학교 국제관계연구소 2017 Pacific Focus Vol.32 No.1

Transboundary rivers have remained one of the sources of contention and cooperation among states in international politics. The Mekong is one such river along which China and five Southeast Asian countries have organized their political, economic, and social lives. Studies examining the water politics of this river have argued that the lack of a comprehensive institution to govern this regional common pool resource and the growing power asymmetry between China, an upstream riparian state, and its Southeast Asian neighbors dampen the prospect for an effective governance of the river. Particularly, the economic rise of China and its concomitant increase in demand for energy and water resources has raised concerns about the negative impacts that this would have on the downstream countries. Examination of recent developments regarding the Mekong River suggests, however, that China has adopted a more collaborative approach by engaging in joint development projects and exchanging information and technology via existing sub-regional and regional multilateral bodies since the early 2000s. The study concludes that this growing evidence of cooperation should be taken into consideration for a more comprehensive understanding of China’s policy towards the Mekong River.

한강-임진강 합류부 환경・생태보전을 위한 남북협력 방향: 이동성 생물종 보전을 중심으로

최현아,한동욱 한국습지학회 2022 한국습지학회지 Vol.24 No.3

The debate of South-North transboundary rivers must be expanded from the existing cooperation in water resources towards cooperation within ecosystem conservation. Regarding the Han and Imjin rivers confluence water system, the nature of the estuarine ecosystem must be conserved considering the aspect of climate change. Furthermore, the agenda of maintaining continuous inter-Korean communication and cooperation should focus on ecosystem conservation, including conserving migratory species that inhabit both Koreas. Notably, within the Han and Imjin rivers confluence, transboundary rivers are abundant legally protected species such as Grus vipio, Anser fabalis, Anser cygnoides, Platalea minor, Lutra lutra, Prionailurus bengalensis which suggests a strong need for a debate regarding habitat conservation. This study analyzed the ecosystem conditions and environmental aspects within the confluence of Han and Imjin rivers. In addition, this study provided step wise approach of ecosystem conservation that consider conditions for potential direct inter-Korean cooperation. The inter-Korean cooperation mentioned in this study will be developed into legitimate cooperation once the results from monitoring the ecosystem of transboundary rivers, awareness raising are exchanged.

요르단 강 유역의 물 분쟁

이상돈(Sang Don Lee) 중앙법학회 2011 中央法學 Vol.13 No.1

This article is to analyze the issues of water use controversies of the Jordan River. The Jordan River arises from the high mountain of Hermon and flows through the Sea of Galilee and flow as the boundary of Israel and Jordan. It ends up to the Dead Sea. The basin area of the Jordan River is very dry, and as the river is virtually the only fresh water resources for Israel and Palestine, the river has been an hot political and social issue. The initial endeavor to allocate the water resources to the riparian states failed as the Arab nations refused to accept the existence of Israel. The 1967 war changed the hydro-geopolitics of the area drastically. The war itself at least partially arose from the use of the Jordan River. As Israel occupies the West Bank and the Golan Heights, there are serious tension between Israel and Syria, and Israel and Palestine. Only Jordan has been succesful to resolve their water issues with Israel, but as the Palestine is not a party to the bilateral accord with Israel it is still incomplete. Dispute concerning the use of groundwater between Israel and Palestine is serious. The Palestians argues that Israel violates the general international water course law such as the Helsinki Rules and also violate the 4th Geneva Convention concerning the occupied territory. Legal argument on behalf of Israel is fragile as the Israel settlers use more than 10 times water per capita than the Palestine residents. The articles concludes that the groundwater dispute between Israel and the Palestine and the dispute of the Golan Heights between Israel and Syria should be settled under the ``equitable use`` principle of the Helsinki Rules and 1997 Convention. But, as the water is only one of the many issues of the disputes among the states of the Jordan River, the prospective for peaceful solution is not bright.

동아시아에서의 초국경환경오염에 대한 국제협력노력 -동남아시아를 중심으로-

채영근 ( Young Geun Chae ) 한국환경법학회 2007 環境法 硏究 Vol.29 No.1

In East Asia, various trans-boundary environmental pollution problems have been appearing. For example, in Mekong river basin, upper riparian country China already developed two hydraulic dams and is constructing or plans to build six more causing various damages to downstream countries. In Southeast Asia, haze pollution which resulted from annually repeated forest fires, most seriously from Indonesia, is causing serious health and economic problems in the region, especially Singapore and Malaysia. Repeated accidents at the chemical factories northeast China caused serious contamination of Songhwa River which runs up north to Russian Amur River. ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries succeeded in developing regional environmental cooperation regimes concerning sustainable development of Mekong River basin and haze pollution. The "Agreement on the Cooperation for the Sustainable Development of the Mekong River Basin" (hereinafter "Mekong Agreement") was signed by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The upper riparian countries China and Myanmar did not participate in the agreement. The Mekong agreement created Mekong commission for the mission of implementing the agreement. The agreement also adopted various latest principles of international environmental law such as precautionary rule, state responsibility rule, and dispute resolution rule and so on. ASEAN Agreement on Trans-boundary Haze Pollution (hereinafter "Haze Agreement") also established another regional institution to provide various preventive and supportive activities when fires appear in the region. Unlike Mekong agreement, this agreement did not adopt the state responsibility rule either the dispute resolution by the third party. This agreement also allows each party`s sovereignty untouched. Member countries cannot provide any aid even in emergency situation unless the exact party says so. In the Northeast Asia, on the contrary, there is no regional treaty concerning trans-boundary pollution. Unlike Southeast Asia, the region experienced wars to each other last century. Consisted with powerful neighbors, power competition in the region still exists. Military tension throughout the Korean peninsula, the center of the region did not fade out yet. However recently Russia-China relationship has been smoothed and Korea and Japan take environmental pollution from China into consideration. High ranked officials from the regional countries regularly convene and share information concerning environmental conditions of the region. There is more than enough reason to adopt regional environmental cooperative regime. At this moment, the Northeast Asian countries had better keep developing trust to each other. And it seems to me that the ASEAN Haze Agreement could be an ideal model for the Northeast Asian regional regime.

이익공유 이론을 통해 본 메콩유역의 협력

이승경 ( Seung Kyung Lee ),이승호 ( Seung Ho Lee ) 한국외국어대학교 동남아연구소 2015 東南亞硏究 Vol.25 No.1

본 연구는 메콩유역 내 협력 정도를 GMS (Great Mekong Subregion)프로그램을 통해 살펴보고자 한다. 연안국가들의 협력 상황을 분석하기 위해 이익공유 이론을 이론적 틀로 사용하였다. 1995 년 설립된 유역 거버넌스, 즉 메콩유역위원회 (Mekong RiverCommission)는 상류국가 참여 부재와 법적 구속력 부족으로 적절하게 운영되지 못하였다. 1980 년대 말 이후, 중국은 일방적인 수력발전댐건설을 추진하여 하류 국가들의 불만을 유발하였다. 그런데 GMS프로그램은 투자자이자 개발자인 중국이 수력발전을 통해 연안국가들과의 경제적 관계를 강화하는 발판이 되었고 경제적통로를 만들어 물리적인 장애물을 제거하는 계기를 제공하였다. 또한 환경, 농업, 여행, 에너지 분야에서도 협력의 길을 열게 하였다. 중국과 하류국가들 사이의 발전 정도 차이, 정치적 긴장상태, 수력발전댐건설로 인한 환경파괴는 협력의 걸림돌이지만 이익공유 이론을 통해본 메콩유역은 협력 증진의 가능성을 보여준다. 메콩강 이용으로 발생한 이익은 경제적 유대관계를 강화시키고 상호협력을 공고히하고 있다. This research evaluates cooperation in transboundary rivers with special reference to the Great Mekong Subregion (GMS) program in the Mekong River Basin. The benefit sharing approach has been deployed as a theoretical framework to analyze the extent to which the riparian states have achieved cooperation. The river basin governance led by the Mekong River Commission since 1995 has not adequately performed due to nonparticipation of upstream countries and the lack of law enforcement mechanism. Since the late 1980s, China has undertaken hydropower development unilaterally, thereby triggering discomfort from the Lower Mekong countries. The GMS program has led China to strengthening economic ties with the downstream countries through hydropower development as investors and developers. The program has also supported the establishment of economic corridors, and removal of physical barriers and has paved the way for cooperation in other sectors, such as the environment, agriculture, tourism and energy. There are challenges for further cooperation, including the development gaps between China and the downstream countries, political tensions and environment impacts of hydropower dams in the river basin. The Mekong River Basin shows the possibility of cooperation through benefit sharing. Sharing benefits accrued from the river and beyond the river between China and the downstream countries have enhanced economic ties, thereby consolidating cooperation each another.

금강산댐 건설로 인한 하류유역 유량감소에 따른 영향 연구

이관재 ( Gwanjae Lee ),이혜원 ( Hye Won Lee ),이용석 ( Yong Seok Lee ),최정현 ( Jung Hyun Choi ),임경재 ( Kyoung Jae Lim ),김종건 ( Jonggun Kim ) 한국농공학회 2018 한국농공학회 학술대회초록집 Vol.2018 No.-

In Korea, the North Han River is composed of about 43.4 % of the inflows to the Paldang Lake (main drinking water source), which is the Transboundary River between South Korea and North Korea. The river can be divided into the upstream and downstream basins by Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The Kumgangsan Dam (constructed in 2012) is located in the upstream basin of North Han River (in North Korea) and other five dams are located in the downstream basin (in South Korea). The Transboundary River between South and North Korea is causing various problems in terms of water quality and quantity because of the unilateral use of water in North Korea. The reduced flow in North Han River increases the hydraulic retention time of the reservoir, which can cause water quality degradation. Therefore, it is important to understand the effects of the decreased water quantity on water quality and algal bloom growth. Thus, this study analyzed the changes in the inflow of North Han River by the construction of Kumgangsan Dam through hydrological modeling and examined the discharge amount of Chuncheon Dam considering the flow control in the Kumgangsan Dam under the dry season scenario. This study constructed the fundamental data of the Kumgangsan Dam watershed which had no required data for hydrological analysis and calibrated the hydrological model (SWAT). Based on the results of this study, it was found that the discharge flow from the Kumgangsan Dam has a wide effect on the downstream dams located in South Korea. As shown in the results of this study, it is estimated that about 25.08 hundred million tons of annual outflow will occur in the Kumgangsan Dam from 2004 to 2012, and about 3.74 hundred million tons of water will be released annually. The inflow of downstream dam was significantly influenced by the discharge of upstream dam, and the base flow was also affected by the discharge of dams. The economic loss due to the Kumgangsan Dam construction was estimated to be only about 264 hundred million won in terms of hydropower generation. Based on these finding, watershed managements that minimize artificial activities that disturb the lake ecosystem, and upstream dam managements should be carefully considered to maintain the aquatic ecosystem for the downstream Dam watershed.

통일 이후 한반도 공유하천의 전략적 가치 연구

박완수 ( Wan Soo Park ) 미래군사학회 2013 한국군사학논총 Vol.2 No.1

The purpose of this study is to provide Korea with a managing strategy of the shared rivers, Amnok and Tuman, which will constitute borders with China and Russia after the reunification, by analyzing their strategic values. After the reunification, the strategic values of the shared rivers will include that they function as Korea``s forward defensive obstacle militarily while economically they could become a focal point for border conflicts when water shortage around the border regions is anticipated or realized. Also, the rivers have great potentials for tourism and economic developments. Environmentally, pollution and in-and-out flow of polluted materials in vicinity of the rivers due to rapid industrialization and development could cause responsibility conflicts between bordering countries. Despite such strategic importances, potential problems regarding the shared rivers include possible conflicts over possession of the rivers, ineffective use of water resources, China``s Northeast Project and Northeast Economic Development Plan, environmental pollution, and destruction of eco-system. Therefore, in order to best prepare for the reunification and a new Northeast Asia security environment, we should evaluate the strategic importance of the shared rivers in detail and thus establish the effective and strategic managing methods for the long term with all the security related government functions involved. By establishing the managing methods of the shared rivers strategically rather than only geographically, reunified Korea can remain in the forefront of Northeast Asian security order, creating a regional security environment advantageous to Korea for the upcoming future.

게임이론을 통한 남북 공유하천 관리 전략 도출

최동진,이미홍 한국수자원학회 2008 한국수자원학회논문집 Vol.41 No.4

이 연구는 남북 공유하천의 바람직한 관리 비전과 목표를 수립하기 위해서 북한강의 임남댐 사례를 통해 합리적인 관리 전략을 세우는 것을 목적으로 한다. 방법론적으로는, 게임이론의 접근 방법을 통해 남북한 공유하천 문제의 해법을 찾아보았다. 기존의 논의가 주로 남북 간의 비협조적인 상황 하에서의 대응전략을 주요한 관심으로 한 데 비해 본 연구에서는 보상을 연계시킨 협조게임의 접근방법으로 남북 간의 협력의 가능성을 시나리오를 설정하여 분석하였다. 또 남북이 This study aims to set up the appropriate strategies for the transboundary river between South and North Korea. We took the example of Bukhan River which penetrates both Koreas to illustrate this idea, and applied Game Theory to get the solutions. Previou

유럽국제하천관리: 라인강 사례를 중심으로

이승호 ( Seung Ho Lee ) 한국EU학회 2015 EU학연구 Vol.20 No.2

본 연구는 국제하천관리에서 나타나는 국가 간 이익충돌과 협상과정을 분석하고 이해하기 위하여 국제라인강보호위원회(International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine - ICPR)의 수립, 발전, 현황을 면밀히 검토하여 시사점을 찾고자 한다. 또한 라인강사례연구를 통하여 국제하천 이용과 보존 관련 이익을 극대화 할 수 있는 방안을 모색하고 자 한다. 본 연구는 ICPR이 수립된 1950년부터 현재까지를 연구기간으로 삼아 ICPR의 발전단계와 관련 현안을 검토한다. 분석틀로서 이익공유(Benefit Sharing) 이론을 채택하여 수자원 이용 관련 분쟁 혹은 협력이란 이분법적 시각에서 벗어나 이익공유 시각에서 국제하천관리 문제에 접근한다. 이 이론은 이익공유 원칙에서 상호협력에 기반을 둔 국제하천관리가 정치적 갈등해소, 사회경제발전, 수력발전, 수질개선, 생태계보존, 홍수방재 등 측면에서 연안국에게 더 큰 이익을 가져올 수 있다는 점을 강조한다. 본 연구는 9개 연안국(오스트리아, 이탈리아, 스위스, 독일, 프랑스, 벨기에, 리히텐슈타인, 룩셈부르크, 네덜란드)이 위치한 라인강에 주목하는데 보다 깊은 분석과 이해를 위해 2015년 2월 독일 라인강 유역에서 현지조사와 심층면접을 수행하였다. 라인강의 주요 쟁점은 내륙운송 원활화, 생태계 및 종다양성 보존, 수질관리, 홍수방재 등 연안국들의 사회경제발전 단계에 따라 변화해 왔다. 연안국들은 상기 현안들을 효과적으로 다루기 위하여 1950년 국제라인강보호위원회를 수립하였고 이 기구를 통해 라인강 관리, 특히 수질오염 완화, 홍수방재, 생태복원을 위한 국제협약을 체결하고 행동계획을 수립하였다. 이 같은 국제협약과 계획은 유럽연합의 하천 관련 환경지침 수립에 중요한 영향을 끼쳤고 유럽연합이라는 지역통합체제 속에서 국제협력을 더욱 강화시켰다. 또한 현재와 같이 효과적이고 체계적인 국제하천관리 체제를 이룩하는데 중요한 기초가 되었다.

Sustainable Development of Water Resources in the Mekong River Basin: Legal and Policy Implications of Dams in the Regional Context

Sophie Landberg (사) 이준국제법연구원 2012 Journal of East Asia and International Law Vol.5 No.1

The article addresses the subject of dams and dam construction in the Mekong River Basin. The focus lies on whether, under the existing legal framework and in light of the Mekong dam projects, it is possible to achieve sustainable development of water resources on a regional level. As a number of these dam projects are accompanied with concern and debate regarding the environment and socio-economic impacts, the article discusses the effects noted so far and future expectations of dam usage on the Mekong mainstream and tributaries. The article will further look into the procedural elements needed for achieving sustainable development in the Mekong River Basin. The basis for this analysis is found in the relevant international and regional framework, such as the UN Watercourses Convention and the Mekong Agreement, and in regional cooperation that focuses on sustainability issues in the basin.