Seen on the left side of the photograph, is a riverside of Mil-yang River, a third of which is being cut off. Parade of excavators and dumpers fills it. On the right side, a beautiful colony of willow was vanished and replaced with a pile of stone, which is to be the embankment. In the center, a long waterfront is to be completely cut off, to make the waterway straight. Nothing but canal explains this situation. It shows a true face of 4-river restorations project.
The confluence of Mil-yang River, where riverbed maintenance facility is to be built.
Beautiful scenery will be gone for good, and a huge concrete structure will rise. Bad omen already manifests itself.
A little part, which belonged to Waterside will soon be a history.
Same situation on Bon-po bridge, at downstream of Ham-an weir. Plans are to completely remove the river island. River is still wide enough so that water can flow without any trouble via both sides of the island.
Why remove a river island completely?
Only thing that can explain this is building waterway for huge vessels. Sandbank at upstream of Bon-po bridge, is indispensable for birds. What if sandbank is completely gone and water level rises? No birds will be able to visit here. This “4-rivers” is a complete nonsense.
In 2008, in 10th Ramsar conference was held, and a resolution regarding Paddy field wetland was passed. The spoil from dredging machine will cover the rice field in a massive scale. Countless wetlands, including Hae-pyeong, Gu-dam, Geom-am will be destroyed. We cannot figure out how life and ecology can coexist with this massive killing.
Words by government, from the president to low-rank officials, are almost identical. “They confront us with groundless fictions.” We’d like to ask, “Whose story is totally unfounded?”
Ministry of Environment knows nothing about the extent of the wetland to be vanished. President and prime minister chant that “rivers will be clean again”, but without knowing how.
Piling up massive amount water can purify water? It is no way scientific, nor firm-based. Store billion tons of 3rd grade water in a tank. Can it self-purify to become tons of 2nd grade water? No way to block a sun with a palm of their hands. President thinks that he can deceives us from seeing the sky. We pity him.
”4-rivers” is a cataclysm of death. Beneath it, lies a canal which president himself promised to cancel.
Photographs and article by Busan Federation for Environmental Movement
http://pusan.kfem.or.kr
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