Water and Green Growth in Stockholm

The Korean Government and the World Water Council jointly organised a side event on Monday, 27 August during the World Water Week in Stockholm. It was an occasion to update a room full of participants on the evolution of the Water and Green Growth programme that has been operating between the two parties since 2010 and to evoke the future development of this paradigm. 
After opening remarks from Mr. Ji-Hyun Lim of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs of Korea, Prof. Ben Braga, Vice-President of the World Water Council, welcomed participants to the event, and emphasized the need to find ways of harmonising our development with the preservation of our natural resources.

“It means utilizing water as a motor for that development, reaching far beyond just water for water’s sake. It means increasing investment in water infrastructure and programmes because the consequences of not ensuring future water security would be too disastrous.” He added that decision-makers should move forward to balancing uses of water thoughtfully through a comprehensive demand and supply management process, and associating populations in the choices through public consultation and implementation processes.
Dr. Eun-kyung Park, President of the Korean Water Forum and WWC Bureau member, then provided the historical context in which the programme had found its genesis.

The majority of the session was dedicated to discussion of Korea’s economic growth with regard to water and its major milestones in green growth, with reference to the particularities of the Water and Green Growth joint programme. Anthony Cox of the OECD then led participants in a reflection on remaining challenges in the international landscape and how to move the agenda forward. When the floor was opened, participants then raised questions about infrastructure development in a socially and environmentally sensitive way and the related financing gap.  More about Water & Green Growth (website) Download the Water & Green Growth - Executive Summary (32 pages - .pdf 1,5Mo)
Download the Water & Green Growth - Full Report (175 pages - .pdf 4Mo)