Nohwa-do and Bogil-do, Communal Water Resources Management, South Korea

Resource System
Watershed and associated topography
Resource Units
Freshwater
Location
Nohwa-do and Bogil-do, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea

Nohwa-do and Bogil-do are South Korea's southernmost islands, located off the coast of the province of Jeollanam-do. They are connected by a bridge and share a reservoir in Bogil-do. The inhabitants of the two islands have to share water since Nohwa-do lacked a reservoir.

The primary causes of the commons dillemma in Nohwa-do and Bogil do are a lack of appropriate and effective public participation and a hierarchical decision-making process between local government and central government when it comes to managing water resources.

Nohwa-do and Bogil-do, Communal Water Resources Management
Resource System

A single reservoir, "Buhwang", in Bogil-do

The bridge that connects Nohwa-do and Bogil-do also has pipes that bring water to the two islands. 

 

Resource Users

Although the surface area of the two islands is almost identical, Nohwa-do (around 5,000 people) has more than twice as many residents as Bogil-do (around 2,800 people). 

Public Infrastructure Providers

K-Water (The Korea Water Resources Corporation) exclusively manages water resources in Nohwa-do and Bogil-do in Wando-gun. Although it is official for local government (Wando-gun) to manage their own water resources independently, they were forced to delegate this responsibility to K-Water due to pressure from the central government to liberalize water management policies.

Public Infrastructure

In Bogil-do, the local government (Wando-gun) built a plant for water intake in 1989 and a facility for water purification in 1981. Both islands have higher water rates than the national average, but their realization rates, at 25.8 percent, are very low and their water costs are the highest in their province. 

Relationship 1

Water use is rapidly growing in both islands. Due to the growth of the marine products business such as abalone and seaweed, there were twice as many foreigners employed in fisheries in 2018 than there were in 2014. Additionally, young people have returned to their hometowns to work in the fisheries, boosting income, in contrast to other outlying islands that are seeing a population drop.

Relationship 2

Residents elect decision-makers such as county council members. Public officials are largely from the town, even if they are appointed by the central government via the formal employment procedure. The local government gave K-Water its commission on water management, and they have paid for it.

Relationship 3

By establishing contracts with the local government, K-Water controls the water resources and its infrastructure such as a plant for water intake and a facility for water purification.

Relationship 4

Through water distribution systems, the "Buhwang" reservoir delivers water from minor streams to villages.

Relationship 5

The amount of water that may be provided to a whole community water project depends on the infrastructure's pipe diameter size.

The quantity of water that a community member may allot to their homes or property depends on how many connections they may possess.

Relationship 6

Water users must pay a charge to K-Water in order to utilize and maintain the public infrastructure.

Exogenous Drivers 7 (Resource System)

The Nohwa-do and Bogil-do residents' water reservoir has dried up as a result of the extreme drought. In 2017, the Bogil reservoir's water storage rate barely reached twelve percent.

Exogenous Drivers 7 (Public Infrastructure)

Extreme drought forced the suspension of water service for two days in Nohwa-do and eight days in Bogil-do, respectively in 2017.

Exogenous Drivers 8 (Resource Users)

Water could not be given to resource users because of the drought, thus they had to carry some bottles from the mainland.

Exogenous Drivers 8 (Public Infrastructure Providers)

The local government wanted to build a groundwater storage system in Bogil-do to acquire 3,000 tons of freshwater in 2019, but residents in Bogil-do were opposed, and the dispute is still continuing.

Human Infrastructure, Private and Human-Made (Resource Users)
(none specified)
Human Infrastructure, Private and Human-Made (Public Infrastructure Providers)
(none specified)