59
waste treatment, wildlife habitat, recreation and other benefi ts. These services are
valued at USD 12–47 billion per year.
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan consists of over 68 civil works
projects that will be implemented over a time period of 30 years. It will cost USD
8.3 billion, with the stated goals of improving water quality and reduced fl ooding of
urban and agricultural areas. The main goal, however, is to restore the hydrology of
the Everglades, including the Kissimmee River and Okeechobee Lake, in order to
maintain these unique ecosystems (Sklar et al. 2005 ; LoSchiavo et al. 2013 ). The
implementation plan is adaptive, benefi ting from the increasing knowledge and the
lessons learnt so far. A strong scientifi c framework allows for a clear setting of
goals, an understanding of how the system works and an identifi cation of the uncertainties and risks associated with the project ( http://www.evergladesplan.org ).
The Four Major Rivers Restoration Project in South Korea is a major water
infrastructure project that addresses the environmental challenges faced by the Han,
Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsam Rivers (Cha et al. 2011 ). The objectives include
improved water storage and fl ood control, enhanced water quality and ecosystem
health, provision of recreational space for local residents and improved cultural
values of the rivers. It can primarily be considered an engineering project, rather
than a restoration project, where natural processes will be mimicked and combined
with constructed measures such as the building of dams and reservoirs. This project
has provoked major opposition from both scientists and environmentalists because
of the primary focus on hard engineering solutions and the distortion of scientifi c
data for political purposes (Normile 2010 ). At the same time, this project is indented
to form the nucleus for a national management programme to restore more than
10,000 km of local streams and rivers. At the same time, it is expected to stimulate
the economy and create directly and indirectly up to 340,000 new jobs. The costs for
this restoration project are estimated at USD 18 billion.
Other major restoration projects include the restoration of the Iraqi’s marshes,
once one of the largest and most valuable wetlands worldwide and identifi ed as the
historic garden Eden (Zahra Douabul 2012 ), restoring the balance of the MurrayDarling basin in Australia, or the manifold restoration work carried out across
Europe, North America and Japan (Bernhardt et al. 2005 ; Nakamura et al. 2006 ).
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD), for example, triggers major
activities in the water sector in order to achieve a good ecological status or potential
for its rivers, lakes and coastal zones. Indeed, a high proportion of the European
river network must be restored in order to meet the ambitious goals set by the
WFD. The restoration of the Rhine River, which already started much earlier than
the implementation of the WFD, is a very good example for what may be achievable
if the political will and the public pressure are high enough. After the Sandoz
Accident in 1986, which released about 20 tons of pesticides and insecticides into
the Rhine, immense fi nancial resources have been invested to transform the Rhine
from an open sewer to a river with a highly improved water quality and ecological
state. However, the Rhine Programme also emphasis the limitations of restoration
because the biological communities today are dominated by non-native species and
thus very different from the communities that occurred before major pollution.
4 A Global View on Future Major Water Engineering Projects
waste treatment, wildlife habitat, recreation and other benefi ts. These services are
valued at USD 12–47 billion per year.
The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan consists of over 68 civil works
projects that will be implemented over a time period of 30 years. It will cost USD
8.3 billion, with the stated goals of improving water quality and reduced fl ooding of
urban and agricultural areas. The main goal, however, is to restore the hydrology of
the Everglades, including the Kissimmee River and Okeechobee Lake, in order to
maintain these unique ecosystems (Sklar et al. 2005 ; LoSchiavo et al. 2013 ). The
implementation plan is adaptive, benefi ting from the increasing knowledge and the
lessons learnt so far. A strong scientifi c framework allows for a clear setting of
goals, an understanding of how the system works and an identifi cation of the uncertainties and risks associated with the project ( http://www.evergladesplan.org ).
The Four Major Rivers Restoration Project in South Korea is a major water
infrastructure project that addresses the environmental challenges faced by the Han,
Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsam Rivers (Cha et al. 2011 ). The objectives include
improved water storage and fl ood control, enhanced water quality and ecosystem
health, provision of recreational space for local residents and improved cultural
values of the rivers. It can primarily be considered an engineering project, rather
than a restoration project, where natural processes will be mimicked and combined
with constructed measures such as the building of dams and reservoirs. This project
has provoked major opposition from both scientists and environmentalists because
of the primary focus on hard engineering solutions and the distortion of scientifi c
data for political purposes (Normile 2010 ). At the same time, this project is indented
to form the nucleus for a national management programme to restore more than
10,000 km of local streams and rivers. At the same time, it is expected to stimulate
the economy and create directly and indirectly up to 340,000 new jobs. The costs for
this restoration project are estimated at USD 18 billion.
Other major restoration projects include the restoration of the Iraqi’s marshes,
once one of the largest and most valuable wetlands worldwide and identifi ed as the
historic garden Eden (Zahra Douabul 2012 ), restoring the balance of the MurrayDarling basin in Australia, or the manifold restoration work carried out across
Europe, North America and Japan (Bernhardt et al. 2005 ; Nakamura et al. 2006 ).
The European Water Framework Directive (WFD), for example, triggers major
activities in the water sector in order to achieve a good ecological status or potential
for its rivers, lakes and coastal zones. Indeed, a high proportion of the European
river network must be restored in order to meet the ambitious goals set by the
WFD. The restoration of the Rhine River, which already started much earlier than
the implementation of the WFD, is a very good example for what may be achievable
if the political will and the public pressure are high enough. After the Sandoz
Accident in 1986, which released about 20 tons of pesticides and insecticides into
the Rhine, immense fi nancial resources have been invested to transform the Rhine
from an open sewer to a river with a highly improved water quality and ecological
state. However, the Rhine Programme also emphasis the limitations of restoration
because the biological communities today are dominated by non-native species and
thus very different from the communities that occurred before major pollution.
4 A Global View on Future Major Water Engineering Projects