Overview
KOMEC organized its first capacity-building training for PIAs in the Republic of Korea from November 24–30, 2024. The training aimed to explore Korea’s best practices in water resources management and provide opportunities for partner PIAs to identify potential collaborations with Korean institutions. This was a part of their project “Integration of Knowledge Hub for Water and Environment in the MKCF Framework”. The program was tailored around the technical themes of each MKCF project, which were identified during previous activities, including the 1st and 2nd technical workshops and milestone events held in the Mekong region (Bangkok, Thailand, and Vientiane, Lao PDR). GIC Research Associate, Ms. Ushnish Tuladhar participated in this program representing Plastic Flow Mekong project and AIT.
The training began on Day 1 with a site visit to the Nakdong River Delta in Busan, where participants toured the Eco center and learned about its work on animal welfare. On Day 2, the KOMEC team provided an orientation on the visit agenda, followed by site visits to the Busan Eco Delta Smart Village, Foresys’ best practices in river plastic monitoring, and the Korea GI LID Center. Days 3 and 4 focused on integrated water resources and irrigation management, with visits to K-water and the Korea Rural Community Corporation (KRC), where participants explored Korea’s innovative approaches to water management.
On Day 5, participants visited sites for best management practices on river management including the Jungnang Water Recycling Center to learn about its underground water treatment plant and the history of Korea’s sewage system, followed by a visit to the Cheonggye-cheon stream restoration project. The training concluded on Day 6 with a wrap-up session, where participants shared their key learnings and discussed potential collaborations with Korean institutions.
