Honor for K-water

K-water President Kwak named director of UNESCO affiliate IHE

The International Institute for Infrastructural Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering(IHE) under the UNESCO has appointed President Kwak Kyul-ho of the Korea Water Resources Corp.(K-water) as director of its board whose four-year term beginning this month expires in June, 2011.
President Kwak said my appointment means that the international society has recognized Korea's policies and systems to manage water resources, along with our high technology level. He said he would like to contribute to the maximum extent to solving water problems on earth like pollution, shortages of water, and flood damage caused by changes in climate conditions with building a network of experts in the area of water management emerging as a global issue.
He said IHE was created in the Netherlands as an institution to provide education on water in 1957, but was taken over by the United Nations in 2002. It is an important organization with the water problems around the world becoming a big issue and it is in the center of these problems related to water.
It is also the only U.N. organization which academic degrees and every year some 200 water experts get either masters or doctoral degrees from the institution. Since its opening in 1957, the school presented degrees above masters to 13,600 students from 162 countries and all of them are engaged in works related to management of water and preservation of environment around the world.
He said his appointment will win a high praise for Korea's policies, systems and technologies for water management from the international society. He said his appointment has got to do with his finishing a term of the international water quality environment technology course at the IHE 1975-1976 and worked as the UN representative in Korea in charge of environmental officer. His term as the Minister of Environment Minister of Korea has also showed that he would be able to make a large contribution to solving water problems and further development of the institute as its alumni,
he said in explaining what amounts to the background for his appointment to the important position. President Kwak said the IHE board of directors is made of 13 directors including the head of the institute and 6 representing each continent of the world and 6 civilian experts, in addition to a director representing the institute's alums. Kwak said he was appointed as the representative of the alums. The board approves projects, budgets, education courses, and research plans for the IHE.
The new IHE director said he plans to work on water problems around the world such as pollution, water shortages, flood damages caused by climate changes. He will also divide his time and effort on searching for new research projects and education courses. He will also work on maintaining close relations between K-water and the IHE for steadfast cooperation and building a network of experts to train domestic water experts, upgrading technology, the exchange of technology on water management, exports of water resources projects overseas and the development of Korea's water sectors and its internationalization. nw

President Kwak Kyul-ho of Korea Water Resources Corp.