Socioeconomic Risks and Their Impacts on Ecological River Health in South Korea: An Application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process

Suyeon Kim, Sang-Woo Lee, Se-Rin Park, Yeeun Shin and Kyungjin An
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Suyeon Kim: Department of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
Sang-Woo Lee: Department of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
Se-Rin Park: Department of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
Yeeun Shin: Department of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea
Kyungjin An: Department of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Korea

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: It is imperative to develop a methodology to identify river impairment sources, particularly the relative impact of socioeconomic sources, to enhance the efficiency of various river restoration schemes and policies and to have an internal diagnosis system in place. This study, therefore, aims to identify and analyze the relative importance of the socioeconomic factors affecting river ecosystem impairment in South Korea. To achieve this goal, we applied the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to evaluate expert judgement of the relative importance of different socioeconomic factors influencing river ecosystem impairment. Based on a list of socioeconomic factors influencing stream health, an AHP questionnaire was prepared and administered to experts in aquatic ecology. Our analysis reveals that secondary industries form the most significant source of stream ecosystem impairment. Moreover, the most critical socioeconomic factors affecting stream impairment are direct inflow pollution, policy implementation, and industrial wastewater. The results also suggest that the AHP is a rapid and robust approach to assessing the relative importance of different socioeconomic factors that affect river ecosystem health. The results can be used to assist decision makers in focusing on actions to improve river ecosystem health.

Keywords: stream ecosystem; impairment; socioeconomic sources; analytic hierarchy process; risk assessments; freshwater ecosystem (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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