Comparative Analysis of the Water Policies and the Systems for Ecological Status Assessment of the Running Waters in Bulgaria and South Korea: Case study on Maritsa River and Han River

Rivers are the main resource for water supply in Bulgaria and South Korea, thus the ecological status of the running water bodies is important for the ecosystem integrity, as well as for the health and life standard of the population in both countries. This study presents andcompares the water management policies, the water legislations and the systems for ecological status assessment of the running waters in both countries. In Bulgaria, the Ministry of Environment and Water provides the water management policy and the national water legislation is fully harmonized with the European requirements. Korean government has strategically been enforced water management plans since the passing of the Environmental Pollution Prevention Act in 1963. The water quality criteria follow the regulations in both countries - European Union Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) in Bulgaria and the Environmental Policy Act and the Water Environment Conservation Act in South Korea. The evaluation of the ecological status of the running waters in both countries is based on biological, physico-chemical and hydro-morphological quality elements, and each criterion is specifically defined. Both classification systems for the status evaluation of flowing water bodies by biological quality element are composed of five-level scales, which makes themrelatively comparable. Ecological status evaluation based on the macrozoobenthos, according to the classification systems of the Bulgarian and South Korean water legislations was determined for 30 study sites located in the basins of Maritsa River in Bulgaria and Han River in South Korea. The study showed relatively good comparability of the obtained assessments.