South Korea is seeking to lead the development of international standards for the stable use and management of groundwater in the era of climate change by proposing the establishment of a groundwater technical committee within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The National Institute of Environmental Research, under the Ministry of Climate Energy and Environment, announced that it will hold an online technical meeting on the 25th to encourage ISO member countries to participate in the vote for the establishment of the groundwater technical committee.
Recently, South Korea, India, and the United Kingdom have raised the need for new standards for the efficient use and sustainable management of groundwater, which can be utilized relatively stably despite climate change. There is also a movement to establish international standards for technologies such as groundwater storage dams, artificial recharge, and groundwater prediction models.
Since December 2021, South Korea has served as the secretariat for the groundwater subcommittee under the ISO Hydrometry Technical Committee. This is the first time South Korea has held the secretariat position for an ISO subcommittee in the environmental sector. Currently, 16 member countries are participating in this subcommittee.
The National Institute of Environmental Research has been working to elevate the existing groundwater subcommittee to an independent technical committee in response to the demand for standard development due to climate change adaptation. After consultations with the subcommittee's advisory group and member countries, a proposal for the establishment of the groundwater technical committee was submitted to the ISO Central Secretariat in November of last year.
ISO has been conducting a vote among all member countries regarding the establishment of the technical committee since July 7, after reviewing the proposal. The voting will conclude on September 29, and the final decision on the establishment of the technical committee and the secretariat will be made by the ISO Technical Management Board in March of next year.
To secure favorable votes and encourage participation from member countries in the committee's activities, the National Institute of Environmental Research will hold two online meetings at 4 PM and 11 PM on the 25th. The target audience includes 135 ISO member countries with voting rights.
If the groundwater technical committee is established, it will provide a foundation for developing international standards related to groundwater, which is expected to aid in the international standardization of domestic water management technologies.
Park Jeong-min, head of the Environmental Resources Research Division at the National Institute of Environmental Research, stated, "This is the first case where South Korea has proposed the establishment of a technical committee to ISO and reached the voting stage among member countries. We will strive to secure leadership in international activities through the international standardization of domestic technologies."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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