Abstract
The conflicts between environment protection and economic development are becoming increasingly important in environmental decision making of Nakdong River Basin. A science-based evaluation system is now needed to represent both the environmental values and the economic values with a common measure. EMERGY, spelled with an \"m\" evaluates both the work of river and that of human in generating products and services. The monetary cost-benefit analysis and the environmental accounting by EMERGY analysis were applied to determine whether there will have a net benefit in environmental decision making of Nakdong River Basin. Based on the results of the environmental accounting, all alternatives which related to environmental decision making of Nakdong River Basin show that more and more of EMERGY cost becomes needed than the a EMERGY benefit from getting water to drink in the lower basin. From these results, for selecting alternatives to manage water quantity and quality that is sustainable in the environmental use and economic development, environmental accounting concepts must be considered, and the economic structure of Nakdong River Basin should be changed from the present industrial structure to social-economic based on ecological-recycling concept for the sustainable use of Nakdong River.ong River.
