ODA finance in the water sector has decreased after reaching a peak in 2012 although total ODA commitments have steadily increased according to OECD DAC data. However, climate finance in the water sector has increased so much since 2013 according to 7 MDB Joint report on Climate Finance. Water, especially, in climate change is the main issue for adaptation, and the total finance in the water sector reached 50% of the international public adaptation finance in 2016. However, the procedures for approval and the requirements of the proposals for climate funds are different from those for development finance. Notwithstanding the changes in money flows in the water sector, most korean engineering consulting firms in the water infrastructure area are not ready to win the funds relating to climate change. Therefore, It is important to understand a variety of sources of climate funds, characteristics, funding scale on each purpose and procedures for approval. Korean government needs to provide the firms the opportunities to buildup experiences by getting involved in climate adaptation projects with the financial support for developing PPFs, concept notes, and proposals.

Seawater desalination market after global economic crisis has been stalled due to the market uncertainties and decreased demand in desalination. It is important to review the status of the market and to estimate the appropriate share of Forward osmosis-Reverse Osmosis (FO-RO) hybrid desalination technology by figuring out the outlook of the desalination market. Main part of the desalination market will still be MENA (Middle East and North Africa) in the near future due to the fast population increase and high dependency of fossil fuel in the region. The market for FO-RO hybrid technology, however, might be smaller than the conventional SWRO desalination market anyway because of aesthetic issues from using wastewater as raw water and higher costs associated with capex. Therefore, it is essential to improve FO membrane performance and system operation technologies in order to make the hybrid technology attractive compared to the conventional SWRO technology.

한국수자원공사에서 위탁 관리하고 있는 서남해안 도서지역 역삼투 해수담수화 시설 40여곳에 대한 비용 분석을 통하여 비용에 큰 영향을 미치는 요소를 찾아내고 담수화 비용 절감방안을 제시하였다. 시설에 공급되는 원수의 염도(TDS)는 담수로 취급될 수 있는 1,000mg/L 이하에서부터 해수수준인 3,000mg/L 이상까지 다양한 범위를 보이고 있다. 2005년부터 5년 동안의 비용분석 결과 유지보수비가 50.6%, 인건비가 36.9%, 그리고 에너지비가