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Setting the Scene

Climate Change and Drought

Agricultural Water Utilization

Policy Framework and Decisions

 

The Tigris and Euphrates River Basin

 

Problem Overview

 

      The issue most pressing in the Tigris Euphrates River Basin is that of water management. It is an issue that is exacerbated by the arid climate’s tendency for droughts, and the lack of political agreement between the three nations. This background overview will cover the history of this area, the political climate, water usage and the actual climate that all must be understood to tackle the water scarcity that plagues this area.

 

Policy Framework and Decision Making

 

     The growing issues of water scarcity directly progresses the concern of international water conflict between the riparian rights states including Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

GAP is one of the world’s largest development projects created in Turkey. The project has many sections including thirteen major sectors to develop hydropower plants and irrigating the surrounding regions. As mentioned before, twenty-two dams and nineteen hydroelectric power plants will be installed along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries, generating 27 billion kwh of electricity per year. The Turkish Government believes this GAP program is a solution to many of the obstacles for a developing country including irrigating 1.7 hectares of farm land and creating 3.3 million jobs.

     

     GAP started in 1936, when the Electricity Studies Administration was founded to produce solutions to utilize the rivers in Turkey for energy but action did not take place until the 70s. The GAP project started building dams and began construction for irrigation and hydroplants. The project grew into a multi-facated idea which led into a new administrative structure in the late 1980s. The government and project leaders knew this project would lead into higher standards of living for the Turkish people. The project took hiatus when high levels of terrorism threatened future development. Kurdish terrorists (PKK) damaged several dams and canals, along with killing workers on site.

The United Nations and the International Law Commission (ILC) have been working together since 1970 when the UN asked the ILC to develop international laws between the riparian states to define the ‘acquired’ rights of the waters and if historical usage plays a significant role. In 1994, the International Law Commission submitted a draft of articles on non-navigational uses of international watercourses.

 

     Iraq has been a key player as a Euphrates River consumer since Mesapotamian times. More recently, the Soviet Union had helped to develop new land uses and irrigation systems until 2000. These plans were then withheld when Saddam Husein’s rule of power and the Gulf Wars disabled any further action.

Even though Iraq and Syria are both unhappy with the Turkish use of the basin, the 2 countries are not in alliance to fix the problem. Hostilities started when Syria began developing Lake Assad, leaving the flow of the river insignificant for Iraq. Iraq reported to the Arab league to help in their favor. Syria retaliated by disaffiliating with the league on the issue. By 1975, relations were almost violent - Syria closed airspace and both countries gathered troops along the borders. Before any further action, an unofficial deal was made that Syria would keep 40% of the water from the Euphrates river and allow 60% to flow into Iraq.

 

     In response to the dissatisfaction of neighboring riparian states, Turkish President Suleyman Demirel spoke of the frustration of the nation, “Neither Syria or Iraq can lay claim to Turkey’s rivers any more than Ankara could claim their oil. This is a matter of sovereignty. We have a right to do anything we like. The water cannot say they share our water resources.”

 

Conclusions

 

     In conclusion, the previous brief background of the water conflict between Turkey, Syria and Iraq is a serious concern for those living within this region. The solution is not expected overnight, but negotiations need to be placed on the table for consideration for those in power who can assist in ended the water conflict. Human lives are at stake here and the problem, as time has shown, is not getting any better, but possibly worse.Unfortunately as the population grows not only in this region, but around the world, we may begin to see similar conflicts regarding water availability/scarcity. It is difficult to decide on a solution when political rulers wage a war over an element that is a basic staple of life. The task of defining this problem will be difficult, but truly compelling, and a must in our global society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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References

 

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Birch, N. (2007, September16). Turkey: droughtraisesconcernaboutapossibleenvironmentalcatastrophe. Retrievedfromhttp://www.eurasianet.org/departments/insight/articles/eav091707a.shtml

 

Bulloch, John and Darwish, Adel, Water Wars: Coming Conflicts in the Middle East (London: Victor Gollancz, 1993), pp. 61-62; and Thomas F. Homer-Dixon, "On the Threshold: Environmental Changes as Causes of Acute Conflict," International Security, vol. 16, no. 2 (Fall 1991), p. 108 as cited in Baghat, "High Policy," p. 22. Gresh, "Turkish-Isreli-Syrian Relations," p. 196 offers different figures -- 50 and 67% for Syria and Iraq, respectively.

 

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Euphrates. Retrived September 11, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphrates

 

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Ozdogan, M., Woodcock, C. E., Salvucci, G. D., & Demir, H. (2006). Changes in summer irrigated crop area and water use in southeastern turkey from 1993 to 2002: implications for current and future water resources. Water Resources Management, 20, 467-488. DOI: 10.1007/s11269-006-3087-0

 

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Robertson, Campbell. (2009, July 13). "Iraq suffers as the Euphrates River dwindles". New York Times, p. A1. . Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/world/middleeast/14euphrates.html

 

Salman, M. (2002). “Case Study on Irrigation Modernization of Old Alyarmook Project in Syria”. Study Report. IPTRID, FAO, Rome, Italy.

          

Salman, M., Burton, M., and Dakar, E. (1999). “Improved Irrigation Water Management, or Drainage Water Reuse: A Case Study from the Euphrates Basin in Syria”. Proceedings of the 2nd Inter-Regional on Environment-Water. Lausanne, Switzerland, September 1999.

 

Salman, M. and Mualla, W., 2003. The Utilization of Water Resources for Agriculture in Syria: Analysis of Current Situation and Future Challenges. Food and Agriculture Organization – Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform of the Syrian Arab Republic FAO-MAAR, Rome. Retrieved from ftp://ftp.fao.org/agl/iptrid/conf_italy_03.pdf 

 

TEA¸ S, Turkish Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (Turkish initials “TEA¸ S”). 1999. Electricity Generation transmission statistics of Turkey. APK-377, Ankara, Turkey.

 

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National Agricultural Policy Center, Syrian Agricultural Database (2006), available at <http://

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