hydropolitics of the tigris - euphrates river basin with - ceris.be

the Ottoman Empire did the Tigris and the Euphrates become international rivers. This paralleled the new
independence of ex-colonies such as Syria, Iraq and the resulting establishment of Turkey as a nation-state.
To manage such a large river basin complex would soon become difficult enough with additional players,
the new boundaries and a larger management. However these issues would become further complicated by
the different needs and the very different identities of each of these 3 stakeholders.
Water Development, History and Security in Turkey
“Long-term observers of Turkish foreign policy and its major concerns did not identify water as a major
policy concern until the last two decades. In contrast to Syria and Iraq, its neighbours to the south, Turkey
had not used its water resources extensively.” 14 It can be said that in recent years water itself has not become
a foreign policy issue for Turkey but certain issues have become linked to Turkey’s utilisation of
transboundary waters. As the Turkish economy grew, became more industrial and integrated into the world
economy, its use and degree of water consumption changed markedly.
Unlike Syria and Iraq, who both have a long history of irrigation, Turkey’s agriculture tended to be dry
(relying largely on natural precipitation) rather than irrigated. Physically, whatever irrigable land that was
available existed near rivers whose flow was completely inside the country’s boundaries. Consequently the
majority of water consumption in Turkey had little or no transboundary impact with its neighbours. Also in
“pre-industrial” Turkey the use of water resources for hydro-electricity was limited mainly to servicing the
needs of urban centres. The remainder of required power supply was provided by imported fossil fuels.
The biggest change in Turkey’s economic history came in the 1950’s, just after World War II, when Turkey
joined the Western Bloc. This was encouraged and rewarded by financial assistance from the United States
and International agencies, who launched a process for economic development. The decision by Turkey to
build itself into an economic player on an international scale was not just due to opportunism but had its
roots earlier in the 20 th Century. During the 1930’s Turkey had established an independent agency known as
the Electrical Resources and Survey and Development Agency who would begin surveying rivers to
establish their suitability for hydro-electric production. The agency began with a survey station on the
Euphrates and by the early 1960’s had established a nation-wide network. The administrative and
infrastructural follow-up of this network was the creation of the General Directorate of State Hydraulic
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