Political economy of water regulation and the environment in Turkey

Abstract

Turkey has several climatic regions ranging from the dry southeast to the rainy northeast. Water is a scarce commodity in most of them. How this scarce commodity is allocated to competing uses has both distributive and environmental consequences. The primary objective of this chapter is to discuss the water issues. Environmental issues are dealt with only insofar as they affect and are affected by water use. The chapter starts with a brief description and analysis of the water endowments and water demands by competing users in different regions and in the country as a whole. The climatic cycle and how it affects the level of regional water scarcity are also taken up. A subsection is devoted to the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP; acronym in Turkish) and the problems it involves with the riparian states, Syria and Iraq, regarding the allocation of the waters of the Euphrates and Tigris. Next comes a discussion of the institutions and organizations that are responsible for the management and regulation of water and for the environment. The evolution of these institutions and their functions in response to changing demands and pressures emanating from competing uses and perception of issues especially as regards the environment is analyzed. A section takes up the current management, regulation, allocation, and pricing of water, both surface and underground. The last but one section discusses the environmental problems arising from water use, such as water pollution by agricultural uses, soil salinity, changes in water levels of lakes arising from excessive withdrawal from underground water reserves and destruction of natural habitat of flora and fauna. Finally, a concluding section is presented. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011.