2.3 - What About Turkey?

Question 1

What is Turkey’s situation with Water?

Answer 1

1. High rainfall and reasonable climate in most places.
2. SE (Anatolia) and major cities (Istanbul) have very high population and low rainfall/
3. Tigris and Euphrates start in Turkey, and flow into Syria.

Question 2

What is Turkey’s plan to fix its situation with water?

Answer 2

SE Anatolia Project (GAP in Turkish)

Question 3

What is Jordan’s situation with Water?

Answer 3

1. Very high population, particularly in Amman.
2. Recent issues with drought.
3. Most water used by Amman.
4. Climate change = 30% drop in precipitation.

Question 4

What is Jordan’s plan to fix its situation with water?

Answer 4

Red-Dead Sea Conveyance Project

Question 5

What percentage economic growth does the SE Anatolia project predicted to provide Turkey?

Answer 5

400% economic growth (Turkey)

Question 6

What is the cost of the SE Anatolia Project?

Answer 6

Cost = $32bn

Question 7

What percentage of water does Tel Aviv use from the Golan Heights?

Answer 7

80%

Question 8

What is RUM?

Answer 8

Rural Urban Migration

Question 9

How many Dams does the SE Anatolia project contain?

Answer 9

21 dams

Question 10

How many HEP does the SE Anatolia project contain?

Answer 10

19 HEP

Question 11

What are the potential environmental issues of the SE Anatolia project?

Answer 11

Environmentalists point out the scheme’s other pitfalls, including local climate change caused by evaporation from the reservoirs; depletion of the soil from the overuse of artificial fertilisers; the lowering of the water table; and severe loss of habitat for wildlife.

Question 12

What cash crops will the SE Anatolia help with?

Answer 12

Eastwards from Gaziantep, new pistachio and olive plantations flourish, and cotton is being grown around Harran.

Question 13

Who has the SE Anatolia project caused friction with?

Answer 13

GAP has caused friction with Turkey’s neighbours. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers are important sources of water for both Syria and Iraq, and the governments of both countries have expressed reservations about the project.

Question 14

What problems has occurred with the SE Anatolia project?

Answer 14

The World Bank refused to provide project loans until an agreement had been reached with Syria and Iraq on sharing the water of the two rivers.

Because foreign currency has been in great shortage in Turkey, international contractors who had been awarded contracts were replaced by Turkish firms.

Since Turkish firms have proven themselves capable of completing the project, international financial circles have been persuaded to make loans.

Question 15

What does the SE Anatolia project establish?

Answer 15

• 21 dams, 19 HEP and tunnels
• Supplies power
• Supplies irrigation
• Supplies cash crops (nuts / fruits)
• Supplies business farming → RUM

Question 16

What does the Red-Dead Sea Conveyance Project establish?

Answer 16

• Huge desalination plant in Red Sea
• Water flows downhill to the Dead Sea
• Water supplied to Jordan, Israel and Palestinian.
• Powered by its own HEP

Question 17

What percentage economic growth does the SE Anatolia project predicted to provide SE?

Answer 17

12% for SE

Question 18

What is the total area of the SE Anatolia project?

Answer 18

The project area covers 75,000 km2 (29,000 mi2) and 9 provinces in the Euphrates - Tigris basins and Upper Mesopotamia plains (Adiyaman, Batman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Kilis, Mardin, Siirt, Sanliurfa and Sirnak).

Question 19

What is the power capacity of the SE Anatolia project?

Answer 19

As of 2015 the total installed capacity of its power plants is 7490 MW and the ultimate production target of GAP plants is 27 billion kWh, which is equivalent to approximately 1.3 billion USD in monetary terms.

Question 20

What are the fears of the Red-Dead Sea Conveyance Project?

Answer 20

Changing the sea level of the dead sea, the development of algae and increasing the salinity of water.