Water-Shortage Crisis Escalating in the Tigris-Euphrates Basin
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Key Points ■ Since 1975, Turkey’s extensive dam and hydropower construction has reportedly reduced water flows into Iraq and Syria by approximately 80 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. ■ Approximately 90 per cent of the water flow in the Euphrates and 50 per cent in the Tigris originate in Turkey. ■ Low flow rates in Iraq have allowed salt water to infiltrate nearly 150km inland from the Persian Gulf. ■ Lack of international agreement is hampering progress on a deal between Turkey, Iraq and Syria. ■ Turkey has accused Iraq of poor water management practices, which, it says, are exacerbating Iraq’s water crisis. Tensions between these countries remain high because of the issue of water management.
Summary The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, originating in Turkey and cutting through both Syria and Iraq, have experienced drastic reductions in water flows in recent years due, primarily, to Turkish hydro-engineering and regional droughts. This is of significance for Iraq, which has historically prospered because of the rich agricultural harvests based on water supplies sourced from these waterways. Turkish initiatives aimed at massively expanding their exploitation of the water from the two rivers have coincided with severe droughts in the region and resulted in a burgeoning water-shortage crisis in Iraq. This problem threatens an environmental catastrophe. Political negotiations between the three countries have so far fallen short of reaching agreement on providing the necessary increases in flow rates to address the deteriorating situation in Iraq.
Analysis Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin was effectively managed. After the collapse of the empire in 1922, and the establishment of the independent states of Turkey, Syria and Iraq, these rivers became a shared resource with the potential for conflict. Iraq has historically been the predominant user of water from these rivers and a large network of Karez, or man-made underground irrigation channels, has existed there for centuries. This was not a problem in the early and mid-twentieth century, as Turkey and Syria did not develop expansive systems using dams and irrigation. When this began to change in the 1970s, however, Iraq’s claim to the bulk of the basin’s water resources was suddenly under threat.
The world’s population is increasing rapidly and the Middle East has some of the fastest rates of population growth. With Iraq and Syria experiencing a fourfold increase and Turkey doubling its population since the 1960s, it is clear that all three countries have experienced rapid growth in demand for the resources used by their people. Turkey has taken bold action on this front, with its decision in 1975 to undertake the Southeast Anatolia Project (Güneydogu Anadolu Projesi, GAP); a massive dam-building scheme that envisages the construction of 22 dams and 19 hydropower plants across the Tigris-Euphrates basin. The scheme requires hundreds of kilometres of irrigation canals and is expected to cover 75,000km² – almost 10 per cent of the surface area of Turkey. GAP is approximately 60 per cent complete and much of Turkey’s increase in water use has already occurred, creating significant reductions in the flow of water in downstream areas of both the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. One projection states that, when completed, GAP will reduce the flow of water into Iraq by approximately 80 per cent and into Syria by about 40 per cent. This has spelt bad news for Iraq, as their historic levels of usage have been based on being the predominant user of these water resources. With Syria also beginning to construct dams along the Euphrates River, declining flows into Iraq have reached a crisis point. Read on... and try the new hydro power inventory _sustinvent+ v0.51 RC1:
Summary The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, originating in Turkey and cutting through both Syria and Iraq, have experienced drastic reductions in water flows in recent years due, primarily, to Turkish hydro-engineering and regional droughts. This is of significance for Iraq, which has historically prospered because of the rich agricultural harvests based on water supplies sourced from these waterways. Turkish initiatives aimed at massively expanding their exploitation of the water from the two rivers have coincided with severe droughts in the region and resulted in a burgeoning water-shortage crisis in Iraq. This problem threatens an environmental catastrophe. Political negotiations between the three countries have so far fallen short of reaching agreement on providing the necessary increases in flow rates to address the deteriorating situation in Iraq.
Analysis Under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, the Tigris-Euphrates River Basin was effectively managed. After the collapse of the empire in 1922, and the establishment of the independent states of Turkey, Syria and Iraq, these rivers became a shared resource with the potential for conflict. Iraq has historically been the predominant user of water from these rivers and a large network of Karez, or man-made underground irrigation channels, has existed there for centuries. This was not a problem in the early and mid-twentieth century, as Turkey and Syria did not develop expansive systems using dams and irrigation. When this began to change in the 1970s, however, Iraq’s claim to the bulk of the basin’s water resources was suddenly under threat.
The world’s population is increasing rapidly and the Middle East has some of the fastest rates of population growth. With Iraq and Syria experiencing a fourfold increase and Turkey doubling its population since the 1960s, it is clear that all three countries have experienced rapid growth in demand for the resources used by their people. Turkey has taken bold action on this front, with its decision in 1975 to undertake the Southeast Anatolia Project (Güneydogu Anadolu Projesi, GAP); a massive dam-building scheme that envisages the construction of 22 dams and 19 hydropower plants across the Tigris-Euphrates basin. The scheme requires hundreds of kilometres of irrigation canals and is expected to cover 75,000km² – almost 10 per cent of the surface area of Turkey. GAP is approximately 60 per cent complete and much of Turkey’s increase in water use has already occurred, creating significant reductions in the flow of water in downstream areas of both the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. One projection states that, when completed, GAP will reduce the flow of water into Iraq by approximately 80 per cent and into Syria by about 40 per cent. This has spelt bad news for Iraq, as their historic levels of usage have been based on being the predominant user of these water resources. With Syria also beginning to construct dams along the Euphrates River, declining flows into Iraq have reached a crisis point. Read on... and try the new hydro power inventory _sustinvent+ v0.51 RC1:
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