Noa Pd.3/8 Question: What are the Effects of the Turkish GAP/Dams?

Introduction/Background The Turkish GAP (Gneydou Anadolu Projesi- Southeastern Anatolian Project) is a series of dams and hydroelectric plants built in Turkey on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is made from 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric plants. GAP is estimated to end in 2013. GAP is considered to be one of the worlds most protected dam projects. The dams are built in order to create hydroelectric power and to supply water to the dry areas in southeastern Anatolia (includes Turkey, Iran, and Armenia). The Turkish governments aim in building GAP is remove the inequality between the regions by raising people's income and living standards. There had been, and still are, some disagreements on whether the project would help and make things better, or put things in danger. Negative effects on the environment, animals and buildings Many people disapprove the construction of GAP because it could cause very bad long-term effects on the surroundings of the dams. Many people are scared that the dams would cause huge floods that will destroy nearby houses and very important historical sites. One of the top concerns regarding the dams destroying something is the Hasankeyf site. The town of Hasankeyf was once an important stop on the Silk Road connecting Asia to Europe; archaeologists are very concerned about the dam flooding it. The site dates back about a thousand years. The dams do not only risk their surroundings, but also the marine life inside the water. The dams kill quite a lot of sea and water life. Some little animals and plants die from the heavy pollution (which is another big problem) in the water, and others get stuck in the turbines. Fragmentation of rivers affects the migration of fish, disrupts the transport of sediments, cuts off floodplains from life-giving floods, and threatens many endangered species (WWF). The quote that dams are very bad, and that they affect the migration of fish, threatens endangered animals, and etc. The dams do not only put the environment in danger, but also the economy. It takes a long time to complete all the 22 dams, and it costs a lot of money. The Turkish government depends on the dams to be finished soon, and to work as expected, so they can get the money they paid for the dams back. Negative effects on people The dams do not only affect the environment, but they also affect humans. The construction of the dams destroyed thousands of peoples homes, forcing 58,000 to 70,000 people to resettle (temporarily) in different parts of Turkey. The government still didnt come up with a solution for where this people should live permanently. Many people who live near the dams are put in danger because the dams cause floods. Only recently 10 people went missing in a flood at one of the unfinished dams. The GAP does not only affect the Turkish citizens, but also violates the Kurds rights. Before the dams were built, the Kurds settled on the areas were the dams are now constructed. Having the Kurdish population move, violates their human rights; there had been a lot of tension ever since. Also, in the area where the dams are now built, there has been almost a decade of fighting between the Turkish army and the Kurds. Julia Harte from the Green Prophet said: Although the vast majority of the affected population belongs to vulnerable groups like the rural poor, nomads, Alevi or Kurds, the State party fails to address this issue in violation of art. 2.2 of the Covenant. The State party also fails to fulfill its extraterritorial obligations in respecting the right to food and water in Iraq, where it has failed to conclude an agreement with the neighboring country on a fair and equitable sharing of the water. This quote

Noa Pd.3/8 explains that the people who get affected the most are poor people who live in rural areas, nomads, Kurds, and religious, sub-ethnic communities. It also says that Turkey failed to respect the Iraqi citizens right to receive water and food, and to come up with a reasonable and fair solution of sharing the water with Iraq.

Negative effects on other countries The Turkish GAP causes a lot of tension, whether its between the government and the citizens, or Turkey with other countries. For example, the Turkish dams cut off access to water in Iraq and Syria, also forcing the citizens there to resettle. The Iraqi government said that Turkey is controlling the water, calling it unacceptable. They placed an economic sanction on Turkey until they would come to a more reasonable solution. Iraq depends a lot on the water coming from the Tigris River. This had caused great tension between Turkey and the Middle East, and whether Turkey would ever admit it, Turkey is controlling the rivers and the water supplies. Positive GAP may not be perfect, but its certainly very helpful for Turkey. Since water is a big problem in Turkey, the dams help bring water to big farmland areas. Sources say The project is estimated to double Turkeys irrigable farmland. The big reason why GAP was built is so it can create hydropower. Hydropower is a clean form of energy and an irrigation source that can be harnessed from the many rivers that flow through the country. The Turkish government thought that was the best solution for the increasing energy demand. Turkey produces 45.000 GWH (kilowatt-hour) per year, and consumes more than 5.7%. Its consumption percent is increase every year because of urbanization and industrialization. In 2002, the electricity consumption peaked at 126.9 billion kWh. It is estimated to rise to 265 billion kWh in 2010 and to 528 billion kWh in 2020. GAP does not only create hydropower, it also helps provide many companies to expend and create new value. The Turkish government says: The Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) is not only generating environmentally clean electricity, but it is literally turning near desert areas into fertile farmland. The project is starting an economic revolution in the region. The benefits are not just to the local population who have some of the lowest incomes in our country but to Turkey as a whole. It will also help bring prosperity to a much wider region, riparian states in particular. The quote explains the different things about GAP. It talks about how the dams help create hydropower, and how it turn deserts into good farmland. It then adds on saying that the dams benefit to both Turkey and its citizens. As explained in the quote, those things are very important in Turkey, and some of them are major problems (such as hydropower), and the dams help solve most of them.

Conclusion The Turkish government is in a very tricky and sticky situation. On one hand, the heritage and preserving organizations are asking them to stop the flooding. But on the other hand, the agricultural workers are asking them to finish the dam. GAP can help Turkeys economy a lot, but it also puts many things in danger. Turkish hydro projects along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, for example, have dried up large swathes of former marshland in Iraq and Syria as well as dams that desert communities rely on, forcing entire communities to resettle and severely affecting local plant and animal life. The quote explains that the dams are not so good because they force many people to resettle, and they even affect plants and animals. I think that it is a very hard situation for a government to be in because they are

Noa Pd.3/8 trying to make the economy and the living standards better, but in the same time, they are also ruining, harming and risking many other things. The Middle East is facing a great water problem, and having one country (Turkey) control all those water resources causes a lot of tension. The 22 dams in the GAP project are due to finish next year, but the Turkish government is still not satisfied; they are going to build 1,700 more dams in the next twelve years, which would probably cause much more problems than GAP does.

Sources: Allsop, Laura. "Turkish Dam Plan Threatens 'remarkable' Roman Ruins." "BBC News: Turkey Begins Controversial Dam." BBC News. BBC, 08 May 2006. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5249086.stm>. CNN. Cable News Network, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/06/allianoi.flooding/index.html?iref=allsearch>. GAP | About GAP RDA. GAP. Republic Of Turkey. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. <htp://www.gap.gov.tr/gaprda/about-gap-rda>. Harte, Julia. "Hydroelectric Dam In Turkey May Cause Environmental Catastrophe In Georgia." Green Prophet. 14 Jan. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.greenprophet.com/2012/01/hydroelectricdam-in-turkey-may-cause-environmental-catastrophe-in-georgia/>. Harte, Julia. "Turkeys Dams Are Violating Human Rights, UN Report Says." Green Prophet. 4 June 2011. Web. 14 May 2012. http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/06/turkeys-dams-are-violating-humanrights-un-report-says/ "Official: 10 missing in dam flooding in Turkey." Associated Press Archive 24 Feb. 2012,: NewsBank. Web. 14 May. 2012. Sheehan, Sean. Turkey.2nd ed. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 2004. Print. Cultures of the World. "The Problems with Dams." WWF. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/water/dams_initiative/problems/>. "Turkey's Policy on Water Issues." Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.mfa.gov.tr/turkey_s-policy-on-water-issues.en.mfa>. Water: The Next Global Challenge." Turkey the GAP Effect -. 02 Apr. 2012. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://mitsloanblog.typepad.com/water_global_challenge/2012/04/turkey-the-gap-effect.html>.