Turkey's Attitude on Transboundary Waters-Ilisu Dam: Will It Be a Disaster or a Miracle?

by Simla Yasemin OZKAYA, Advisor, Transboundary Water Resour Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey

Industrialization, population growth and climate change have highlighted the necessity to use water resources more efficiently, especially for countries with arid climates, like Turkey.

Therefore, Turkey needs to intensify her efforts to ensure the sustainable management of water resources. The Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant, which will be constructed by Turkey on the River Tigris, is one of the biggest of the projects developed in the context of the Southeastern Anatolia Project.

This project will be a milestone for utilization of water resources of Turkey. Although the project has been criticized for many years, Turkey has continued to express its determination to construct the dam. The arguments voiced by the detractors of the project are various. However, this paper focuses primarily on the main arguments in favour of the project by giving some examples of its positive impacts in the context of Turkey’s transboundary water policy.

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