Turkey

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Highlights

Modern Turkey was founded in 1923 as the secular successor state of the Ottoman Empire by Mustafa KEMAL, who was later honored with the title Ataturk, or "Father of the Turks." Turkey is strategically located in southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, bordering the Black Sea (between Bulgaria and Georgia) and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea (between Greece and Syria). Turkey's dynamic economy is a complex mix of modern industry and commerce along with a traditional agriculture sector that in 2004 still accounted for more than 35% of employment. It has a strong and rapidly growing private sector, yet the state still plays a major role in basic industry, banking, transport, and communication. A major political and economic issue over the next decade is whether or not Turkey will become a member of the EU. Turkey has complex maritime, air, and territorial disputes with Greece in the Aegean Sea while Syria and Iraq protest Turkish hydrological projects to control upper Euphrates waters.


Experience and Lessons

Contributions to Water Knowledge Fair 2006
Turkey - Sustainable Fishing and Consumption of Pearl Mullet
Turkey - Environmentally, Socially and Economically Sustainable Salt Extraction in Palas lake
Turkey - Promotion of Drip Irrigation in Sugar Beet Production

Overview of Water Resources

Contrary to the general belief, Turkey is not a country abundant in water resources. The availability of water per capita in Turkey is only about one fifth of that of the water rich countries of North America and Western Europe.

-Turkey is situated between three major bodies of water on each side: the Black Sea in the North, the Mediterranean Sea in the South and the Aegean Sea in the West.

-the climate is generally semi-arid and precipitation figures exhibit great variation throughout the country.

-Turkey's territory is divided into 26 drainage basins. However, the rivers often have irregular regimes and natural flows cannot generally be considered as usable resources.

-Total annual rainfall yields 501 billion cubic meters of water in Turkey. Only 186 billion cubic meters of this amount forms the surface run-off. Due to technical and economic reasons merely 98 billion cubic meters can be put to economic use. This is supplemented by a further 12 billion cubic meters of underground water.

-The Tigris and Euphrates rivers which originate in the high mountains of north-eastern Anatolia account for about 28.5 percent of Turkey's total surface water flow.

-There are 1149 dams in Turkey. 203 of those are major dams and the rest are small to medium in size. These dams and other small reservoirs have allowed Turkey to store water during brief seasons of rainfall and then to use it throughout the year for irrigation, energy, drinking and sanitation. Thanks to the multipurpose water infrastructures built by Turkey, even during droughts, it has been possible to release sufficient amounts of water to downstream countries.

-In the Turkish Constitution, natural properties and resources are under the disposal of the State.


Fact and Figures

Total Available Renewable Water Resources [1] -- 214 km2/yr (9,421 L/day/cap)
Renewed as:
- Surface water produced internally -- 186.2 km3/yr (86%)
- Groundwater recharge -- 68.5 km3/yr (32%)
- Incoming waters -- 2.14 km3/year (1%)

Used by man -- 38.5 km3/yr (18%)

Rainfall -- 600 mm/year

Water Usage [2] -- 38.5 km3/yr (100%)
By Sector:
- Agriculture -- 27.72 km3/yr (72%)
- Industry -- 4.62 km3/yr (12%)
- Domestic -- 6.16 km3/yr (16%)
Population [3] without Safe Access to..

.. an improved water source (2004) [4] -- 2,892,800 (4%)

- Average in Urban Areas -- 2 %
- Average in Rural Areas -- 7 %

.. improved sanitation (2004) -- 8,678,400 (12%)

- Average in Urban Areas -- 4%
- Average in Rural Areas -- 28%

Projects

UNDP-Projects

National:


Regional:


GEF Small Grants Programme Projects:


Sustainable Salt Extraction in Palas Lake

Sustainable Fishing and Consumption of Pearl Mullet

Promotion of Drip Irrigation in Sugar Beet Production



Others


Reports

Turkey Millennium Development Goals Report

This document is the draft chapter 7 for the soon to be published Millennium Development Goals Report for Turkey.

Information and Communication Technologies 2004

The analysis in this report was made to highlight the key role that ICT can play as an effective tool in helping to achieve Turkey's development goals, and to help inform the process of strengthening the role of ICT in a manner that forsters an open information society.

Country Evaluation: Assessment of Development Results Turkey

The Assessment of Development Results (ADR) report for Turkey presents findings by the UNDP’s Evaluation Office through the work of its ADR Evaluation Team in January 2004.

Turkey Freshwater Country Profile

This report provides a thourough overview of Turkey's policies and regulations on freshwater.

Turkey Country Profile for the Johannesburg Summit 2002

This report was prepared in preparation for the 2002 Summit on Sustainable Development.

Resources and Links

See also

Water Security in the Middle East: Growing Conflict over Development in the Euphrates-Tigris Basin

Water security of riparian states in the Euphrates-Tigris Basin is increasingly under threat.

Contacts

CoP-Members
Contacts


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