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The proposed Ilisu Dam is a single project underthe umbrella of the massive Southeastern Anatolian Project (Guneydogu AnadoluProje) or GAP. The GAP was a major development endeavour for Turkey and aimedto develop projects using the power of the two largest rivers in Asia, the Tigrisand Euphrates, that run begin in Turkey and run through to the Arabic Gulf.GAP was conceived to meet Turkey's rising energy needs by the construction of22 irrigation dams and 19 hydroelectric plants, harnessing the hydroelectricpotential energy contained in these two massive rivers (Stern, 2004). The GAPattracted international attention due to its focus on the human effects of theproject and attention to sustainability. International credit agencies from theCanada, USA Japan, UK and other European governments along with the World Bank steppedforward to fund the project which they see as one being integral to thesocio-economic development of Turkey which is an important US partner and isaspiring to join the EU. Certain aspects of the GAP, specifically the IlisuDam, have come under attack from citizens groups concerned about the social andpolitical ramifications of the dam and the project is currently on hold aftermajor sponsors pulled out and completion date has been pushed from early 2000to 2010. This paper will examine the proposed dam and the issues that surroundit.
Turkey and GAP: Obligation, Responsibility and Politics
Turkey was once part of the Ottoman Empire emergedfrom the demise of that empire and was inaugurated as a nation in 1923 under MustafaKemal who was later honoured as the Father of the Turks. Under hisauthoritarian leadership the Anatolians of the region saw improvements insocial and economic status. The nation enjoyed a peaceful transfer todemocracy in the 1950s though has since seen several military coups but alwayswith a peaceful transfer back to democracy (CIA World Factbook. 2005). Thenation borders the Black and Mediterranean Seas and its neighbours include Bulgaria,Greece to the West and Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq and Syria to the East.
The country is a member of the UNand NATO since the 1950s and is seen as a leading nation in the Asia region.There have been recent conflicts with separatist Kurds in the South Easternportion of the nation. The Kurdish separatist movement is known as Congress ofKurdistan (KGK) or the communist PKK and have links with Kurds in borderingIraq and Syria (CIA World Factbook. 2005). The nation has been adopting majorenvironmental and social reform in hopes of being admitted to the rapidlyexpanding EU.
The GAP is aimed at developingthe south eastern 8 Anatolian provinces which are home to the majority of theKurdish population of the nation. The project is the largest ever developmentproject Turkey has ever undertaken and seeks to improve the lives of nearly 10%of the Turkish population (Ilisu Engineering Group, 2001; Stern, 2004).
The south eastern part of Turkeyis a poverty stricken area plagued by low income, violent instability andinequality (Morvaridi, 2002). The area's faming consists of low-mechanizationwith few cash crops and the region suffers from aridity despite the presence ofmajor rivers like the Tigris and Euphrates. The region also suffers from theKurdish separatist movement which has attracted the attention of the Turkishand this has been compounded by the militants fleeing Iraq due to the recent USand UK invasion.
The focus of the GAP is todevelop the energy potential of the region while providing irrigation for cropgrowing to the region. Historically most of the development in Turkey wasconcentrated on the North and Western regions of the nation, leaving the Southand East to languish in obscurity. This lack of investment in the region couldbe a driving reason behind the Kurdish separatist movement. It is Turkey'snational interest to tap the resources of this region and hopefully quell theseparatist movement by funnelling development funds into the area to improvethe lives of its inhabitants.
The GAP has already begun to pay off as otherprojects other than the Ilisu Dam have already been completed. GAP relateddams already account for more than 15% of Turkey's energy needs and has potentialto reach 22% (Kaygusuz, K, 1999). The final goal for land irrigation is 20% ofTurkey's total irrigable land which is nearly 1.7 million hectares of landUnited States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, 2005). Inthe region of Sanliurfa - Harran, agricultural benefits are being seen withhuge increases in cash crop production (mainly cotton), the establishment ofnew industries such as beef along with development of textile industry which israising the standard of living in the region (Northwest Texas InternationalTrade Center, 2004).
Energy production is the other prong of thepitchfork of progress that is GAP. In 2002 Turkey's energy consumption peakedat 126.9 billion KWh. Due to industrialization, development and populationgrowth this figure is projected to rise to 265 billion KWh by 2010 and to 528billion KWh by 2020 (Stern, 2004). Turkey has scarce fossil fuels so a majorsource of energy for the nation is hydroelectricity which accounts for 40% ofTurkey's energy needs (Stern, 2004). GAP was conceived to help meet theserapidly increasing energy demands and if GAP does not relieve some of theenergy strain put on the nation then other sources of energy must be found.
The politics of the GAP are tricky as othernations lie down stream of Turkey on the Tigris and Euphrates. Iraq and Syriaare dependent on the flows from the two rivers and by Turkey assuming controlof these cross-border water resources tension has been created due to rights toaccess of the water. Turkey has to be sure to manage the water resources ofthese rivers in such a way as to not disadvantage the residents of thesenations lest they risk war.
Sustainable Development
The GAP falls into the realm of sustainabledevelopment as it aims to use a renewable energy source for a long term benefitto the people of the region. The standard definition for sustainabledevelopment was generated by a report produced by a United Nations commissionin 1987 entitled Our Common Future which is better known as the BrundtlandReport after the head of the commission. The definition of the phrasesustainable development is wide ranging and open to subjective interpretationbut Our Common Future (1987) defined it as:
"Sustainabledevelopment is development that meets the needs of the present withoutcompromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
FromOur Common Future (Bruntland, 1987)
This report generated much response as worldleaders began to respond to the issues tackled in the report. Theenvironmental movement began in earnest with the 1960s with the publication ofRachel Carson's landmark book Silent Spring. (Carson, 1962). Theemergence of a demand of environmental responsibility from global citizens wasoften at odds with economic development planning and a compromise wasnecessary. Development in 3rd world nations was unchecked and oftenat the expense of environmental resources. Companies, unable to dispose ofenvironmentally hazardous waste in 1st world nations, looked to pawnit off on 3rd world nations. Economic development was at theforefront of 3rd world nation's development policies asdeforestation, overfishing, herbicide and pesticide application raged rampantwith little thought paid to environmental ramifications. An example of thiswas the 1972 United Nations Conference on Human Environment which was held inStockholm, Sweden. At this conference the goal was to tackle the problem ofacid rain problems of northern Europe. The nations pushing for a solution thataddressed the industrial development roots of the problem were strongly opposedby the Soviet-led Block of 77 which accused the nations of pushing an eco-agendaand refused to cooperate (WSSD, 2000). However a positive outcome from thisconference was birth of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Through the 1970s and 1980s the UN began to fundmore initiatives focused on conservation and human environment issues (IISD,2002). Public initiatives began to spawn environmental non-governmentorganizations (ENGOs) such as the Environmental Defence Fund in 1967, InternationalInstitute for Environment and Development in 1971 and the Worldwatch Institutein 1984. These major environmental policy groups are still active andimportant today. Major environmental disasters such as Bhopal, India and Africa'sstarvation in the 1980s brought further attention to human and environmentaldevelopment (IISD, 2002).
In 1992 the World Summit on SustainableDevelopment was held in Rio, Brazil. This marked a major effort by the world'snations to tackle human development in the context of environmental issues andtry to develop a model of development that was sustainable. Sustainability canonly come about without the degradation of natural capital thatprovides the necessary requirements for human life. It has been determinedthat a healthy population is dependent on a healthy environment. Links areoften drawn between human health and environmental health outside the realm ofneeds production as poisons in the environment negatively affect human healthas evidenced by historical use of pesticides and their effects.
Further conferences on sustainable developmentin 1997 (Rio+5) and most recently Rio +10 in Johannesburg 2002 has furtherdeveloped the notion of sustainable development. Due to public pressurecorporate social responsibility has become a focus for corporations based inthe developed world and this is further evidenced by the emergence of ethicalinvestment funds which critically screen the companies they invest in.
Dams and Development
Dam construction was a popular activity in thefirst half of the 20th century and experienced a peak in buildingactivity in the 1970s (WCD, 2000). It is not that the usefulness of the dam inproviding energy, irrigation and flood control has passed; it is that there arefewer rivers that are left to be damned and social and environmental awareness ofissues surrounding dam construction has increased. However dam constructioncontinues as it is an important source of energy and nations are forced to meetthe energy requirements of their citizens. More than 20% of the world's energysupply comes from dams and more than 60 countries depend on hydroelectricityfor greater than 50% of their total energy needs (WCD, 2000). The World Bankstill funds dam construction but less than in the past with 1.3% of the bank'sfunds going toward dam-related projects and 0.9% being spent on theconstruction of new dams (The World Bank, 2000).
In 2000 the World Commission on Dams (WCD), aUnited Nations research body, released a landmark report entitled Dams and Development - A New Framework forDecision-Making. This research was undertaken in response to thenew realizations on the effects of dams and the role they could play insustainable development. The report noted that nearly 1/5th of theworld's energy was generated through hydroelectricity and that 1/6thof the global agriculture was dependent on irrigation from dammed rivers. Ithas been estimated that global levels of hydroelectric generation, which islargely carbon-neutral, precludes the need of an extra 4.4 million barrels ofoil a day (WCD, 2000). If all dams were decommissioned and destroyed thedamage to humankind would have enormous and alternatives would have to quicklybe found to provide the benefits that we glean from dams.
There are severalhigh profile dams being constructed globally today. The larger projects likethe Three Gorges Dam project in China and the Narmada Dam project in India.These dams are large and multi-purpose aiming to help these nations meetdevelopment needs of energy and irrigation.
Though dams have been integral to social andeconomic development there are costs as well. Large dam projects typicallyinvolve the displacement of people living near the river upstream of the dam.The WCD (2000) estimated that between 40 and 80 million people have beendisplaced by dam building often with little or no compensation.
Water and Conflict
Fresh water is a requirement for life as we knowit. Humans are made up of more than 70% water and can live only days without asource of drinkable water. Clean water is needed for drinking as well as forfarming, industry, sanitation and household uses. Unfortunately fresh water isscarce on Earth and its distribution uneven.
With the majority of fresh water resources concentratedin a few nations the need for shared management of water resources is obvious.Turkey is a water poor nation as are its neighbours Syria and Iraq (WCD, 2000;Stern, 2004). The Tigris and Euphrates are two of the main sources of waterfor these two nations and they have their sources in Turkey. In a river systemsuch as this the actions of the users upstream have an impact on thosedownstream. Since rivers do not follow nationally contrived boundaries thiscan cause conflicts between nation-states as one nation, acting within its ownborders, can have significant impact on other nations. It was just this sortof trans-boundary environmental issues that incensed the UN to act and createbodies to help manage and resolve such issues. Acid rain, smog, ozone andpollution are all similar in that though no national borders are trespassed,damage it still felt by other nations. New solutions and methods are needed,and are being developed by ENGOS, industry and government, to tackle problemssuch as these
The Ilisu Dam
The Ilisu dam project was approved in 1982 andbecause of the date of approval the project is not automatically subject to theRegulation on Environmental Impact Assessment which is current Turkishenvironmental policy (Ilisu Engineering Group, 2001). However due to the scopeof the project and the international attention it attracted an EnvironmentalImpact Assessment Report produced by a consortium of international expertsunder the moniker of the Ilisu Engineering Group was commissioned by theTurkish authorities and firms involved in construction of the dam.
The Ilisu Dam will consist of areservoir with a surface area of 313 km and a volume of 10.4 billion cubicmeters. The power station will have a capacity of 1,200 MW and is expected tobe capable of producing 3,800 GWh of power per year (Ilisu Engineering Group.2001; Stern, 2004). The dam will transform the local environment, inundatingland that is typically arid, causing a shift in the ecology of the area.
Social Issues
Resettlement of the Kurdish people in theAnatolian regions is the main source of resistance to the construction of thedam. It was determined that approximately 183 settlements will be affected, 82would be inundated entirely and 101 would be affected by flooding (Stern, 2004;Morvaridi, 2002). Exact numbers of people are unavailable because conflicts inthe region have driven people out of their villages and have encumbered censustakers from obtaining accurate estimates of population. The estimates rangefrom 30,000 to 70,000 people, mostly Kurds, losing homes or land or both.Under Turkish law these people would be allotted cash compensation or an offerof resettlement under Turkish law (Morvaridi, 2002). This compensation planbecomes much more complicated when it is realized that many of the peopleliving in the region do not hold deeds to their land and many have expandedtheir land without government planning permission (Morvaridi, 2002).Determining who would be eligible for compensation would be a long and painfulbureaucratic process that would undoubtedly leave many people unsatisfied.
Some have claimed that this project is part of aTurkish plot to expatriate the Kurdish people from their native lands. Humanrights NGOs mobilized on behalf of these groups and were able to influence theinternational financiers into relenting on their backing. However the dam'sconstructors and the Turkish government point to the social and economicbenefits to the people of Turkey and the direct benefits to the people of theAnatolian provinces. The construction of the dam will bring jobs, training andan influx of money to a previously impoverished region. The availability ofample fresh water for irrigation, possibility of a fishery and tourismopportunities also bear consideration. The possibility exists for realeconomic and social benefit to the region if the project is handled properlywith attention paid to women's rights and economic opportunities, education andinvestment in long term planning (Ilisu Engineering Group. 2001).
Cultural Issues
A second major objection to the dam isarchaeological potential of the area. The proposed site has seen much historypass through the area. Mesopotamia was centered here, the Romans conquered thearea and the Silk Road wove through what is now South Eastern Turkey. Accessto the area was previously restricted due violent conflicts between the Turksand the Kurds but in the lull archaeologists have began excavating the area.One site in particular is Hasankeyf which has visible archaeological evidencedating to 2000 years ago and the ruins may evidence a settlement dating back to7th century B.C.E (Young, 2000).
The excavation of Hasankeyf began in 1986, wasstopped in 1991 due to civil strife, and excavation resumed only recently witha laughable grant from the Turkish government of 15,000 from the Ministry ofCulture. The government is spending only 76,000 in exploring the areaagriculturally before the dam is built, a meagre effort at best. Even theIlisu Engineering Group revealed that some of the worst damage of the dam wouldbe in the loss of untold archaeological treasures (Ilisu Engineering Group. 2001).
Political Issues
The construction of the Ilisu dam would requirethe water flow to be suppressed in the construction of the dam. Even theslowing of the flow of the river has consequences for the downstreaminhabitants in Syria and Iraq. The people of these countries rely on the riverfor sanitation, industry and personal use and as the rivers are already overtaxed any further reduction will surely have negative consequences on thepeople of these regions.
With the construction of the Ilisu dam reservoirthere is the potential that Turkey can fully cut Iraq and Syria off from theflows of these vital rivers. In the coming years when the crisis over waterdeepens this could be an ill-advised political tactic for Turkey to dominatethese nations. Due to the volatile nature of the region it is hoped that itdoes not come to this. However in 1997 the UN approved the Convention on theNon-Navigational Uses of Transboundary Waterways with a vote of 103: 3. The conventionwas aimed at preventing damage to international waterways with emphasis onpeaceful resolution and prior notification between nations. China, Burundi andTurkey all rejected the treaty (Bosshard, 1998).
Dam Alternatives
The main focus of the dam is to meet Turkey'senergy needs. In the way of natural energy resources Turkey is scarce. Tomatch the 1,200 MW output of the dam numerous coal, lignite or oil plants wouldneed to be constructed which will have a negative impact on the environment ofthe region and the globe. In the Ilisu Engineering Group's 2001 EnvironmentalImpact Assessment the group concluded that it would be necessary to import andconsume over 2,500 tons of oil per day, releasing 3 million tons of CO2 peryear. A coal plant would do much the same.
Photovoltaic technology is not advanced orcost-effective enough to possibly take the place of such a large MW projectwith the costs being three times per kilowatt what hydroelectricity would cost(Ilisu Engineering Group. 2001). Wind projects are under consideration inTurkey but it will take the construction of wind farms as well as the GAP tomeet Turkey's energy needs in the coming decade.
The major avenue for reducing the need to buildthe dam is in increasing energy efficiency. The Ilisu Engineering Group'sreport pointed to this avenue as a necessary one for exploration as Turkey'senergy needs continue to grow.
Current Status and Future
The Ilisu dam's future is uncertain as majorinternational funding fell apart over concerns of the dam's social andecological impact. In November 2001 the British construction firm BalfourBeatty backed out of the deal as the UK export credit agency pulled its supportdue to public pressure. Another construction company, Impregilo of Italy, alsopulled shortly afterwards and the Swiss bank UBS did the same less than 6months later (BBC, 2002) Through Turkish government still plans on carrying onthe project the lack of financial backing makes it impossible to go forward.For the time being the project is on hold.
Recommendations
Conclusion
The Ilisu dam is a highlycontroversial project is a necessary part of Turkish development, providingenergy for tens of thousands of people. Dams, though notorious fordisplacement of people and conversion of landscapes, are a multi-purpose highenergy yielding alternative to fossil or nuclear power generation. In terms ofsustainable development they are a much better option than fossil fuel andprovide the best energy option until wind and photovoltaic energy technologyimproves. The dam is controversial and for good reason. The Turkishgovernment must take into account the many parties that will be affected by thedam and work to mitigate their concerns. However without this dam Turkey willbe hard pressed to meet energy needs and be able to develop for the social andeconomic benefits of their people. The Ilisu dam may not be an ideal solutionto Turkey's energy needs but it seems to be the best currently available.
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