The ataturk dam is located on the euphrates river in bozova, southeast turkey. Why water is a growing faultline between turkey and iraq financial. A plan to blow up the ataturk dam in turkey is thwarted. Scheduled for completion in 2005, gap will generate 27 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power and will divert water from the ataturk dam reservoir through.
A case study in surface water conflict resolution article pdf available in journal of natural resources and life sciences education 31. Tide of arabturk tension rises amid water shortage. Iran, turkey dam projects drying up iraqs water mena. The reservoir water level touched 535 m 1,755 ft amsl in 1994. Yet turkeys grand dambuilding ambition has been sucked into the countrys kurdish conflict. Even before the filling of ilisu, iraqs water ministry reported that. A water dilemma for iraq iraqs water crisis is intensifying as turkish dams curb water flows to the euphrates and. Iran is trying to cut off the tigris river completely from the sirwan its original source. In 1994, water was delivered from the ataturk dam to. The intense competition for water could even lead to regional war. Water conflict over the euphratestigris river basin 43 international relations. What does the future of the euphrates spell for the middle. The reservoir lake ataturk dam, extending over an area of 817 km 2 315 sq mi with a water volume of 48. The conflict regarding water in the middle east could flare up in the coming days due to disputes over availability, use and management of water.
Water conflicts ataturk dam jordan basin gabcikovo dam great lakes in north america different lines ofconflict and utilization claims global dimension of regional conflicts protecting the world natural heritage persistent organic pollutants pops the right to water conservation offreshwater resources as a multilateral task. International water disputes in the middle east, 111. Built to supply water for irrigation and power generation, it is one of the largest dams in the country and ranks sixth amongst the largest earthandrock fill embankment dams in the world. The last agreement governing use of the water of the euphrates is 15 years old. He has published several articles, books and book chapters on turkey and the kurdish issue. The ataturk dam is the largest in a series of 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric stations built on the euphrates and tigris rivers in the 1980s and 90s in order to provide irrigation water and hydroelectricity to arid southeastern turkey. Ataturk dam, turkey landscape before and after youtube. Ataturk dam, euphrates river, anatolia water technology. The ataturk dam in turkey, controls the flow of the tigris and euphrates rivers which supply clean water to marginalized groups such as the alevi and kurds in iraq. But the areas where these dams are being built are paying a high price. The dam project has its roots in the ambitions of mustafa kemal ataturk, the founder of modern turkey, who envisioned a constellation of dams on.
Huge turkish project shows how competition for water shapes mideast. Dam building and lack of watersharing agreements are leading to dangerous competition. Completed in 1990, the ataturk dam is one of the worlds largest earthandrock fill dams, with an embankment 604 feet 184 metres high and 5,971 feet 1,820 metres long. In the 1980s, the decision to build the huge ataturk dam was seen as a. We travel to a drowned village that disappeared under the water of. Suleyman demirel, then president, inflamed them by warning the countrys neighbours that if they could exploit their oil. Turkish dam project threatens to submerge thousands of. The present agreements over water allocation will probably lead. Water conflict in the middle east and north africa wikipedia.
That is why, cooperation is necessary to prevent conflicts and wars. According to a nato conflict scenario, syria and iraq execute a joint invasion of turkey in 2010. Water power and water politics in the tigriseuphrates basin. In the wake of the war against isis in iraq, an ominous journey along the oncemighty river finds a new crisis lurking in the shallows. Turkey in conflict with syria, iraq over waters of tigris.
Tide of arabturk tension rises amid water shortage the headwaters of the middle easts great rivers, the euphrates and tigris, originate in turkey, which controls flow of. A plan to blow up the ataturk dam in turkey is thwarted home a plan to blow up the ataturk dam in turkey is thwarted turkish police discover syrianbacked terrorists designing a plan to blow up the ataturk dam. What does the future of the euphrates spell for the middle east. In the 1980s, the decision to build the huge ataturk dam was seen as a spur for syria s decision to start backing the pkk, which continues to wage a violent campaign against the turkish state. Pdf the ataturk dam in the context of the southeastern anatolia. Jongerden is assistant professor at the social sciences department of the wageningen university in the netherlands.
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