Farman Amirov
Western Caspian University
PhD student
https://orcid.org/0000‐0001‐5470‐5995
farmanamirov@gmail.com
The State of Water Resources of the Republic of Turkey in the Euphrates and Tigris River Basins
Abstract
The presented article attempts to analyze the general state of water resources in Turkey in the Euphrates and Tigris river basins. In the course of studying the problem, we made the following conclusions. Firstly, a significant part of the average annual flow of the Euphrates and Tigris is formed on Turkish territory, which gives Ankara a strong actual leverage in transboundary water relations. At the same time, Turkey's total contribution to the total flow of the Tigris is less than for the Euphrates, since the Tigris has significant tributaries formed within Iraq and Iran. Secondly, about 70-75% of water consumption in Turkey is accounted for by agriculture; in the Euphrates-Tigris basin, large-scale GAP projects are designed to irrigate hundreds of thousands of hectares. Thirdly, the sedimentary base of the basin is extremely heterogeneous: the upper reaches receive hundreds of millimeters more than the southern plains; average estimates for the basin vary depending on the method. Fourthly, over the past two decades, there has been a steady increase in climatic and environmental risks associated with global climate change: rising temperatures, more frequent droughts, increased evaporation and reduced annual available runoff, soil degradation and deterioration of water quality. In general, environmental factors, coupled with irrigation and energy projects implemented by the Turkish authorities, have a negative impact on the water supply of neighboring countries – Syria and Iraq, which hinders a coordinated and long-term solution to the accumulated problems in this area.
Keywords: Turkey, water resources, hydrological basins, Euphrates and Tigris river basins, water supply, climate change