For more than 4,000 years, lands irrigated by the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers have been the scene of violent conflict. History has been shaped by geography and, in particular, by access to water. The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Guneydogu Anadolu Projesi, or GAP) is a major reclamation and hydropower project that has been a Turkish Government priority since 1961. When complete, the 22-dam project will irrigate an additional 1.7 million hectares (about 4.2 million acres) in southeast Turkey. The GAP has direct consequences for Iraq and Syria. Both countries are heavily dependent on the waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates, and the impact of the project could ultimately reduce the flow of fresh water to Syria and to Iraq. These transboundary water issues have the potential to further destabilize an already tense region as the GAP approaches full development in the next 20 years. A 1988 article in U.S. News and World Report described a frightening scenario: November 12, 1993. War erupted throughout the Middle East today in a desperate struggle for dwindling water supplies. Iraqi forces, attempting to smash a Syrian blockade, launched massive attacks on the Euphrates River valley. Syria answered with missile attacks on Baghdad. The envisioned scenario has not materialized some 10 years after its dire prediction, but security conditions in the Tigris-Euphrates basin are unstable and the potential for "water wars" is still present. Resource scarcity is an important factor in any security analysis, and the realm of environmental security is subject to renewed debate in the United States. This book explores the relationship between regional security and the river environment of the Tigris-Euphrates basin. The focus will be on Turkey, because a review of Turkish history, politics, and military capability is central to an understanding of the security issues concerning the GAP. -- p. 1.

For more than 4,000 years, lands irrigated by the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers have been the scene of violent conflict. History has been shaped by geography and, in particular, by access to water. The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Guneydogu Anadolu Projesi, or GAP) is a major reclamation and hydropower project that has been a Turkish Government priority since 1961. When complete, the 22-dam project will irrigate an additional 1.7 million hectares (about 4.2 million acres) in southeast Turkey. The GAP has direct consequences for Iraq and Syria. Both countries are heavily dependent on the waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates, and the impact of the project could ultimately reduce the flow of fresh water to Syria and to Iraq. These transboundary water issues have the potential to further destabilize an already tense region as the GAP approaches full development in the next 20 years. A 1988 article in U.S. News and World Report described a frightening scenario: November 12, 1993. War erupted throughout the Middle East today in a desperate struggle for dwindling water supplies. Iraqi forces, attempting to smash a Syrian blockade, launched massive attacks on the Euphrates River valley. Syria answered with missile attacks on Baghdad. The envisioned scenario has not materialized some 10 years after its dire prediction, but security conditions in the Tigris-Euphrates basin are unstable and the potential for "water wars" is still present. Resource scarcity is an important factor in any security analysis, and the realm of environmental security is subject to renewed debate in the United States. This book explores the relationship between regional security and the river environment of the Tigris-Euphrates basin. The focus will be on Turkey, because a review of Turkish history, politics, and military capability is central to an understanding of the security issues concerning the GAP. (8 figures).

This book proposes practical and objective solutions to the entrenched water conflicts in the Middle East. The author reveals and clarifies the complexity of the water conflicts, drawing on years of experience facilitating and chairing water negotiations in the region. The bottom line is: Unless the countries involved co-operate, the consequences will be devastating. The lack of plentiful and clean water for the people will not only result in severe human suffering, but could also have grave geopolitical consequences. The book covers four critical areas: the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers, where new documentation reveals alarming trends; the politically sensitive Golan Heights, with its water disputed by Israel and Syria; the Hasbani water dispute between Lebanon and Israel; the longstanding water resource dispute between the Israelis and Palestinians

Water is a strategic natural resource of vital importance to all nations. As such it has been the cause of several international disputes. For Turkey especially, water is crucial to social and economic development. Turkey’s current national water regime that emphasises water resources development and management for productive uses, however, faces growing environmental concerns and international criticism regarding transboundary water cooperation. Furthermore, EU accession requires Turkey to adopt an extensive and ambitious body of EU water law. To understand Turkey’s position to international water law, the national policies and socio-economic circumstances that impact water resources management need to be considered. This book fills the existing knowledge gap through a broad perspective and analysis of the current state of Turkey’s water policy and its management of both national and transboundary waters. It is a unique undertaking that brings together Turkish and international authors, practitioners and academics, covering all aspects of water management