DOĞU AKDENİZ STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION MEETING OF THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT ON PREPARATION OF RIVER BASIN MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR SIX BASINS WAS HELD

Stakeholder Consultation Meeting of the Technical Assistance Project on Preparation of River Basin Management Plans for Six Basins, co-financed by the European Union and Türkiye within the scope of the IPA-2 period of the European Union Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, was held on 02 March 2022 at Mersin Divan Hotel at 09.30-12.30. The meeting started with the opening speech of the Project Director Mr. Ünal SAYMAN and continued with the speech of Ms. Kader Köse, Contract Manager, Department of EU Investments, Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the speeches of the Director General for Water Management, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Mr. Bilal DİKMEN, and the Governor of Mersin Mr. Ali İhsan SU.

The Project Team Leader Dr. Jaroslav SLOBODNIK delivered the technical presentation of the project. Following his presentation, Mr. SLOBODNIK answered the questions of the participants. The technical presentation on the Doğu Akdeniz Basin was delivered by Dr. Mr.Volkan KEPOĞLU, Doğu Akdeniz Basin Responsible Person. Following his presentation, Mr. KEPOĞLU answered the questions of the participants. The meeting was completed with the contributions of more than 100 participants, consisting of the representatives of central institutions working on water management, local institutions within the basin and the technical assistance team.

The project has started in September 2021 and is planned to be completed in March 2025. The budget of the project is 6,915,000 Euro. The Contracting Authority of the project is the Department of EU Financial Assistance, under the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The End Recipient of the project is the Directorate General for Water Management, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The consortium consisting of DAI, NFB Mühendislik ve Müşavirlik, Finnish Environmental Institute SYKE, and ACC Danışmanlık carry out the project.

The project aims to achieve good water status in all water bodies in six basins through the implementation of EU WFD (2000/60/EC) and related daughter directives, and to distribute the water needed by the relevant sectors in an equitable, efficient, and planned manner.

Following are the main outputs to be achieved based on the overall objective and purpose of the project:

• Progress will be made on the fulfilment of the Environment and Climate Change Chapter (closing benchmark) through preparation of Six River Basin Management Plans (RBMP).
• Meeting water demand equitably for each sector will be ensured by the preparation of Six Sectoral Water Allocation Plans (SWAPs) based on sharing the benefits of water use rather than on sharing the water itself in six basins considering the effects of climate change and drought analysis.
• Legislation for strengthening the current institutional structure to apply the requirements of basin-specific Sectoral Water Allocation Plans will be prepared.
• Institutional capacity and public awareness will be improved.
• Environmental and Health Impacts of the Implementation of Environmental Quality Standards in Doğu Akdeniz Basin will be determined.

Within the scope of the project, Characterisation Reports, Significant Water Management Issues Reports, Monitoring Reports, Environmental Objectives Reports and the Programmes of Measures, which are significant components of River Basin Management Plans, as well as Sectoral Water Allocation Plans and Strategic Environmental Assessment Reports will be prepared for six basins. As seen in the table below, project activities will cover a significant portion of the surface area, population and water potential of Türkiye.

*The value is provided only for the Asian Side

Click here to download the presentation delivered in the meeting.