4TH PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING WAS HELD

The 4th Project Steering Committee 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 2 May 2023 in Ankara. Nearly 150 representatives from the central institutions working on water management, local institutions and non-governmental organizations in 6 basins participated in the 4th Project Steering Committee Meeting, which was held under the chairmanship of Ms. Afire SEVER, Director General for Water Management, and attended by Ms. Elif Ceyda ÖZDEN, Environment and Sustainable Development Sector Coordinator of the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, and İsmail Raci BAYER, Director of IPA.

In the opening speech of the meeting, Ms. Afire SEVER, Director General for Water Management, strategy and action plans have been published both at the national level and at the United Nations since 1972 on issues such as integrated water resources management and water for sustainable development. She stated that River Basin Management Plans gained importance in line with the basin-scale water management approach.

In her speech, Ms. SEVER emphasized that within the scope of the River Basin Management Plans, there are critical steps such as the delineation of water bodies, characterization, determination of pressures, determination of measures, establishment of institutional structure, policy and strategies, formation of legislation, raising awareness, and determination and optimisation of financial resources for the implementation of all these steps. Within the scope of this Technical Assistance Project, all these studies are carried out in six basins, namely Antalya, Batı Karadeniz, Doğu Akdeniz, Doğu Karadeniz, Kızılırmak and Marmara, and that any disruptions that may occur in the plans being prepared will affect all six basins, therefore, it is of great importance that the teams involved in this study have good cooperation, management and governance.

Afire SEVER, Director General for Water Management, pointed out that ensuring the water supply security is of critical importance for the continuity of life, and that water needs for many different uses such as drinking water, utility water, ecosystem needs, industrial water needs, agricultural water needs, energy production should be met. She emphasized that food supply cannot be guaranteed without water supply. Due to the fact that the water potentials of the countries all over the world are very different from each other, the risks the countries are facing are also very different in ensuring the security of water supply. Turkey is located in the semi-arid climate zone of the Mediterranean Basin, and in this context, considering the impacts of climate change, the impact of climate change on water resources was studied by the Directorate General of Water Management under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. Water-population projections were established on a basin scale until 2100 and in terms of water supply security, while flood risks were the prominent issue in some basins, it was drought in many basins. For example, there is both flood and drought risks in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolian Regions. In these regions, the number of days covered with snow and hot days in high areas have been analysed and the impact of climate change is seen in the form of floods due to the rapid flow of water as a result of sudden melting of snow with the increase in the number of hot days. Also, the impact comes in the form of drought as a result of the decrease in water holding capacity and water inflow to the groundwater due to rapid flows. She stated that floods were seen in Batı Akdeniz, Doğu Karadeniz, Batı Karadeniz, Susurluk, Meriç-Ergene Basins, and intense drought in the Konya, Susurluk, Gediz, Akarçay, Büyük Menderes, Küçük Menderes, Marmara and Meriç-Ergene Basins. Among 25 river basins, pressures and demands are different due to the fact that the water potential and water budget of each basin are different. In this context, risks are determined to ensure water supply security, hazard maps and risk maps are prepared, the Flood Management Plans, Drought Management Plans and River Basin Management Plans are prepared, as well as Sectoral Water Allocation Plans, which have a very important role in the integrated management of water and meeting the demand for water supply.

Director General Ms. Afire SEVER added that the fight against floods is among the primary focus of the European Union countries. The countries are preparing their Flood Management Plans with the entry into force of the Flood Directive in 2006, but the preparation of the plans is only the first stage. The financial issues regarding the plans, that is, the determination, optimization and implementation of the financial sources, are the most important issues. Ms. SEVER expressed her thanks the European Union for their support in the preparation of the River Basin Management Plans for six basins within the scope of this project and also for the 7 basins studied in the previous projects. She added that the Action Plan was implemented in 2011 with the Operation Dawn Programme, especially for the rescue of the Ergene Basin and that 10 OIZs were established, 28 streams were rehabilitated, 12 urban wastewater treatment plants were built, a deep sea discharge line was built, and in Velimeşe, the largest industrial wastewater treatment plant in the European Union is about to be launched. She stated that capacity building activities are carried out to raise awareness and prepare plans, and the next step would be to mobilise financial resources, otherwise the implementation leg would lag behind.

In the rest of her speech Ms. Afire SEVER stated that RBMPs are very important instruments in integrated water resources management, and that the development and implementation of policies and strategies for the efficient use of water within the scope of adaptation to climate change are also within the scope of basin management plans and support RBMPs. She informed the participants that in this context, on 31 January 2023, under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, the spouse of our President and under the leadership of our Minister Prof. Dr. Vahit Kirişçi, the National Water Efficiency Campaign has been launched in Türkiye. Within this campaign, the Water Efficiency Strategy and Action Plan has been prepared and is in the Presidency to be published. Within the scope of these studies, there are individual water use, urban water use, agricultural water use, industrial water use and related targets. It is aimed to reduce the municipal water losses to 25%, which are currently around 33% and then to 10%, and to increase the irrigation efficiency to 65%, which is currently around 50%, with modern irrigation systems, and even to 80% by switching to underground drip irrigation systems. It is necessary to save 3 billion cubic meters of water annually, 156 guide documents have been prepared in order to increase water efficiency in industry by 50% and will be shared with industrialists. It is planned to save 25% of water with water efficiency in the buildings. With the measures to be taken, it is a must to save water and to ensure “0” waste in water.   With the impact of climate change, there is a 30% decrease in precipitation in certain regions such as Southeastern Anatolia, groundwater cannot be recharged due to heavy rains, floods are causing troubles. She concluded her speech stating that we need to take precautions and have a water use culture as a country that experiences all kinds of effects of climate change, therefore such studies are very valuable.

THE BIGGEST PROJECT IN TÜRKİYE ON BASIN MANAGEMENT

In the rest of the meeting, presentations were delivered on the Technical Assistance Project on Preparation of River Basin Management Plans for 6 Basins, which is the biggest project in Türkiye in terms of basin management.

In this context, the first presentation was delivered by the Project Team Leader, Mr. Jaroslav Slobodnik. In his presentation, Mr. Jaroslav Slobodnik gave information about the progress of the project in the fourth and fifth quarters, the activities held, the meetings held, and talked about the activities planned for May-July 2023 and the visibility and communication of the project. Mr. Slobodnik concluded his presentation by conveying the latest status regarding the activities within the scope of Activity 8 on the Monitoring of Urban and Industrial Discharges in Doğu Akdeniz Basin.

After the presentation by Ms. Slobodnik, the following presentations were delivered: Surface Water Characterisation Studies in 6 Basins by Ms. Sara Pelegrin McCarthy, Key Expert on Environment, Groundwater Characterisation studies by Prof. Dr. Celalettin Şimşek, Economic Characterization of 6 Basins by Aleksandra Tomic Cato, Key Expert in Economics, and the Results of the Current Situation Analysis Reports prepared within the scope of Sectoral Water Allocation Plans in 6 basins, by Jan Kürstein, Key Expert on Water Allocation. 

After Mr. Kürstein's presentation, the contract manager of the project, Nurnisa ELÇİN, informed the participants that the Administrative Order approved for the Activity 8 was put into practice.

After the presentations on the Preparation of River Basin Management Plans in 6 Basins, the meeting was concluded with the closing speech of the Deputy Director Genaral for Water Management, Dr. Yakup KARAASLAN.

THE PROJECT AIMS TO SHARE WATER IN A SUSTAINABLE, EFFICIENT AND PLANNED WAY

The Technical Assistance on Preparation of River Basin Management Plans for 6 Basins Project was started in September 2021, and is planned to be completed in March 2025.

Key outputs targeted by the project:

1. Progress will be made on the fulfilment of the closing benchmark of Environment and Climate Change Chapter through preparation of six RBMPs.
2. 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.
3. Legislation for strengthening the current institutional structure to apply the requirements of basin SWAPs will be prepared.
4. Institutional capacity and public awareness will be improved.
5. Environmental and Health Impacts of the Implementation of Environmental Quality Standards in Doğu Akdeniz Basin will be determined.

Through the implementation of the Technical Assistance on Preparation of River Basin Management Plans for 6 Basins and the EU WFD (2000/60/EC) and related sister directives, it is aimed to achieve good water status in all water bodies in 6 basins and distribute the water needed by the relevant sectors in a fair, efficient and planned manner. 

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 can be seen in the table below, the project will cover a significant part of Türkiye's total area, population and water potential:

Click here​​ to watch the speech of Ms. Afire SEVER, Director General for Water Management.