5TH PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING WAS HELD

The 5th Project Steering Committee Meeting of the 'Technical Assistance on Preparation of River Basin Management Plans for 6 Basins' project 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 12 September 2023 at Ankara Wyndham Hotel. 

The keynote speech was delivered by Ms Emine GYULESTAN, Local Project Director on behalf of the consortium. Ms GYULESTAN stated that the 6RBMP project can be considered a full-fledged program bringing together 13 projects, including 6 RBMPs, 6 SWAPs and the environmental and health impacts of the implementation of Environmental Quality Standards in the Doğu Akdeniz Basin. She stated that 6RBMP is the first project in Türkiye where River Basin Management Plans are prepared together with Sectoral Water Allocation Plans. She stated that coordination is a critical issue in the project since the working dimension of the two plans is different. The 6RBMP project covers approximately 25% of Türkiye's surface area and 42 out of 81 provinces. The 6RBMP project produces a significant amount of output consisting of 907 technical reports, Inception Report, Interim Reports, Briefing Reports for Project Steering Committees, more than 160 meeting minutes, 91 Weekly Activity Reports, numerous news articles and social media posts. The 6RBMP requires the collection, compilation and analysis of a wide range of data from more than three thousand institutions and organizations at both central and basin levels. The unprecedented quality and quantity of data collected under the 6RBMP has resulted in outputs that can be presented to all stakeholders. Under Activity 8, important information was provided to the Environmental Reference Laboratory, in particular through the contribution of foreign laboratories and the NORMAN database. Capacity-building activities were contributed together with the End Recipient. Ms GYULESTAN stated that the 6RBMP Project is one of the largest technical assistance projects in Türkiye, requiring the combined efforts of 4 Key Experts, 6 Senior Non-Key Experts, 2 Junior Non-Key Experts, a large support team, as well as more than 70 Short Term Non-Key Experts. Ms GYULESTAN concluded by thanking the project team for their contribution and efforts.

In her opening remarks, Ms Elif TORCU ÖZDEN, Environment and Sustainable Development Sector Coordinator of the EU Delegation to Türkiye, stated that the European Union's financial assistance to Türkiye in the environment and climate change sector exceeds 1.5 billion Euros, 70% of which is in the water sector. Ms ÖZDEN emphasized that the 6RBMP Project is one of the largest technical assistance projects of Türkiye and stated that they are aware of the difficulties experienced in the project. Ms ÖZDEN stated that the departure of the Project Team Leader and the Key Environmental Expert from the project is unfortunate, it would be useful for the relevant parties to come together to investigate the reasons for the difficulties experienced. Ms ÖZDEN wishes that the project will be beneficial for the whole country and that its outputs will be implemented. She stated that Türkiye's national contribution to climate change has been sent as a country declaration. She stated that before 2030, it is aimed to complete the flood management plans, especially the basin management plans of 25 river basins. She stated that the completion of the 6 river basin management plans will also contribute to the declaration of Türkiye's national contribution to climate change. She stated that the outputs from the six river basin management plans are important for finding financing for the implementation of measures. She stated that it is very valuable that the field studies are carried out effectively, and the reports prepared are analyzed in the light of scientific data and reflect reality. She stated that the team leader has changed and that it requires a process for the new team leader to work efficiently with the team members and that they want the missing experts in the project to be completed.

Ms SEVER stated that Türkiye is not a water-rich country and the amount of water per capita is decreasing day by day. She stated that Türkiye is among the countries most affected by the effects of climate change in population projections. She stated that climate risks should be managed before they turn into disasters. She emphasized the importance of completing and implementing river basin management plans. She stated that individuals and sectors should use water resources efficiently and that 8 billion people in the world have difficulty in reaching 1% of fresh water. She stated that we need to implement an effective management plan for water resources. She reminded the responsibilities that the contractor must fulfill. She stated that they are ready to do their part as the General Directorate of Water Management. She thanked the attendees for their participation and support.

Ms Nurnisa ELÇİN, Contract Manager from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, provided information on the four addendums made for Key Expert changes. Ms ELÇİN agreed with Ms ÖZDEN and conveyed that it would be beneficial for the relevant parties to come together and discuss the key expert changes. Ms ELÇİN asked the Contractor what kind of solutions they had for the difficulties experienced.

Local Project Director Ms Emine GYULESTAN stated that the Key Expert on the Environment will provide external support to the project for another two months and that the addendum for the Team Leader was submitted to the Contracting Authority last week. Ms GYULESTAN also stated that it would be beneficial for the relevant parties to come together and discuss the changes in experts.

The meeting continued with a presentation by Dr. Emre Köken, Acting Team Leader and Kızılırmak Basin Responsible, on the progress of the Project between 2 May 2022 -12 September 2023. The presentation on the report on Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change and Drought on Water Quantity and Quality prepared under Activity 4.1.2 was delivered by Mr Jan Kürstein, Key Expert on Water Allocation. Following Mr Kürstein's presentation, Dr. Emre Köken presented the activities planned for the next quarter. 

The meeting was concluded after a question and answer session with the participants.