Water politics

Experts are calling for the implementation of a comprehensive water policy and the creation of a central body for the management of water resources, under a National Sustainable Management Plan, as is the case in other European countries.

Decisions in recent days to restrict water use in major cities show that the threat of drought is becoming more widespread. With water losses in cities reaching 60 percent and the drought set to become a more prominent topic of conversation after May, experts say the focus should be on what needs to be done as soon as possible, rather than how full reservoirs are.

A report prepared by the European Union draws attention to the possibility of conflict due to water sharing between Turkey, Syria and Iraq in the Euphrates-Tigris basin as a result of global climate change.

Groundwater sources in Turkey are burdened and critically decreasing due to faulty agricultural practices, unplanned cities and uncontrolled population, according to a water report.

The report was prepared by the Water Policies Association, using the data of the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry.

Turkey is aiming to modernize its irrigation systems and agriculture in line with the country's water policy, said the country's forestry and agriculture minister on Sept. 14. 

Water use in agriculture is being rearranged in order to reduce the negative effects of climate change and drought, a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry quoted Bekir Pakdemirli as saying.