South-eastern Anatolia Integrated Development Project (GAP), Turkey: An Overview of Issues of Sustainability

Abstract

The Republic of Turkey has initiated a comprehensivesocioeconomic development project in its less developed south-east region. The South-eastern Anatolia Project, or GAP to use its Turkish acronym, aims at improving the living standards of some 6 million residents of this 75 000 km2 region by mobilizing the natural resources of this area for integrated development on a regional scale. GAP is planned, designed, coordinated and implemented in an integrated manner taking into account interactions among different sectors as well as activities within individual sectors. The South-eastern Anatolia Project, in its historical context, was formulated as a packageof water and land resources development projects in the 1970s, which was later transformed, in the early 1980s, to a multi-sectoral, socioeconomic regional developmentprogramme.A Regional Administration (GAP-RDA) was established in 1989 for the management of the programme.Sectors covered in the development programmesinclude irrigation, hydropower, agriculture, urban infrastructure, rural development, forestry, healthcare and education among others. The water resources programme of the US$32 billion project includes 22 dams, 19 hydropowerplants and irrigation of 1.7 million ha of land. This paper describes, in brief, the size, main features, financial aspects and the status of the integrated socioeconomic project in its general context thus forming the basis for operational as well as specific issues. It then attempts to provide an overall discussion of the sustainability framework for development in its different but highly interrelated facets. After establishing the main, global benefits the paper comments on the adverse, undesired impacts along with the measures adapted to mitigate them. The paper later describes, in more detail, environmental impact studies, their main findings and proposals related to watersheds and irrigation development with an emphasis on management and environmental health matters together with the measures taken. The paper concludes by emphasizing the commitment to sustainable development and to planning ahead rather than damage reduction, and the effort to integrate relevant and sometimes conflicting aspects rather than compromise.