1st Water Council to Be Held in October

Minister Pakdemirli: We will complete the Water Council in October and present the results and action plan to the public Minister Pakdemirli stated, "Today, we are launching the 1st Water Council, which is being held for the first time in the history of the Republic. We will complete the Water Council we are launching today successfully in October, prepare the council outcome document and our action plan, and present them to the public." Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli noted that they launched the 1st Water Council today, which is being held for the first time in the history of the Republic, and said they would determine a roadmap with all stakeholders. Speaking at the "1st Water Council Launch and Mass Opening Ceremony of 363 Facilities" held at the Beştepe National Congress and Culture Center with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Pakdemirli said that water is one of the most valuable and strategic resources of this century and has unfortunately been misused over the past century together with industrialisation and unplanned urbanisation. Pakdemirli pointed out that while today battles are waged over precious metals like gold and carbon fuels like oil, in the near future there will be conflicts over water and food. He stated: "If no measures are taken, by 2030 the world's existing clean water will only meet 60 percent of demand. By 2050, it is projected that half of the world's population will face the risk of water scarcity. The picture is unfortunately not encouraging." Noting that the meteorological drought experienced last year as a result of climate change will manifest more strongly in the coming years, Pakdemirli said, "Therefore, we must take precautions now, avoid wasting our resources, use our water in the most efficient way possible, and pass it on to future generations."

"We must protect our water as our homeland"

Pointing out that Turkey is among countries under water stress with annual per capita water resources of 1,340 cubic metres, Pakdemirli continued as follows: "77 percent of our existing water is used in the agriculture sector. Our population is expected to reach 105 million by 2050 with a 26 percent increase. To meet this population in 2050, we must increase food production by 60 percent compared to today, and for this food increase we must use 15 percent more water. Together with our 84 million citizens, we must protect our water as our homeland, use it economically without wasting a single drop. Taking all these water-related developments into account, we are both determining the diagnosis and putting forward plans to implement the treatment in the best way possible." Noting that over the past 19 years they have commissioned more than twice as many dams as were built in the entire history of the Republic, Pakdemirli said that through irrigation investments they have opened 80 percent of the 85 million decares of technically and economically irrigable land to irrigation. Stating that thanks to these investments they have prevented recent meteorological drought from becoming agricultural drought, Pakdemirli said, "Today, our country has reached a level in the proportion of population using reliable drinking water supply services that exceeds that of many developed countries, at approximately 99 percent. God willing, we will continue to maintain and improve this level." Emphasising that they have accelerated work in the water sector with the Presidential Government System, Pakdemirli noted that over the past 3 years they have commissioned 973 facilities, 72 of which are dams. Pointing to major investments completed during this period, Pakdemirli said, "After Atatürk Dam, we completed Ilısu Prof. Dr. Veysel Eroğlu Dam, which is our country's 2nd largest dam in terms of fill volume, along with all its units and commissioned it in 2020. We also hope to complete Yusufeli Dam, which at 275 metres is our country's highest dam, this year."

"382 facilities will be commissioned this year"

Recalling that they have declared this year the "Year of Momentum in Water and Irrigation Investments," Pakdemirli stated that they have increased the irrigation investment budget 2.4 times, raising it to TRY 15.3 billion. Noting that they have designed all new irrigation investments in modern and closed systems, Pakdemirli said, "This year we plan to commission a total of 382 facilities, 51 of which are dams. God willing, without pause, we will continue to commission our investments one after another." Emphasising that today they have opened 363 facilities with TRY 5.2 billion in investment in 64 provinces, Pakdemirli noted that under this scope hundreds of facilities have been commissioned, from dams and reservoirs to drinking water facilities, from irrigation investments and flood protection facilities to consolidation projects.

Pointing also to the Water Council to be held, Pakdemirli made the following assessments:

"Protecting our water as our homeland, taking service to our people as our motto, we do not stop, we do not rest, we continue to bring the power of water to our nation. While accelerating our irrigation investments, we are also planning the future of our water. Today, with your support, we are launching the 1st Water Council, which is being held for the first time in the history of the Republic. Within the scope of the 1st Water Council, together with relevant ministries, all municipalities, universities, NGOs and all stakeholders, we will discuss the future of our water, present our objectives and determine our roadmap. In this context, we will work in detail for 7 months together with all stakeholders on all issues, from water security to agricultural irrigation, from water resource development to climate change, from water law to basin-based water management."

Recalling that the 3rd Agriculture-Forestry Council was convened in 2019 after a 15-year gap, Pakdemirli noted:

"Without wasting time, we prepared our action plan and put it into practice. Now, in the same way, we will complete the Water Council we are launching today successfully in October, prepare the council outcome document and our action plan, and present them to the public. In line with this action plan, we will implement one by one the actions we have determined in order to protect our water, use it efficiently and not leave our future generations in need of a single drop of water."   Source: AA