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WATER POLITICS

Via Terra Daily, an interesting report that Syria has been pressing Turkey to let more water flow into that country from the Euphrates river. Just another reminder of how fragile this region is from a geopolitical water resource perspective.

As the article notes:

“…Syria and Iraq often complain that their northern neighbour Turkey — with a series of dams built on the Euphrates and Tigris as part of a massive project to irrigate southeast Anatolia — monopolises the waters of the two rivers.

The Tigris and the Euphrates originate in Turkey and flow south through Syria and Iraq.

Turkish Environment Minister Veysel Eroglu said Turkey too is suffering from drought, but is still letting through an average 500 cubic metres (650 cubic yards) per second of Euphrates water to Syria, under the terms of a 1987 agreement between the two countries.

“If the water supply increases, we will not hold it back — we will, of course, let it flow” to Syria, Anatolia quoted Eroglu as saying….”