Blue peace in the middle east

About 90 policy makers, Members of Parliament, serving and former Ministers, media leaders, academics and water experts from across the Middle East came together for the first annual High Level Forum on Blue Peace in the Middle East at Istanbul on 19-20 September 2014. The forum was co-hosted by the Strategic Foresight Group and MEF University of Istanbul, Turkey in cooperation with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Political Directorate of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. The participants proposed concrete initiatives at bi-lateral as well as regional levels to promote cooperation and sustainable management of water resources in the region. The Forum began with special presentations on the experience of the Senegal River Basin Authority in collaborative water management and work in progress of Orontes River Basin Atlas for post conflict water management in Syria and its neighbouring countries

Global context of crises, and local patterns of rivalry and cooperation

Cooperation was essential between the three riparian nations if they were to effectively coordinate their use of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The global political environment presented obstacles, however. During the course of the Cold War the riparian nations found themselves in different political camps. The governments of Syria and Iraq had allied themselves with the Soviet Union and Turkey had joined the NATO coalition. This further stressed diplomatic ties, which in turn further stressed cooperation between the riparian water authorities

Facing water challenges in the Middle East

The vital importance of water for human security and sustainable developmenthas received worldwide attention. Much emphasis has been placed on theglobal status of water, namely water scarcity and a lack of access to clean waterand sanitation. Certain regions are far weaker than others in terms of sharedsurface and groundwater resources between two or more countries. The MiddleEast and North Africa (MENA) is regarded as one of the most challenged regionsin this regard

Euphrates-Tigris river basin water management as conflict prevention

The water dispute in the Euphrates-Tigris basin originated due to competitive water development projects. Notwithstanding the failures in inter-state water cooperation, the main challenge in the basin is to coordinate water management in the midst of the current state of affairs. Yet, since the early 2000s a partial institutionalization of water cooperation had begun before it was abruptly halted in 2011. When it has a chance to resume, transboundary water cooperation should start from a variety of perspectives and issues, which may again provide opportunities for regional cooperatio

Evolution of water diplomacy frameworks in the Euphrate-Tigris basin: challenges and prospects

Transboundary water cooperation should resume, whenever there is a chance to do so, from a variety of perspectives and issues that may provide opportunities for regional cooperation anew

Water policy changes in Turkey’s agriculture sector

The enactment of new water policies does not always translate into observable lasting changes, particularly in agriculture, due to multiple factors, ranging from inadequate reform preparation and design, institutional and political economy constraints, to lack of acceptance, limited awareness, or inappropriate enforcement. Investments levels, in techniques, infrastructures and institutions, may also contribute to the degree of the water reform’s implementation. In the long term, a policy process with low future path-dependency, allows for possible adjustment to respond to changing conditions

Dam development trajectory in the Euphrates-Tigris River basin: challenges and prospects

Transboundary water relations in the Euphrates-Tigris basin have been marked with political confrontations among the riparian states, namely Turkey, Syria and Iraq, mainly due to uncoordinated construction, filling and operation of large-scale dams. Yet, technical cooperation on dam safety has been a common concern for the three riparians. But, due to the troubles that they had to endure, such as the US invasion of Iraq and the civil war in Syria, trilateral cooperation has not been possible. On bilateral level, however, government officials and water professionals from Turkey and Iraq have been spending efforts for developing projects to build joint dams on the border. Nevertheless, the Turkey–Iraq track fell short of adopting joint strategies for responding to the actions of violent non-state actors (e.g., ISIS) and could not build a basin-wide understanding for protecting dams against the effects of armed conflict. Thus, while discussions on global principles (i.e., Geneva List of Principles) for protection of water continue, new political trajectory in the basin urges the riparian states to reflect on the possible ways and means of improving protection of dams under international law during and after armed conflicts

Analysis of the roles of the irrigation associations and public-private-partnership model in irrigation development and management in Turkey

The latest national development plan in Turkey emphasizes that priority is given to water, food and nutrition security in a competitive environment, hence, infrastructure investments in sectors like irrigation will continue with an intention to support economic productivity in the medium and long term. Yet, these macro-level policies require operationalization through the practices of adequate institutions. The paper will first critically analyze how these macro level policies are put into practice by concerned public and private institutions with a particular focus on water user associations

Transboundary water governance in the euphrates-tigris river basin: hydropolitical history and current challenges

Since the second half of the 20th century, trans-boundary water governance in the Euphrates-Tigris river system has evolved with competitive power dynamics and cooperative institutional development. Dr. Kibaroğlu’s speech will focus on the evolution of transboundary water politics in the basin over a series of consecutive periods. Overarching political problems, namely, the Syrian civil war and the deterioration of bilateral political relations between any pair of the riparians constitute to disable political background for the implementation of good water governance in the Euphrates- Tigris river basin.Currently a visiting professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, Dr. Aysegül Kibaroğlu is professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at MEF University in Istanbul, Turkey. She has published extensively on the politics of water resources, with an emphasis on the Euphrates Tigris river basin, contributing articles to the International Negotiation Journal, Water International, Journal of International Affairs, and Global Governance