Water Resources

Water Resources:
Leading to Economic Cooperation or Tension?

The UN's Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in this 2005 report, highlights the challenges for Turkey's continued consumption of its natural resources. Western Asia is notorious as one of the most water-stressed regions of the world; because of this, the need to protect freshwater has driven many economic trade agreements and cooperative management policies among Turkey and its eastern neighbors.

Management of the Tigris and Euphrates river valley is divided among Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. In 1990, Turkey shut off the flow of the Euphrates in order to fill one of its own reservoirs, depriving water to Syria and Iraq (downstream) for thirty days. The region was on the brink of armed conflict when Turkey relented. Three-way economic committees throughout the years have attempted to resolve the tension and establish sustainable use practices....these agreements, however, depend on the continuation of continued political and military stability.

Increasing economic interdependence among Turkey, Syria, and Iraq would provide the incentive for greater cooperative use of the Tigris and Euphrates, as well as transboundary water aquifers. It would also allow for international regulations on pollution, overconsumption, and contamination. Stronger trade relations is the only way to preserve the vital water resources of the region.