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NEWS March 11th 2004
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DAMS IN ACTION: A SPECIAL REPORT FROM TURKEY The Tragedy of Turkey's Dams By Jon Bawn. In a remote corner of north-eastern Anatolia, Turkey’s dam building program is now surging ahead. The fearsome torrent of the Çoruh river is the latest sad casualty of Turkey’s merciless Hydroelectric Power (HEP) program. An international consortium of construction companies are already working on three huge dams, submerging wild canyons and remote pastures beneath a drab sea of muddy stagnation. One of Turkey's most beautiful and important natural wildernesses is in real danger, and the country's chequered history of forced resettlement and environmental destruction looks set to repeat a familiar pattern. Bordering Turkey's fabulous Kaçkar Mountains National Park, this is a rugged and isolated area south of the eastern Black Sea. The Çoruh valley forms the central focus of what is a largely undeveloped area; with quaint small towns and rustic villages clinging precariously to rugged, forested slopes. This is a region where many people retain a strong affinity for their traditional way of life, and it remains relatively untouched by the 21st century. It is a land of culture, music and romance, far removed from the Islamic dominance and hard, dour existence which is integral to life across much of Turkey’s eastern plateau. The valley itself is home to a unique cultural mix including ethnic Georgains, Armenians and the little known Laz people who live happily alongside Turks from all backgrounds. But with the charming provincial capital of Artvin already cut off by huge engineering works, the vast construction activity that the DSI (Turkey’s State Water Works) is implementing in the area has already caused irreversible changes. As black kites circle high above a ruddy expanse littered with yellow Caterpillar trucks and strewn with huge chunks of reinforced concrete, the future of the whole of the Çoruh river, with its wild flower meadows and mystical snow capped mountains hangs in the balance. Turkey’s fastest flowing river passes through green, fertile grassland and wild, beautiful canyons along a 466km course eastwards towards the Black Sea. This beautiful but little known valley cuts down well below the Anatolian plateau, offering a mild and sheltered environment that has for centuries supported a harmonious existence between mankind and nature. Rice paddy fields, fruit gardens and neatly planned clusters of poplar trees symbolise a way of life that recognises traditional values and uncomplicated pleasures. The valley, once an important part of the medieval Kingdom of Georgia, has a particularly rich and fascinating history. A legacy of exquisite churches nestle high up on the forested mountain slopes, and many fortresses and lookout posts serve as a reminder of the valley’s prior strategic importance. In its more remote stretches the Çoruh forms
part of one of Turkey's last remaining natural wilderness areas, where
endangered populations of bear, ibex, otter and lynx struggle for survival.
Majestic griffon vultures soar way above the rocky hillsides, and the
valley forms a migration corridor and refuge for smaller species including
golden oriole, scarlet rosefinch, beeeaters and rose coloured starling.
This environment supports an incredible diversity of plant species,
and in spring and summer the landscape is transformed with fairytale
swathes of vibrant colour. Botanist Andy Byfield of the charity ‘Plantlife
International’ suggests that there are "around 100 plant
species endemic to this valley or found in very few other places";
these include rare orchid, iris and pelargonium varieties. According
to naturalist and specialist tour leader Ian Green, “many delightful
wildflowers, such as the dainty white campanula (campula coruhensisare),
may well be knocked out by the damming project”. So far, though only 3 of the planned 31 dams are under construction, building work is already bringing devastating changes to the region. Farmers' crops are ruined by dust from the huge construction works and local power supplies are becoming increasingly erratic. Transport is suffering severe disruption (for many, time to transport produce to the local market has doubled) and a new road built just 3 years ago is already showing signs of major subsidence. Controlled by 4 colossal main dams and 27 subsidiary dams, the DSI plan to create one vast stretch of water with a total length of more than 300km. The smaller dams are needed to control water flow and limit the sedimentation brought down from the steep, erosion-prone hillsides by high seasonal rainfall. They are a very expensive way of trapping silt, and will not be used for irrigation, potable water supply or electricity generation. Recep Akyukek, a local environmental campaigner, estimates the useful life of hydroelectric generating heads on the main dams to be as little as 18 years. Such large bodies of dammed water are known to cause serious climate change. 200km to the south, the massive Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) reservoirs have, since 1985, caused increased local rainfall which is responsible for a 3 metre rise in water level in Lake Van, Turkey’s largest natural lake. Around the Çoruh, the mountains will become warmer, melting the country’s last remaining glaciers and causing higher levels of rainfall. This will cause greater soil erosion, further washing away the land’s fertile top layer, destroying agricultural land and foreshortening the life expectancy of the HEP generators themselves. On the banks of the river Çoruh lies Yusufeli, a friendly and welcoming town of 12,000 people set amongst hundreds of scattered gardens carved out of strikingly coloured eroded mountain slopes. It is a town with little crime and few social problems- an important regional administrative centre, trading market and transport hub. In their wisdom the Turkish state authorities in Ankara have decreed that 2004 should be the last year for the town. So, this April the DSI will begin work on a 270m high concrete dam that, when filled, will completely submerge Yusufeli and 14 daughter villages along the Çoruh valley. The resulting forced resettlement of at least 15,000 people will cost the tax payer an estimated $250 million. This dam has been threatening Yusufeli for over 20 years, causing severe planning blight and a general neglect of the regional infrastructure. Roads have decayed, buildings fallen into disrepair and investment reduced, effectively thwarting the locals’ long-running campaign to save their town. Landowners who will lose their property to the rising waters will be recompensed; compensation for lost livelihoods is unlikely. As Handan Turkeli states in the Turkish geographical magazine Atlas: “the attitude is first to finish building the dams, then decide on the compensation depending on how much money is left. No one cares about how to rebuild peoples' lives”. Landowners will be able to repurchase nearby and some villages will prosper and expand as a result. But as jobs dry up and prospects look increasingly bleak, many landless people are already being driven from the area. This imperils their rights to the government’s still unannounced low interest resettlement loans. Who knows if compensation and loans will ever be paid? It would not be the first time that the Turkish authorities have not kept their promises. Many commentators have argued that Turkey’s energy policy is motivated by geo-political concerns. However others have speculated on a motive of personal enrichment. The controversy surrounding former Energy Minister Cumhur Ersumer’s resignation in April 2001 shed considerable light on corruption problems within the last Turkish government. Although Ersumer protested his innocence, 15 energy ministry officials were arrested on charges of corruption and embezzlement, casting doubts on the veracity of the whole government and leading, in 2002, to their massive rejection by the electorate. Historically, Turkey relied on huge imports of coal-fired electricity from the Balkans, but is now importing natural gas from Iran and Russia. The massive GAP hydroelectric project on the Euphrates could satisfy more energy needs if the country’s ageing national grid was able to distribute it nationwide. In October 2002, Zaman, an authoritative newspaper, produced conclusive figures stating that, due to the grid limitations, the Atatürk Baraj, GAP’s largest HEP generator, was still only running at half its expected capacity. So perhaps the 3.5 billion dollars currently allocated for just part of the Coruh project could be better spent distributing this electricity. Large scale hydro projects are environmental disasters which do nothing to benefit the people which they are supposed to benefit. There are well-founded doubts that these hydro electric 'mega-projects', especially given their limited life span, can even be economically viable. The development of technologies for ‘true’ renewables such as wind, solar, tidal and small-scale hydro power have undercut dam economics. According to ‘Atlas’, much of the official research is still using information 20 years out of date and ‘there is an urgent need for a broader study and a revision of Turkey’s HEP policy in general”. Turkey's energy policy since the 1950’s has favoured HEP as an energy source. Two of Turkey’s long-serving past prime ministers, Suleyman Demirel and Necmettin Erbakan, were graduates in water engineering, and have backed a powerful political lobby. The high-spending DSI estimate that, when complete, the 31-dam network will provide just 5% of Turkey's total electricity demand. Project costs are unannounced, but the Yusufeli element alone is estimated at 2.5 billion dollars, and total costs may exceed the 32 billion dollars of the GAP project. David Manby, author and local expert, adds that “the BIG problem has been the government in Ankara and the corruption in the allocation of projects.” The Çoruh scheme has been planned for over 20 years, and politicians and public, unquestioning of its basic assumptions, widely believe it to be of national benefit. Millions of dollars have already been spent and vast amounts are tied up in contractual agreements. Some of the motivation for persisting with an outdated, uneconomical and severely disruptive electricity generation strategy stems from deals and contracts signed years ago, in Turkey's corrupt political climate of the 1980's and '90's. These contracts may have more influence on state policy than the potential of the dams themselves. The popularly elected Ak Party, which swept to power in 2002 with promises of anti-corruption measures and a true social policy, now has the opportunity to reassess this project. Turkey’s recent sustained economic reforms are bringing her closer to becoming a member of the European Community and she is aiming to conform to European standards on environmental and socio-cultural conservation. This gives Europe unique leverage to press for and assist with reassessment of Turkey’s state energy policy, uninfluenced by pressure from big business, both inside and outside the country. The unique Çoruh valley, it's wildlife and people, is in urgent need of protection. These dams are being built by European construction companies, and are partly financed by export credits originating in EU countries. Coupled with Turkey’s European Union membership bid, this gives the EU a long-overdue opportunity to demand an independent technical and environmental reassessment of the value of large scale hydro-electric projects in Turkey. We can only pressurise our representatives to take action before this precious environment is lost forever. These companies are heavily involved with the following projects: Borcka & Muratli: Deriner (Artvin): There are many more companies involved in undisclosed contracts...
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