Syria Today | Syria, Iraq and Turkey discuss water

Syria, Iraq and Turkey discuss water

Syria could receive more water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers after Turkey announced on September 3 that it will try to increase the water supply that reaches Syria and Iraq.

Turkey’s pledge to increase the water flow into Syria and Iraq came only hours after a meeting in Ankara between the three countries in which the Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said there would be no increase in water supplies.

Turkey is the source of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which provide water to Syria and Iraq, and controls the flow using a network of dams. Syria and Iraq are both suffering from drought and have been calling on Turkey to release extra supplies to the areas which are seeing ongoing crop failure and the ruin of herders’ and farmers’ livelihoods. Currently, Turkey has a legal obligation to release 500 cubic metres per second of water.

“Syria and Iraq are badly in need of water, this is why this meeting is so important,” Syrian Irrigation Minister Nader al-Bunni told Turkey’s official news service Anatolian Agency. “Our dams are empty and we have human needs.”

Iraq had requested that 500 cubic metres per second of water reach the Syrian-Iraqi border, requiring action from both Turkey and Syria. Bunni said that Syria was already letting more water flow into Iraq than required by its agreements with the country, although the figure was not disclosed.

Yildiz initially refused the requests at the meeting in the Turkish capital, pointing out that Turkey too is suffering from drought and that central and eastern areas of the country had only received 350 cubic metres per second of water this year.

However, in an announcement made just hours after the meeting, Turkey’s Environment Minister Veysel Eroglu said his country would try to release as much extra water as possible. He did not quantify the amount, but added “our own capabilities are limited”.

During the meeting it was also agreed to establish joint stations to measure water volume, monitor and exchange information about climate and drought, and create joint water education programmes. The next meeting will be held in Baghdad in January.