TURKEY TRANS-BOUNDARY WATER AND ILISU DAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 003691 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958:N/A TAGS: ENGR SENV EAGR TU IZ SUBJECT: TURKEY TRANS-BOUNDARY WATER AND ILISU DAM REF: ANKARA 3324 ANKARA 00003691 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Turkey's DSI (State Hydraulic Works) provided additional information on the May 24 bilateral meeting in Ankara with Iraq (ref),characterizing it as a productive exchange of information, but disappointing in not covering new ground. Turkey is set on building the Ilisu Dam on the Tigris as completing its GAP (South-east Anatolia) project; DSI said symbolic ground-breaking would be in July. A German (Siemens)-Austrian-Swiss consortium is looking seriously at the project whose financing would depend on approval by the three export credit agencies. Cooperation with neighboring countries on water basin management will be part of the water (environment) EU acquis. End Summary. -------------- More on Historic May 24 Bilat -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Cross-border cooperation on water issues and Turkey's recent announcement of ground-breaking for the Ilisu dam have been the topic of recent meetings with officials from DSI (State Hydraulic Works),the EU Commission office in Turkey, and the Austrian Commercial Office. Referring to the May 24 Turkey-Iraq bilateral meeting in Ankara on water (ref),DSI Deputy Planning Department Head Canse Akkaya, was pessimistic about future water cooperation with Iraq or Syria. She stated that Turkey views the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as "trans-boundary", rather than "shared" resources. Akkaya complained that Iraq and Syria have often lobbied unfairly against Turkey's planned water management projects, such as the Ilisu dam. Although Akkaya stated that continued meetings could be beneficial to both countries, with the current security problems in Iraq, she did not feel that a solution to the trans-national water problems is likely in the near future. ¶3. (SBU) Akkaya also stated that the meetings did not cover new ground, rather they just rehashed the same issues from previous meetings, with no new trans-boundary information exchanged between the two countries. Although the meeting may have been generally beneficial, each country was still independently pursuing its own projects and interests, she asserted. However, she stated that all three countries should try and find a common denominator for cooperation, which calls for transparency about available resources and limitations. Akkaya also questioned Iraq's ability to collect and provide accurate hydrological data given the current security problems there. Planning Department Head Yalcin Dikmen echoed similar views and went into further detail about problems in Iraq. He described several water management problems which had been brought up during the meeting, including the problem of revitalizing the marshlands, and various irrigation issues. ¶4. (SBU) Akkaya claimed that Turkey's topography is more suitable for dam building than the topography of either of the other two riparian countries. She stressed that stable hydrological and meteorological data was still needed from Iraq. Akkaya felt Iraq had still not given sufficient information in response to Turkish requests. This was in violation of the idea of reciprocity of information sharing, with the view that Iraq was asking for more information than it is providing. Dikmen articulated Turkey's standard position that Turkey is eager and willing to see these meetings continue and to continue to exchange information. -------------- EU Expects Trans-Boundary Water Planning -------------- ¶5. (SBU) In a separate meeting, Gurdogar Sarigul, Manager of the Environmental and Sustainable Development sector at the EU Commission Office in Ankara, brought up the lack of cooperation on water between Turkey and its downstream neighbors. Sarigul stressed that Turkey would have to start thinking about these issues if it wants to proceed in membership negations, noting that EU acquis requires members to coordinate water basin plans with neighbors. Sarigul admitted that the requirement was less strict for non-EU neighbors but said that such practices would ultimately be necessary. The EC rep observed that Turkey and its downstream neighbors were not showing sufficient concern for the environmental impacts of their water management projects. He brought up the problems with pollution from Bulgaria and Greece affecting the downstream flows of the Evroz river in Turkey and said the sentiments of these countries is similar to Turkey's attitude regarding its downstream neighbors of Iraq and Syria. -------------- Full Speed Ahead on Ilisu Dam -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Similarly to an earlier meeting with the Turkish MFA, DSI articulated Turkey's commitment to moving forward on the Ilisu Dam ANKARA 00003691 002.2 OF 002 on the Tigris to completed the GAP (South-east Anatolia) project. Akkaya said the groundbreaking ceremony for Ilisu would be postponed to July, instead of the June date with the Prime Minister reported in the press. She said the project will be financed by Austrian firm VA Tech with some financing coming from Turkish sources. Akkaya also asserted that the Center for Research and Assessment of Historic Environment (TACDAM) at Middle East Technical University (METU) has prepared a full report detailing protection of the archaelogical aspects of Hasankeyf for DSI. ¶7. (SBU) Sarigul also confirmed that VA Tech was still planning on financing the Ilisu dam project. He mentioned that an initial EIAR (Enviromental Impact Assessment Report) was being reassessed by VA Tech, under pressure from the EU for Austrian compliance on environmental matters. Sarigul noted that VA Tech would be technically responsible for following EU directives, also depending on source of funds. Institutions such as World Bank, EBRD, and ADF have all agreed that any projects financed by them must comply with EU environmental requirements, but the World Bank is generally not willing to fund large dam projects. The current EIAR for the Ilisu project is still not up to EU environmental standards, according to NGO's. For example, a Birdlife International local rep shared his organization's criticism of treatment of endangered waterfowl. ¶8. (SBU) Austrian commercial counselor, Richard Bandera, also confirmed Turkey's readiness and determination to move forward with the Ilisu dam project. He said that the German (Siemens)-Austrian-Swiss consortium was seeking necessary financial backing from the three export credit agencies. Bandera noted that the consortium and export credit financing would only move forward if international environment, archeological, and human rights standards were assured. He noted that the current project would assure water treatment and protection to archeological sites. Bandera noted that, given Turkey's determination to move forward, if the European consortium was not successful, Turkey would likely pursue less responsible avenues such as Russian or Chinese support. Bandera stated that DSI had given a briefing about the Ilisu dam project to Syria and Iraq some months earlier and he was expecting feed-back shortly. Bandera asserted that Turkey could present a good news story about Ilisu to its downstream neighbors based on cleaner and more regular water flow. He admitted that Turkey still had some work to do to assure adequate mechanism for paying compensation under the Resettlement Plan before the export credit agencies would sign on to the project. Wilson