Wild Dreams… Empty Hopes: Water Transfers Between Basins

WWF Turkey, Wild Dreams… Empty Hopes: Water Transfers Between Basins has published an opinion statement. WWF-Turkey, in its publication focusing on water transfer projects between basins, aims to create a discussion ground for the subject and to guide decision makers.

Although water transfers between basins are seen as a solution to meet the increasing water demand, they cause very important economic, social and environmental problems. Defending that the water problem of each basin should be solved within itself, WWF-Turkey states that a holistic approach covering the basin should be adopted for this.

The opinion statement prepared by WWF-Turkey on the occasion of the opening of the Blue Tunnel on 23 December 2011, which is defined as the "100-year dream" in Turkey, examines the reality of water transfer between basins, its pros and cons, and examines it with objective criteria. The opinion statement, which was prepared by making use of the WWF International's " Pipedreams? Interbasin Water Transfers and Water Shortages" report, is based on the lessons learned from water transfer projects between basins in the world and in Turkey. Study concludes that water transfers can be a solution to supplying water to water-scarce areas, but with significant social and environmental costs.

The statement states that inter-basin water transfers cause many physical and biological changes as they break the connection between river systems.