Volunteer Representatives from 81 Cities reported, TEMA has mapped: At least 59 water resources are under serious threat

TEMA Foundation has published “The Map of Threats to Water Resources in Turkey” that has been prepared with the contributions of its volunteer representatives, on World Water Day (22 March 2016). The research was conducted through the last three months and has followed a bottom up participatory method. The issues and problems with water resources in Turkey were identified with the help of an online form, ensuring a systematic information flow from the volunteer representatives in 81 cities. Up until now 59 threats to water resources in 33 cities have been identified through a participatory methods.

 

Access to water, the quality and quantity of our water are under threat in Turkey

Threats to water resources were examined under following three categories: threats to quality of water, threats to quantity of water and threats to access to water. In some water resources, more than one threat was identified. According to TEMA Foundation’s current map, 35 threats to the quality of water resources were recorded, including river and lake pollution and decline in biodiversity along with 29 threats to water resource quantity including rivers and lakes drying up and groundwater depletion. In addition to the problems of accessing water resources caused by dams and HPP, 4 cases regarding the access to safe drinking water were identified.

The map will be constantly updated

The cases documented through this report represent only a portion of the drying out and pollution treats to water resources in Turkey; TEMA Foundation will continue updating and expanding the map with the contributions of its representatives and volunteers. It is aimed that with the identification of the problems, a real solution can be found together with the state authorities and civil society.

The online map in Turkish can be accessed from Link and the 82 page assessment report from Link