Geography

Turkey occupies a total area of about 783560 Sq.Km. of which approximately 10400 Sq.Km. are inland lakes. It forms the bridge between Europe and Asia, with about 3% of its land in Europe (Thrace) and the rest in Asia (Anatolia). Turkey is located between 26° - 45°E longitudes and 36° - 42°N latitudes. Turkey has an area of 78 Mha, of which about 1.1 million is inland lakes and forms an elongated rectangle roughly. The east-west direction is 1,650 Km and the north to south is 1,000 Km. Turkey’s average altitude (1,132 m) is higher than that (1,050 m) of Asia and three and a half times higher than that (330 m) of Europe. The total coastline is over 10 000 Km, compared to a total land border with other countries of about 2 950 Km in length.

Population and land use

The population of Turkey is 83 Million (Population Reference Bureau, 2020) with an average annual population growth rate of 1.4% whereas it was almost 2% per year in the previous decade. The rural population declined from 41% in 1990 to 33% in 2005 and to around 23% in 2019.

Climate and rainfall

Turkey has four seasons, but the climate varies widely across the country. Turkey experiences both maritime and continental weather patterns which, combined with its highly varied topography, causes extreme geoclimatic diversity. The Black Sea region in the north receives rain throughout the year and has both mild summers and mild winters. The southern and western coastal Mediterranean region is regarded as subtropical, characterized by hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The average annual temperature is 18-20°C in the south coast, falling to 14-15°C on the west coast, and fluctuates between 4 and 19°C in the interior regions, depending on the distance from the sea and the altitude. The average annual rainfall in Turkey is about 643 mm, with significant spatial and temporal fluctuations. Rainfall is scarce during the growing season in normal years in most parts of Turkey. Overall, the western and southern coastal regions receive 800-1000 mm of rainfall per year. The northern coastal zone (the Black Sea region) receives the highest annual rainfall (1260–2500 mm). Snow can be seen almost everywhere in Turkey, but the number of snowy days and the period covered by snow differ from region to region.

Food and agriculture

Home to the headwaters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Turkey’s agricultural sector today is echoing the prosperity of ancient Mesopotamia. Turkey has richer endowment of agricultural resources in terms of cultivable land and availability of water than any Middle Eastern country. This abundance of climatic conditions makes Turkey one of the few nations in which such a variety of good quality crop and foodstuffs can be produced. Turkey is the largest exporter of agricultural products in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Turkey has a robust agriculture and food industry that employed almost 20% of the country’s working population and that accounted for 5.8% of the country’s GDP in 2018. The sector’s financial contribution to the overall GDP was USD 42.5 billion in 2018. In addition to these, agriculture sector causes 11% of total export of Turkey. The strengths of the industry include the size of the market in relation to the country’s young population, a dynamic private sector economy, substantial tourism income, and a favorable climate. Turkey is ranked 1^st in Europe’s agricultural economy in 2018. Besides, Turkey is the world’s 7^th largest agricultural producer overall and is the world leader in the production of dried figs, hazelnuts, sultanas/raisins, and dried apricots, which are mostly exported to USA, EU, MENA Region and Russia. Globally, Turkey exported about 1,800 kinds of agricultural products to more than 190 countries in 2018, accounting for an export volume of USD 17.7 billion. The cultivated area of 26.6 Mha covers one-third of the total area of the country, of which about 10% is occupied by permanent crops, mainly vineyards, fruit trees and olives. Turkey has significant investment opportunities in agribusiness subsectors such as fruit and vegetable processing, animal feed, livestock, poultry, dairy, functional food, fisheries, and enablers (in particular cold chain distribution, greenhouses, irrigation, and fertilizer). Turkey is looking to position itself as the preferred option for being the regional headquarters and supply center of top global players in the agricultural sector. To encourage investment in the sector, Turkey offers a set of incentives for potential agribusiness investors.

Water resources management

Annual mean precipitation in Turkey is 643 mm, which corresponds to 501 Bm³ (billion m³) of annual water volume in the country. A volume of 274 Bm³ water evaporates from water bodies and soils to atmosphere. 69 Bm³ of water leaks into groundwater, whereas 28 Bm³ is retrieved by springs from groundwater contributing to surface water. Also, there are 7 billion m³ volume of water coming from neighboring countries. Thus, total annual surface runoff amounts to a volume of (158+28+7) 193 Bm³ of water. Including 41(69-28) Bm³ net discharging into groundwater (covering safe yield extraction, unregistered extraction, emptying into the seas, and transboundary), the gross (surface and groundwater) renewable water potential of Turkey is estimated as 234 (193+41) Bm³. However, under current technical and economic constraints, annual exploitable potential has been calculated as 112 Bm³ of net water volume, as 95 Bm³ from surface water resources, as 3Bm³ from neighboring countries, as 14Bm³ from groundwater safe yield. Countries are classified according to their water wealth.

Irrigation and drainage

It is absolutely necessary to have storage facilities, to ensure agricultural irrigation to meet domestic and industrial supply, and to generate hydroelectric energy. Approximately 62% of total area is irrigated by traditional surface irrigation methods (furrow, border, etc.). The remaining part (38%) is irrigated with modern pressurized irrigation methods (sprinkler 21% and drip 17%). About 1,430,000 ha area is equipped with sprinkler irrigation system of hand-carried pipes which is widely used among farmers. About 1,130,000 ha area has been irrigated by drip irrigation. In DS' irrigation projects, mainly fruit trees are grown by using sprinkler irrigation and mainly vegetables are grown by using drip irrigation. Sloping land necessitates a lot of water structures and water distribution problems are faced during the operation. Therefore, low pressure pipe networks became necessary. Area under irrigation is about 6.65 Mha in Turkey.

Water policies

Transfer of operation, maintenance, and management responsibilities of irrigation systems from DS' to Water User Organizations (WUOs) has gained momentum since 1993. While small and isolated projects were being transferred before 1993, transfer activities began to include large-scale irrigation systems after 1993. As of 2015, management of 97% of area equipped irrigation facilities by DSI has been transferred to WUOs assuming the responsibility for operation rights of the irrigation facilities, but they are not granted ownership rights. In order to utilize maximum from water resources, DSI has shifted its policy in 2003 from classical open channel distribution network to more water saving modern systems. Especially in inland areas, where the water sources are scarcer, this becomes a major issue, pipeline distribution network has been utilized extensively. As of 2019, Canal type ratio as per irrigated area are: 34% classic canal (lined open canal), 38% prefabricated irrigation networks -concrete raised parabolic flume), 28% pipeline irrigation networks. The proportion of pipeline distribution has soared to 94% in projects under the construction while it is 28% in the projects under operation.

Turkey is not a country rich in freshwater resources. More importantly, Turkey’s water is not always in the right place at the right time to meet present and anticipated needs. Certain regions of Turkey such as the Black Sea region have ample but unusable freshwater, while some of the more heavily populated and industrialized regions such as the Marmara and the Aegean regions lack sufficient fresh water. Increasing agricultural production by irrigation is one of the most important means for combating poverty and hunger in developing countries. In arid and semi arid regions where precipitation is generally limited to four or five months a year, water resources development projects are indispensable for sustainable socio-economic development. In recent decades Turkey has made great strides in water resources development for domestic use, irrigation, and flood control and power generation. The dams and reservoirs built have enabled Turkey to save water from its brief seasons of rainfall to use throughout the year for various purposes, agriculture in particular. Rain-fed agriculture in Turkey is being realized almost to the maximum level. As a result, increasing agricultural productivity has become primarily dependent upon irrigation by using modern techniques.

ICID and National Committee

Turkey joined ICID in 1954 and established the Turkish National Committee of ICID (TUCID) and has played an active role in the activities of the Commission. The 21^st IEC Meeting was held in September 1970 at Ankara and the First World Water Forum (WIF1) took place in September 2013 at Mardin in Turkey.