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The failure of transboundary water management in the Maritsa river basin

  4 May 2015 POSTED ON MAY 4, 2015 IN TRANSBOUNDARYWATER SECURITY Dursun Yildiz, Hydropolitics Academy, Ankara, Turkey   To achieve flood protection in the Maritsa River Basin, Greece and Turkey have been forced to take preventative measures. However, these actions have been taken unilaterally making the Maritsa River Basin an example of poor international and transboundary water management. As a transboundary river, water development and management issues in the basin require regional collaboration between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey. The Maritsa River Basin The Maritsa/Meriç River is the largest river in the Balkan Peninsula. It originates in Bulgaria, and flows eastwards before turning south to mark the border between Turkey and Greece. Intensive agriculture is widespread within the Maritsa basin. The basin is also highly industrialised and densely populated with the largest cities including Plovdiv, in Bulgaria, and Edirne, in neighbouring Turkey. Close to Edirne, the Maritsa’s two largest tributaries, the Tundzha and Arda, join the main flow of the Maritsa. Throughout the Maritsa and Tundzha catchments a significant number of reservoirs and weirs have been constructed for irrigation purposes and hydroelectricity production.1 Extreme precipitation, snowmelt and water released from Bulgarian dams are the most frequent causes of flooding in the downstream city of Edirne. The flow rate and frequency of the floods in the basin have increased in the last 10 years (see Figure 1)2. The most recent flood pulse measured at Edirne on February 3rd 2015 was 2200 m3/s, causing significant social and economic damage. No serious progress The current situation has provoked Turkey to autonomously initiate projects requiring high investment and operating costs to mitigate flood hazards within its own borders. However, more transboundary water management in the Maritsa River Basin could have a prominent role to play in avoiding increasing floods in Greece and Turkey. Turkey has tried to convince Bulgaria and Greece to take common measures in the Maritsa Basin, particularly in the upper basin to tackle the increasing flow rates and flood frequencies observed in the last 10 years. However, apart from minor instances, there has been no serious progress in practice, despite continuing flood damage in Turkey. So far, the three countries have only been able to establish a ‘flood early warning system’ in the basin through a recent EU project.2 This system has allowed the reduction of casualties but has not prevented very serious economic losses and social problems resulting from large floods. It is under these circumstances that Turkey has decided to take its own measures. The need for flood control When planning water resources in a basin, flood routing reservoirs are often planned so as to retain the flood pulse in the upper basin area and prevent flooding further downstream. Hazards from flows brought about by extreme rainfall, unable to be held in dams, are prevented through river dikes. In order for flood risk management to be successful this traditional approach requires measures to be taken both upstream and downstream. In the Maritsa basin, flood retention dams in the upper basin have been shown to be more effective at achieving flood protection than actions in the lower parts of the basin3. This is particularly evident in areas close to the river mouth where flood protection measures are more costly due to the flat topography. The Turkish and Greek reaches of the river basin are located almost at sea level, therefore they are not suitable for efficient engineering measures for flood protection. This implies that most flood protection measures should be taken in Bulgaria, because flood risk prevention measures can only be taken in upstream areas. Downstream hazards resulting from extraordinary circumstances could be reduced by secondary measures like building dikes and dredging accumulated sediment from the riverbed. What happens if the basin countries don’t collaborate? The lack of cooperation between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey in the Maritsa basin provides a number of lessons for transboundary water management:
  1. Management measures focused on mitigating the harmful effects of incoming floods instead of developing ways of preventing them upstream are not compatible with rational water resources planning and engineering.
  2. Upstream countries can have significant responsibilities towards downstream riparian countries in transboundary river systems where flooding is an issue.
  3. Increasing the number of mitigation measures taken in downstream riparian countries may not be a sustainable, long-term response to increasing flood events.
  4. International water management is difficult to implement, even among countries located in one of the world’s most developed regions.
Conclusions Floods in the Maritsa River over the last 10 years have caused significant damages. It is unfortunate that the three riparian countries (two of which are currently members of the EU) have not taken any measure to protect the floods collaboratively. Despite the significant damage caused by flooding in February 2005 and March 20063, flood protection cooperation between the riparian states remains difficult. This state of affairs is detrimental to Turkey and Greece who, being located in the downstream part of the Maritsa basin, suffer the most damage from floods. Consequently, they have been forced to take their own measures for protection. However, given that these countries are located in the floodplain, they are unable to implement the flood control measures that would save them expensive investments in flood protection and mitigation. Flood control measures in the lower basin will not only be insufficient, but will also be marked as a failure for river basin management planning and the international water management paradigm, despite the EU directives. Therefore, an exemplary solution is needed in this transboundary river basin. Scientific research has revealed that floods might have been prevented with proper implementation and operation of Bulgarian dams. The same research also indicates that improper operation of the dams resulted in artificial floods or overflows. The estimated damage caused by the floods in 2006 was about € 100 million, both for Turkey and Greece, with a total economic loss calculated at € 200 million for the region3. Flood protection measures in Turkey have become an urgent matter. Turkey should make a stronger case at the European level and ask the EU to fulfil its responsibilities in the basin. Meanwhile, it should also be making plans for low-cost flood protection infrastructure in its own territory. It is essential for Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey to cooperate in the planning of flood prevention and protection measures, with dredging in the Maritsa River the primary objective. In summary, even as flood protection structures are planned in Turkey, intense efforts should be made to invite the EU to promote more efficient and sustainable measures for flood prevention. The Maritsa Basin urgently needs international water management in many respects with joint water planning facilitated amongst the three riparian countries being a top priority. References:
  1. Hydrology of Maritsa and Tundzha 2009 Technical Assistance for Flood Forecasting and Early Warning System under PHARE project “Capacity Improvement for Flood Forecasting in the BGTR CBC Region”. http://maritsa.meteo.bg/apache2default/maritsa/static/about.php?infoto=hydro
  2. Angelidis P., Kotsikas M. and Kotsovinos N. 2010 “Management of Upstream Dams and Flood Protection of the Transboundary River Evros/Maritza”, Water Resources Management Volume 24, Issue 11, pp 2467-2484
  3. Sezen N., 2007 “River Basin Flood Management: Meriç River Floods and Turkish – Bulgarian Cooperations”, International Congress on River Basin Management. State Hydraulic Works DSİ, Turkey.
Dursun Yıldız is a hydropolitics expert and Director of the Hydropolitics Academy. He is a civil engineer and former Deputy Director of the State Hydraulic Works in Turkey. He completed a hydroinformatics post graduate course at the IHE in Delft and has a master’s degree in hydropolitics at the Hacettepe University-Turkey. He currently works as head of his own Hydro Energy & Strategy consulting company located in Ankara. Dursun can be contacted at: dursun.yildiz@gmail.com   Source : Global Water Forum.http://www.globalwaterforum.org/2015/05/04/the-failure-of-transboundary-water-management-in-the-maritsa-river-basin/
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