IV.

International Disputes

The Euphrates played a vital part in the irrigation projects of ancient Mesopotamia. Today the Euphrates is the source of significant political tension for this reason, as Turkey, Syria, and Iraq all compete for the use of its waters, which are used for the generation of hydroelectric power and for irrigation. Turkey is in the midst of a long-term programme for the development of its rural south-east Anatolia region. This project, known as GAP for its Turkish acronym, will divert a significant amount of Euphrates water for local use. To facilitate this and provide water for the region, Turkey has constructed the Ataturk Dam (1990), the world's fourth-largest and named after the founder of modern Turkey.

This is only one of a series of dams that capitalize on the steep descent of the Euphrates from the Anatolian mountains. The reservoir behind the Ataturk Dam covers an area of 815 sq km (315 sq mi); the filling of the lake required a month-long interruption in the flow of the river to impound the waters. The decrease in the flow of the Euphrates is of serious concern to Syria, which has invested heavily in power generation and irrigation from its Euphrates dam (called al-Thawrah, or Revolution Dam) dedicated in 1973. This dam creates a reservoir of 640 sq km (247 sq mi), called Lake Assad after the Syrian president. Power generation from the hydroelectric facility has been adversely affected by the GAP project.

Iraq, in turn, has protested at the use of Euphrates water associated with Syria's project, and war between the two was only narrowly averted in 1975. Agriculture in Iraq, which is carried out in an area of water deficit, is dependent on the supply of water from the river system. Maximum flow into Iraq, which provides approximately 40 per cent of the annual water supply for the region, occurs in the months of April and May. However, fluctuations in flow, whether from month to month or year to year, make Iraqi agriculture particularly vulnerable to drought or supply shortages. The al-Haditha Dam was constructed to provide some water reserve for Iraq, but its utility has been relatively limited.

Since the 1950s a flood control project on the Tigris river has allowed the diversion of water from that basin through the Tharthar Depression and into the Euphrates, but this, too, has been of limited value in solving water supply problems. Iraq also suffers from high salt content in the water, a result of leaching and chemical applications in upstream areas. All three riparian states, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, will continue their attempts to maximize their use of and access to the Euphrates. The river will thus increasingly be a source of tension and possibly conflict.