Filling of Ilisu Dam, crossing Tigris River in Turkey, will negatively affect Iran and bordering countries in the long run, a deputy at the Department of Environment warned.
“The project will turn the neighboring Iraq and Syria into potential sources of dust storm for Iran,” said Masoud Tajrishi, deputy for human environment at DOE.
“While Ilisu reservoir is filling up, much less water will feed the Tigris’ downstream. Therefore, the streams feeding the farmlands will dry up, decreasing their productivity,” he was quoted as saying by DOE’s official news portal.
Although the devastating effects will emerge gradually, they will pose a challenge to a wide area facing a variety of environmental problems.
Once the farmers are forced to relocate and abandon their desiccated lands, the area will send clouds of dust in the air which will be mostly drifted toward Iran, Tajrishi said.
According to an earlier study carried out before the dam was completed, Syria, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia are the main sources of Iran’s dust storm during the first half of the Iranian year, which starts on March 21.
Further desiccation of plains in these countries will worsen the phenomenon in the country.
Although the connection between the dam and dust storm hotspots has not been studied in any scientific research so far, Tajrishi stresses that a simple analysis will confirm that the smaller flow of water to downstream areas will render the plains drier.
Broader Damage
Ilisu will spread its destructive impact even to Arvandroud, which is formed by the confluence of the Euphrates, the Tigris and Karun rivers on the Iran-Iraq border.
To put it more clearly, Tajrishi noted, if water exploitation in upstream areas rises, the incoming water feeding Arvandroud will drastically fall, leading to higher salinity.
“Salty water, sooner or later, will destroy agriculture and palm tree gardens within the Arvandroud catchment area.”
Tajrishi called on environmental officials and the Ministry of Energy to take prompt action to save the most possibly affected lands, including Khorramshahr, Abadan and Arvandkenar within Iranian territory.
“The ecological requirements of downstream areas should be clearly explained to all upstream exploiters,” he said.
Call for Close Watch
Prevention of a crisis resulting from Turkey’s development schemes demands careful studies as well as effective planning and diplomacy.
The DOE is in contact with the ministries of energy and foreign affairs to initiate thorough research on the possible repercussions of the Turkish project on Iran’s national interests.
“Although Iran will not be directly affected, the study is essential because the country will have to face the indirect impacts of the project,” Tajrishi said.
He explained that the sources of Iran’s dust storms have already been identified, but the study aims to track the possible future developments that might affect the country.
The Ilisu is a concrete-face rock fill dam on the Tigris, along the border of Mardin and Sirnak provinces in Turkey. The dam’s purpose is hydroelectric power generation, flood control and water storage.
In the 1950s, Turkey proposed the building of the dam sparking an international outcry as many feared its construction would result in a dramatic reduction of the Tigris’s water level, prompting thousands of residents to resettle, what is now more or less turning into reality.
