The Ilısu Dam Campaign was a UK-based campaign working to stop the construction of the Ilısu Dam on the river

Tigris The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabia ...

in south east

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The construction plans for the dam would lead to the

flooding A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant concern in agriculture, civi ...

of about 300 square kilometers and would displace up to 78,000 people from the

Hasankeyf Hasankeyf is a town located along the Tigris, in the Hasankeyf District, Batman Province, Turkey. It was declared a natural conservation area by Turkey in 1981. Despite local and international objections, the city and its archaeological sites ...

district of the

Batman province Batman Province (, ; ) is a province in Turkey. It was created in May 1990 with the Law No. 3647 taking some parts from the eastern Province of Siirt and some from the southern Province of Mardin. Its area is 4,477 km2, and its population i ...

Initial plans for the dam

The main purpose of the dam is the production of

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

, but it's also supposed to provide better

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

for local

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. Those who oppose the dam claim that

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and

environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

issues have been disregarded in the planning. The dam would also lead to the drowning of hundreds of

archeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeology ...

sites, including the ancient town of

. The Swedish based

Skanska Skanska AB () is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden. It was established in 1887 as a concrete product manufacturer. History Aktiebolaget Skånska Cementgjuteriet (Scanian Cement Casting Ltd) was established i ...

, withdrew from the project in September 2000. In November 2001 the campaign won an important victory when it achieved that the UK based company

Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active ac ...

decided to withdraw from the Ilısu Dam project due to ethical, environmental and economical concerns. The companies involved in the project had applied for Export Credit Guarantees from their home governments, which meant that taxpayers money would be used to finance the project.

Current plans

The plans for the dam were not scrapped however, and in 2005 the project resurfaced. This time one of the main

contractors A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...

of the dam was

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

-based VA TECH, a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the posit ...

. According to the Turkish government, new resettlement plans were planned and a large

fund Fund may refer to: * Funding is the act of providing resources, usually in form of money, or other values such as effort or time, for a project, a person, a business, or any other private or public institution ** The process of soliciting and gathe ...

was supposed to be set up to rescue some parts of the town of Hasankeyf by moving them elsewhere. According to the opponents of the dam, these new plans do not adequately address their original concerns. Construction of the dam began in 2006 and was completed in 2018.

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

Re-Emergence of Discredited Ilısu Dam Project

Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive

"Life in Limbo" is a 2009 documentary on life in the town of Hasankeyf, which is threatened by the Ilisu Dam project. It is directed by Sakae Ishikawa

"Hasankeyf waiting life" is a 2009 documentary directed by Mauro Colombo
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilisu Dam Campaign Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom Batman Province

Initial plans for the dam

Current plans

See also

External links

References