NGOs seek to bust dam project

The European Commission has said it cannot take action over plans to build a huge dam in south-eastern Turkey which has been criticised as "one of the world’s most controversial infrastructure projects".

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have called on the Commission to ensure that the Ilisu dam project in Anatolia meets EU standards because they fear it will result in human rights violations through the displacement of thousands of people, destroy an ancient cultural site and spark conflicts in the region over water supply.

But the Commission has said that as Turkey is not a member of the EU it is powerless to take action. The Commission’s environment department said it had told Turkey it should abide by EU standards and carry out an environmental impact assessment.

Olli Rehn, the enlargement commissioner, in a reply to MEPs’ questions about the project, said the issue had been raised with Turkey with a particular emphasis on the environmental ­impact.

"Although Turkey is not yet bound by the acquis communautaire, alignment with nature protection directives and the water legislation are priorities of the recently adopted accession partnership with Turkey. The implementation of the accession partnership will be closely monitored by the Commission," he added.

The Ilisu project will go ahead when it wins the expected backing of the Austrian, German and Swiss governments which are currently considering allowing their export credit agencies to insure domestic firms involved in the project against non-payment by the Turkish authorities.

An advisory council to the Austrian government has made a recommendation for the project to go ahead and a formal decision may be made next month.

Rehn, in his reply, also said that while environmental concerns played a part in the policy of these agencies, "the Commission has no grounds to intervene in the work of member states’ export credit agencies".

Groups opposed to the project believe the EU could to do more. The lack of provision for 50,000-78,000 people, mainly ethnic Kurds, who will be affected by the project, in terms of compensation for loss of income and resettlement, means that the project is in breach of World Bank policies on involuntary resettlement, according to a report by the European Export Credit Agencies Reform Campaign.

The report says Hasankeyf, a town whose cultural heritage spans nine civilisations, will be submerged by the dam and that "current ‘salvation’ plans for Hasankeyf merely provide for the removal of selected architectural components to a museum in advance of inundation". A group of archaeologists, lawyers and journalists has brought a case to the European Court of Human Rights in an effort to protect the town.

The project would also reduce summer water flows in Syria and Iraq with the possibility of "water drying up completely", the report adds.

"This has very serious potential for fuelling tensions, and possibly conflict, over control of water resources in the Middle East."

Judith Neyer, author of the report, said the Commission should investigate the project and that the Council of Ministers should insist on Turkey’s implementation of EU environmental laws. "They could do this publicly, report on the project on an annual basis and make a test case out of it," she added.

"What kind of process is it if candidate countries push through nasty ­projects before they join?"

The Commission can "take issues very seriously" when certain problems arise in Turkey but the same emphasis is not given to environmental issues, Neyer added.

Those involved in the project say safeguards will be in place to guard against environmental and human rights violations. "There will be conditions attached so that the project would meet international standards. We want to make sure we do not make any mistakes," said Werner Schmied of Österreichische Kontrollbank, the Austrian export credit agency, awaiting the go-ahead from the government over whether to insure the Austrian firm Andritz AG against non-payment by the Turkish authorities. He said non-governmental organisations were criticising the project based on "out-dated ­information".

"Compared to the old ­Ilisu project things are quite different. There is a better law now on resettlement…which is even more in line with European Union regulations," Schmied added. "We will have mechanisms in place to ensure measures are ­really carried out and there will be active and independent monitoring. We will insist on reports on a regular basis and the freedom to go on site."

But Neyer said independent studies had shown the project would be a disaster. "The project can’t be mitigated, not the way it is planned."

The European Commission has said it cannot take action over plans to build a huge dam in south-eastern Turkey which has been criticised as "one of the world’s most controversial infrastructure projects".

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