FIRST PROJECT STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING HAS TAKEN PLACE

Technical Assistance to Prepare Flood Risk Management Plan for Meriç-Ergene River Basin

The First Project Steering Committee Meeting of "Technical Assistance to Prepare Flood Risk Management Plan for Meriç-Ergene River Basin" co-funded by European Union (IPA-2) and Republic of Türkiye was held on October 3^rd, 2022 in Edirne.

The meeting took place with broad participation of Deputy Governor of Edirne Mr. Ali UYSAL, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Director General for Water Management Ms. Afire SEVER, Delegation of European Union to Türkiye Sector Manager for Environment & Sustainable Development Ms. Elif Ceyda TORCU ÖZDEN, representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, General Directorate of Highways, Directorate of Provincial Agriculture and Forestry,  Directorate General of Forestry,  Turkish Water Institute, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency in Edirne and Tekirdağ, General Directorate of Turkish State Railways,  Trakya Development Agency, 11^th Regional Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, Provincial Health Directorate, General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, Governorship of Kırklareli and provincial municipalities as well as the authorities from contractor firm.

During her opening speech, Ms. Afire SEVER, Director General for Water Management Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, stated that climate change has greatly increased the frequency and severity of floods, which will be more felt in the coming periods.  Ms. Sever stated that the floods are not caused only by climate change, but also that it is necessary to deal with the wrong practices in terms of land planning in river beds. Hence municipalities and the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works have an important role and the coordination and cooperation between the two institutions is of great importance.

Ms. Sever also emphasized the importance of establishing a close coordination between the three countries, considering that approximately 70% of the Meriç River, which is the focus of the Project, originates and flows in Bulgaria, and forms a border with Greece. Within the scope of this project, studies will first be carried out to determine the current situation, followed by risk maps to be created, and as a result of these studies, actions to prevent and manage the flood risks will be determined.

Ms. Sever concluded her remarks by stating that limited water resources are gradually being depleted and that we should set the goal of “Zero Wasting of Water” for its sustainable use.

Speaking on behalf of the consortium leader DAI Global, Project Director Ms. Gönül ERTÜRER talked about the strategic importance of the project.  She stated that it is their top priority to provide technical support at European Union standards for all the project activities including capacity building, data collection and analysis, and modelling, together with the experienced and dynamic team consisting of national and international experts highly qualified in their fields

She stated that the Project led to the combination of DAI's capacity in the field of project management and the strong technical capacity of the consortium partners Su Yapı, Su Model, Su Pek and Çınar Mühendislik, making it possible for successful implementation of the project activities. She thanked the entire project team in the presence of Team Leader Mr. Deniz İTİBAR and end beneficiary of the project, General Directorate of Water Management, for mobilizing their great capacity in terms of flood prevention and management, as in all areas of water management. She concluded her speech by inviting the participants to contribute to the meeting with their opinions.

Following Ms. ERTÜRER's remarks, Ms. Elif Ceyda TORCU ÖZDEN, Environment and Sustainable Development Sector Manager of the Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, stated that the chapter on environment and climate change constitutes one of the largest areas of the European Union acquis, and that since 2005, more than 1.5 Billion Euros of financial support has been provided to Türkiye in the field of environment and climate change from EU funds, and a significant part of this is in the field of water management.

As Ms. ÖZDEN stated, the new economic model called the Green Deal, focuses on environmental and climate change issues, which has gained a stricter content with the net zero emission target. In this direction, the issues of prevention of climate change and adaptation to climate change are significant.   The most important part of adaptation is issues related to water management. Thus, the priority areas that the EU continues to support in Turkey are water management as well as the energy sector and, accordingly, food security.

The main reason for the selection of the project mentioned to the EU financing program is its connection with the EU countries, Bulgaria and Greece. Following the Meric River Basin Management Plan project supported by the EU in previous years, this project will support cooperation with Bulgaria and Greece in the context of managing flood risks.

Following the opening remarks, Mr. M. Deniz İTİBAR the Team Leader for the project mentioned the purpose of the project and made a presentation including the expected outputs and project activities as part of the project.

As stated by Mr. İTİBAR, Preliminary Flood Risk Assesment (PFRA) studies were focused on during the first 6-month period of the project. After determining the data needed, an 8-day field visit was conducted and field and institution visits were made. According to the results of the PFRA, flood hazard maps and flood risk maps will be prepared. Mr.  İTİBAR also gave technical details and gave information about the GIS based studies, digital mapping studies and field visit findings that they have carried out so far. Mr.  İTİBAR completed his presentation by mentioning the studies to be carried out in the following 6-month period.