Fundamental Shifts in Turkey's water policy

Abstract

Since the middle of the last century, Turkey's water policy has undergone continuous reforms, with significant changes being made especially in the past three decades. Three mutually reinforcing trends can be identified since the early 1980s: decentralization, privatization and Europeanization. On the whole, Turkey's water policy has been transformed from being an entirely centralized public policy to one with decentralized elements, with strong private sector participation and a still rather weak integration of environmental issues into its water policies and management.