1. TURKEY
ANATOLIA WATERSHED
REHABILITATION
PROJECT
Sedat Kadioglu
Ministry of Environment
Abdulmecit Yesil
Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Affairs

2. • PROJECT TITLE :
Anatolia Watershed
Rehabilitation Project
• PROJECT BENEFICIARIES
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• PROJECT DURATION : 7
Years
• ( starting in 2003)

3. • THE PROJECT BUDGET
The total cost of the project is
around 50.000.000 US Dollars.
6.000.000 US Dollars of this
amount is provided by the GEF
and the major portion is provided
by the World Bank. The fund to be
used for the rehabilitation works is
a loan and the fund to be used for
the pollution reduction works is a
donation.

4. PROJECT AREA
• The project will be carried out at
totally 5 basins and 13 provinces.
( Seyhan, Ceyhan, Göksu, Kızılırmak,
and Yeşilırmak). Only rehabilitation
works will be performed at Seyhan,
Ceyhan and Göksu Basins while both
rehabilitation and the GEF related
pollution decrease works will be
performed at Kızılırmak and Yeşilırmak
Basins.
4 provinces have been selected for the
GEF. The provinces of Amasya , Çorum
and Tokat are at Yeşilırmak Basin and
Samsun is at Kızılırmak Basin.

5. River basins in Turkey

6. Rehabilitation works are being
executed by the Ministry of Forestry,
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Affairs (TUGEM) and General
Directorate Of Rural Services.
Financing of the works regarding this
step of the project will be covered by
the World Bank loan.
Reduction works of the pollution
arising from agriculture in the Black
Sea will be performed by the donation
to be granted by the GEF.

7. JUSTIFICATION OF THE
PROJECT
The total area of the 13 provinces is
about 19 million ha (24% of the
country total). It is estimated that in
these provinces, 70 MCs will cover an
area of about 650,000 ha out of which
250,000 ha will be the physical
implementation area. Erosion (both
sheet and gully) in forest, range and
agricultural land, land degradation
and soil and water pollution are
important problems in the project
area

8. A baseline survey conducted in early
2002 in these watersheds indicated that
34% of the livestock producers leave the
wastes on open fields as manure, 22%
dump the wastes into the streams, and
11% leave it outside of the house. In
77% of the households, the distance
between the dwellings and the dump
area varies between 2-100 meters. Some
34% of the households have their water
resources located at a distance of 0-10
meters to livestock shelter.

9. The majority of the large livestock
owners are not using the wastes as
manure, but they are giving it free, in
case of demand. Therefore, these wastes
are mostly dumped in open areas,
streams, and fields without any
treatment.
About half of the respondents have
feverish diseases which is followed by
goiter and diarrhea. On the other hand,
waste water from agro-processing
plants, i.e. sugar factory, paper mills, are
discharged into streams without any
treatment. Some factories have some
primitive treatment facilities but either
these are not operated, or if operated are
not efficiently done so.

10. Additionally, Agricultural pollution is a
serious problem. Concentrated poultry
production in Çorum and beef fattening
and dairy production in Amasya, Tokat
and Bafra together with over-use of
inorganic fertilizers are polluting the
surface and ground waters, causing
disease problems, unbearable odor, and
visual pollution. Wells in the residential
areas are susceptible to seepages
threatening the public health. Untreated
waste water from agro-processing plants
is discharged into the streams, ultimately
entering the Black Sea. Proper fertilizer
use is another issue. Some efforts have
been made to introduce soil analysis for
better fertilizer application, but the
impact is limited.

11. The Black Sea Transboundary
Diagnostic Analysis identified
nutrient pollution as the most serious
problem that has lead to the
ecological breakdown experienced in
the Black Sea over the past few
decades. The GEF Strategic
Partnership was established in 2001
in order to encourage public and
private sector investments in nutrient
reduction, notably industrial and
urban wastewater treatment,
agricultural nutrient pollution
control and wetland restoration in the
Black Sea and Danube Basin.

12. PROJECT OBJECTIVE
• The overall objective of the
project is to reduce the
discharges of nutrients (nitrogen
and phosphorus), and other
agricultural pollution into the
Yeşilırmak and Kızılırmak
Rivers. The project will be
implemented in the micro
catchments that are in the
provinces of Amasya , Çorum,
Tokat and Samsun

13. PROJECT GLOBAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
OBJECTIVES
• The project will fully integrate
environmental concerns into agricultural
practices to make them more sustainable,
including the storage, management and
application of manure and ensure
ecologically sustainable use of natural
resources to reduce the discharge of the
nutrient load into the Turkish ground and
surface waters as well as into the Black Sea.
• The project will also promote appropriate
policies and policy reforms in order to
create an enabling environment for
realizing the project objectives. It will
develop capacity of private small holders
and commercial farmers to use
environment- friendly agricultural
practices and resource management.

14. NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT
In order to meet food production for
increasing population requirements,
increasing agricultural export, and to
meet raw materials requirements for
industry, agricultural production should
be increased. But while aiming to
increase agricultural production,
natural sources such as soil and water
which are main inputs of agriculture,
should be protected.

15. Because of the different altitudes of our
country, there are different climatic
conditions. As the great mountain ranges
are placed on the Black Sea and
Mediterranean coasts, most of the rest of
the country has a semi-dry climate with
low precipitation. In almost all of the
country there is drought and need to the
water in summer times. Topography and
climate specifications caused the use of
different nutrients as fertilizers. One of
the most important inputs for increasing
agricultural production is nutrients as
chemical and organic fertilizers.

16. In order to benefit from utilization of
fertilizers at the utmost level, they have to
be applied at the most suitable times and
appropriately to the land. For this
purpose, soil analysis will show us which
nutrients have to be applied to the land
for productivity.
The objective of the GEF Project, that is
still at the preparation stage and will
begin in the year 2003, is the reduction
of nutrients into Black Sea. In the
determined micro-catchments and
selected provinces, vegetal and livestock
activities are very intensive.

17. • Solid and liquid wastes coming from
beef, dairy and poultry production
enterprises are polluting the ground
and surface waters, and these
circumstances are threatening human
and environmental health and also
causing pollution in the Black Sea.
• This project’s objective is also the
reduction of pollution by using
chemical fertilizers based on soil
testing

18. Vegetable production will be
naturalized by using manures for
vegetable production and demand for
chemical fertilizers will be reduced.
Within that scope, measures will be
taken for the liquid and solid waste
contaminants to the surface and ground
waters in the determined micro-catchments
and they will be collected.
Manures will be used in vegetable
production lands and range lands as
organic fertilizers.

19. With that purpose, establishing a system
for creating supply – demand balance
between vegetable producers and
livestock producers, causing farmers to
try to use fertilizers consciously based on
good agricultural practices and soil
analysis by leading farmers, training of
farmers by local agricultural agencies,
awareness of the local population, and
monitoring of the surface and ground
waters for observing the results of these
activities, and replication of these
activities at national at regional levels
is the objective.

20. • Nutrient reduction:
The Project will reduce, over the long-term,
the discharge of nutrients
(nitrogen and phosphorus) and other
agricultural pollutants into the surface
and ground waters of Turkey and the
Black Sea through integrated land and
water management and promote
ecologically sustainable use of natural
resources.

21. This component is being
prepared under the umbrella of
the Black Sea/Danube Strategic
Partnership-Nutrient Reduction
Investment Fund under which
riparian countries would be
eligible for Global Environment
Facility (GEF) funding for
projects that would control or
mitigate nutrient inflow to the
Black Sea. The Project activities
are directly linked to "Strategic
Action Plan for the Protection
and Rehabilitation of the Black
Sea" (BSSAP), formulated with
the assistance of the GEF.

22. • Within the framework of the
project, the following steps will
be taken :
a) strengthening national policy
and local regulatory capacity to
meet European Union (EU)
standards for agricultural
nutrient pollution control,
b) increasing the use of
environmentally friendly
agricultural practices and
thereby reducing nutrient
discharge particularly from
agricultural sources to the Black
Sea,
c) capacity building and promoting a
broad public awareness program
and replication strategy.

23. Global Operational Strategy/Program
objective addressed by the Project
:
The Project will implement priority
actions identified in the Black Sea
Strategic Action Plan. The Project will
provide an opportunity for the GEF to
be a catalyst for the actions to bring
about the successful integration of
improved land and water resource
management practices. The GEF
support will reduce costs and barriers to
farmers, adopting improved and
sustainable agricultural practices. It will
help develop mechanisms to move from
demonstration level activities to
operational projects that reduce non-point
source agricultural pollution to Black Sea.

24. THE MAIN COMPONENTS OF THE
PROJECT :
1) Manure management system and
pollution from Agro-Industry
2 ) Water and Soil Quality Monitoring
Program
3) National Level Strenthening Policy
&Regulatory Capacity Building
4) Public Awareness

25. Manure Management
• The project will initially fund pilot
actions to test the options for
improving the storage and handling
of livestock waste. Following a
review of the different livestock
husbandry practices in the project
provinces, three types of enterprises
were selected for the pilot activities:
i) commercial beef and dairy farms
in peri-urban areas that are
frequently discharging solid and
liquid wastes directly into the water
body; ii) small livestock farms in
the MC areas; and iii) poultry units
(each with about 45,000 birds) in the
Corum area where there is a high
concentration of poultry production.

26. • In the case of the peri-urban cattle
farmers and the small livestock farms
in the MCs, the project will provide
funds for construction of on-farm and
central storage as well as equipment
for waste collection and application to
agricultural land. The arrangements
for the organization and management
of the investment and implementation
phases, as well as the participation of
the local administrations and
beneficiaries, still have to be worked
out in the course of further project
preparation. With regard to the
poultry units, primarily technical
assistance will be provided for
enforcing compliance with existing
legislation and to develop a more
efficient system for handling the
collection and utilization of poultry
manure.

27. • MARA’s and MOE’s staff, visited
the sites selected for manure
management pilot activities at: (a)
Turhal - beef feed-lots on the Dazya
Stream that drains into the
Yesilirmak, Tokat Province; (b)
Suluova - beef feed lots on the
Tersakan Stream, draining into the
Yesilirmak, Amasya Province; and
(c) Bafra - small farmer milk and
beef production in Ilyasu MC on the
Ilyasu Stream draining into the
Kizilirmak, Samsun Province (d)
Chicken units lots on the Derinçay
Stream draining into the Yeşilırmak ,
Çorum Province.

28. While the Turhal and Bafra sites
were found to justify further
investigation, the Suluova area was
subject to serious pollution from
household wastes, as well as from
agro-industry and it would be
difficult to measure the impact of
project actions on nutrient discharge.
Therefore Suluova was excluded
from the project. Instead of Suluova,
a new area will be determined.

29. Three pilot manure management facilities
will be implemented in the first eighteen
months of the project. At the same time
the public awareness activities will be
launched to sensitize the rural population
to need to improve the handling of
livestock waste. Following the evaluation
of the impact of the pilot facilities against
environmental, economic and social
criteria, the project actions will be
extended to other sites in the project years
3 - 6. The Regional Environmental
Assessment will be done for the liquid and
solid manure storage structures.

30. Use of the field demonstration program
will be realized in order to show the
importance of organic manures and to
improve good relations between the
livestock producers who are without
land for cultivation, and the arable
farmers, horticulturists, orchard owners
and rangeland users who are the
potential market for organic manure

31. Fertilizer Use in the Project
Provinces
Although some efforts have been made
to introduce soil analysis for better
fertilizer application, the impact is
limited. The “annual provincial
extension programs” include nutrient
management but due to problems
regarding resource allocation, the
effectiveness of these efforts are
questionable. Therefore, inorganic
fertilizer application is another source
of non-point pollution in Kizilirmak and
Yesilirmak watersheds. A baseline
survey conducted in early 2002 in these
watersheds indicated that only 15% of
the farmers follows the advice given by
the extension staff, traditional practices
and “learning from the neighbor” is still
dominant.

32. Around 17 % of the farmers who
produce cash crops and own medium
sized land made their soils analyzed.
There is no such practice among small
farmers producing cereals. The data
indicated that about 33% of the farmers
who had their soils analyzed were
applying high amounts and in turn
reduced the fertilizer rates. Introduction
of improved storage and application of
livestock wastes together with nutrient
management programs should have a
significant impact on reducing nutrient
discharge into the water body.

33. Soil and water quality monitoring:
The project will provide for the
incremental equipment, staff
training and operating costs for
monitoring the impact of
environment-friendly practices on
the discharge of nutrients (N & P)
into the water body. Measurements
of BOD and suspended solids will
also be made. MARA will be
responsible for monitoring at the
level of the MC, while MOE will be
responsible for monitoring water
quality upstream and downstream in
the main river. The central MOE
laboratory in Ankara will be used to
calibrate samples taken by MARA.

34. In the micro catchments soil and water
quality monitoring points have been
selected, sampling procedures have
been prepared, organizational
arrangements with responsibilities of
MOE and MARA have been agreed
upon and investment and operational
costs have been prepared.

35. National Level Strenthening of Policy
&Regulatory Capacity:
• Ministry of Environment (MOE) and
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Services (MARA) prepared their
initial review of the status of
environmental legislation covering,
the Nitrate Directive legislation and
certification standards for organic
farming. The GEF funding could
support work on application of the
Nitrates Directive, the development
of a Code of Good Agricultural
Practices and measures required to
promote the development of Organic
Farming. With regard to Integrated
Pest Management, this would be
covered by the World Bank funding.

36. Within the framework of the project,
the Turkish Nitrate Directive which is
the equivalent of the EU Nitrate
Directive (91/676/EEC) will be
constituted. The Nitrates Directive
adoption studies have been carried out
by MOE and MARA. It is aimed that
these studies will be completed by the
end of 2002.

37. Public Awareness and Replication
Strategy
The program related to Public
Awareness has been prepared by
the authorities of MOE , MARA
and the World Bank. Public
awareness, capacity building and
replication strategy activities will
be conducted in all provinces
covered by the project. Public
awareness program will be applied
at the local, national and
international levels.

38. At the local level (Amasya,
Çorum,Tokat and Samsun ), the
following works will be carried out:
(a) Villages will be visited in selected
micro-catchments to find out about the
level of public awareness, the interest
and need for better knowledge of
environmental matters and the issues it
deals with.
(b) Appropriate structures and
instruments will be designed for the
campaign ( Radio, TV, Publications)
and the cost for each instrument will be
determined.
(c) The scope and specific objectives for
each step will be defined in the
campaign.
(d) Proposals will be presented to local
communities to test their receptivity to
the approach and the instrument
proposed .

39. e) Environment-friendly agricultural
and manure management practices will
be adopted.
(f) Environmental awareness will be
increased through enhanced school
and NGO’s participation.
(g) The problems caused by pollution
and waste disposal will be explained.

40. At the national level the following
works will be carried out:
(a) The experiences gained at the local level
will be reflected on the national level.
(b) A broad nationwide public information
campaign will be undertaken to
disseminate the benefits of proposed
project activities.
(c) Efforts will be concentrated on
institutions and groups that may
influence the replication of the project in
other areas.
(d) A national media campaign will be
launched to introduce the project to the
people better .
(e) The problems caused by pollution and
waste disposal will be explained .

41. At the international level the following
works will be carried out :
• The project will provide for the
organization of regional
workshops, field trips, training,
publication in international
agriculture and environment
journals and other activities to
promote replication of project
activities in other Black Sea
riparian countries. The pilot
activity will aim to serve as a
model to be replicated in these
countries which will help
contribute to significant
reductions in the nutrient loads
entering the Black Sea.

42. ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES FOR
AGENCIES
At the central level, there are three
units i) Project Management Group
(PMG), ii) Central Coordination Unit
(CCU), and iii) Project Management
Units (PMUs). At the field level
(provincial) there are two units i)
Local Project Management Teams
(LPMT) ii) Micro Catchment
Implemantation Teams (MCIT)