Minister Yumaklı Emphasizes Importance of Water Management at National Water Council Meeting
Tarım ve Orman Bakanı İbrahim Yumaklı, Ulusal Su Kurulu’nun Ankara’da düzenlenen ikinci toplantısına katıldı.
During his speech, Minister Yumaklı highlighted the severe threat posed by global climate change to water resources. He emphasized the necessity of managing existing resources effectively through environmentally friendly technologies.
According to the assessments of the World Resources Institute for 2023, Turkey is among the top 25 countries facing the highest risk of water scarcity.
“We have embarked on our journey with the principle of ‘zero water loss,’” stated Yumaklı. He mentioned that the “Water Efficiency Mobilization” campaign, initiated to protect and manage water resources with national consciousness, is steadily progressing.
Yumaklı shared that with the ongoing efforts to prioritize water-centric agricultural production planning, the aim is to secure food supply. “We will implement planned production practices focused on crop production starting from September. As the Ministry, we continue our work to spread irrigation automation investments nationwide to increase agricultural efficiency by preventing waste and losses in agriculture. In regions with suitable infrastructure, we are continuing our efforts on artificial intelligence-supported irrigation automation. As a country, we adopt a basin-scale management approach for managing our water resources with a rational and holistic perspective. During the meeting, we are discussing the approval of the Sakarya Basin River Basin Management Plan and the Marmara Basin Flood Management Plan. We continue to establish the Flood Prediction and Early Warning System (TATUS) in basins with high flood risk, working to improve the system and aiming for its nationwide implementation by 2028,” he assessed.
“REDUCING LOSSES IN DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS”
Yumaklı mentioned that they have prepared the Water Efficiency Strategy Document and Action Plan, setting sectoral and individual water efficiency targets for the years 2030 and 2050.
Emphasizing that they have created action plans for basic efficiency practices, he noted:
“In this framework, we aim to reduce our average daily water consumption per capita from 150 liters to 120 liters by 2030 and below 100 liters by 2050. We aim to reduce the average water loss in drinking water systems from 32% to 25% by 2030 and to 10% by 2050. We target increasing the agricultural irrigation efficiency from around 50% currently to 60% by 2030 and to 65% by 2050. In industrial production, we aim for a 30% water gain by 2030 and a 50% gain by 2050. We are meticulously following the implementations of our action plans carried out in collaboration with our stakeholders for these purposes.”
Yumaklı pointed out that significant progress will be made in managing water resources with a holistic approach once the prepared Water and Flood laws are enacted. These regulations will draw a new framework for the fundamental principles of sustainable water policy and eliminate overlaps in authority between institutions.
Minister Yumaklı stated that the management of flood and drought risks should be carried out before they turn into disasters. He concluded:
“Water is an issue concerning all sectors. Therefore, water management decision mechanisms in our country and in many countries, including the European Union members, are carried out through high-level councils. The National Water Council is the embodiment of this understanding in our country. Through the Council, we will continuously update and develop our water management strategies. Our Council possesses the most competent decision-making structure for evaluating our water resources more rationally, efficiently, and sustainably. Here today, with this awareness, we will evaluate the steps we have taken regarding water management, discuss future steps, and make new decisions.”