With the scorching heat of the summer months, Türkiye’s drought agenda came to the fore again. In the Konya Basin, which is one of the most important agricultural centers of the country, the drought picture that has been going on for years is the most striking example of the dismissal. The region, which is the heart of agricultural production, continues to be dragged into a drought crisis due to its lack of sufficient rainfall, unconscious water use and consumption of groundwater. In the last 6 years, while the dam water levels in Konya have fallen to alarm levels; In cereal production, there are significant losses. 400 million cubic meters of water in the plains of Konya is wasted due to faulty irrigation and wrong product pattern, while the latest scientific research reveals that the existing water use in the region has reached an unsustainable point. According to the data reflected from the reports, there are 3 million hectares of agricultural land in the basin, while 15 billion cubic meters of water is needed annually in order to irrigate all lands. The sum of the currently available underground and surface water source is pronounced only 4 billion 360 million billion cubic meters.
Under the ground also dried
According to the data reflected from the reports, 2 percent of Türkiye’s above -used water supply and 17 percent of the underground water source are found in Konya Closed Basin; 40 percent of the amount of underground water used throughout the country is withdrawn from the ‘Konya Closed Basin’. This leads to a crater -shaped obruk problem. So much so, The number of obruks formed in the basin exceeds 2 thousand 500, while the underground water continues to withdraw from 250 to 300 meters in the region.
Living species die
Climate Analyst Dr. Gültekin Yılmaz; In the Konya Basin, products that consume intense water such as sugar beets, corn and clover have destroyed resources, while the latest findings obtained said: “Drought causes destructive effects on the ecosystem. Bird variety in the basin is 22 percent; Endemic fish species are at risk of exhaustion of 61 percent. The annual water potential of the basin is not enough to meet the existing water consumption. Methods such as water transfer between basins as a solution to the problem are both high -cost and ineffective in the long term. “
Terrible waste
Dursun Yıldız, the President of the Water Policies Association, one of the former DSI executives who evaluated the resulting table, said, “Approximately 60 percent of the water taken in the Konya Closed Basin cannot be used due to network insufficiency. Unfortunately, 400 million cubic meters of water was wasted in the plains of Konya. This ratio is the same as the amount of water coming from the blue tunnel system. Considering the water scarcity in the region, these areas need to be rehabilitated urgently. ”
Rainy poor
Streaming that the basin is deserted day by day, Yıldız said the following warnings: “In terms of the amount of rainfall in the region, the country’s least rainfall is the basin. IHThe blue tunnel project, which is planned to be implemented for the meeting, is planned to transfer a total of 414 million cubic meters of water annually. 100 million cubic meters of this amount will be given to Konya as drinking water, the rest will be irrigated by 65 thousand hectares of agricultural area. ”
Not taken into account!
Selçuk University Faculty of Agriculture Faculty Member. Dr. Mithat directly drought in the red alarm, saying, “For years, our warnings are not taken into consideration. Konya and Karapınar, especially how to use water efficiently, we can get high yields with limited irrigation methods, we need to implement new projects,” he said.
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