Büyük Menderes, the largest river in the west of Turkey, is in danger of drying out. Moreover, the pollution of the river, which is used for irrigation in all agricultural areas in the region, raises concerns.
The 548-kilometer-long Büyük Menderes River, which starts from the Suçıkan location near the Dinar district of Afyonkarahisar, passes through Denizli, Uşak and Aydın and flows into the Aegean Sea, is used for irrigation in many agricultural areas.
However, evaluations show that the river is the third most polluted river in the country and the river is at risk of drying out. Such that, hundreds of fish die from lack of oxygen.
The main cause of the pollution problem is the factories and geothermal power plants in the region. In addition, global warming and wrong irrigation methods also cause the drying-up problems.
Büyük Menderes River has been affected by the recent drought and heat. While it was drying out due to the rain, fish deaths also occurred again due to lack of oxygen.
Bahattin Sürücü
Didim Ecosystem Protection and Nature Lovers Association (EKODOSD) President Bahattin Sürücü said: “The effects of climate change with the extreme heat, there was almost no water left in the Büyük Menderes River. The water in the meander and coming from the dams is unconsciously given to agricultural irrigation. This accelerates the drying up.
“Due to the lack of water in the river and the water remaining in small ponds in the form of accumulations, dirty and oxygen-free; It was seen that hundreds of fish died around Sarıkemer Taşköprü. If we do not use water rationally, both the farmers and all living things will suffer from it.”
Büyük Menderes Initiative
In order to make the river and its basin livable, environmental organizations in the cities of Afyon, Uşak, Denizli and Aydın came together to form the Büyük Menderes Initiative.
Mustafa Çallıca, spokesperson of the initiative, said: “We live in a basin that is rapidly going into the famine class. First of all, we need to abandon the form of irrigation that we call wild irrigation, abandoned by the world, and switch to drip irrigation. Wild irrigation erodes the most fertile parts of the soil, but also makes the soil barren.”
Çallıca listed the main solution suggestions of the Büyük Menderes Initiative as follows: “As Büyük Menderes Initiative, one of our solution suggestions is that water should be free for farmers who use drip irrigation systems to stop drying and famine.
“Thus, we can create an environment where the highest quality in agricultural production is maintained and water is used most efficiently. Apart from this, product-water need analysis should be made not only in the Büyük Menderes basin but also in all basins in Turkey, and wastewater management should be revised.”
Stating that everyone should support the ecology struggle carried out by the Büyük Menderes Initiative, Çallıca said, “We will have information meetings, exhibitions and different projects. In the upcoming period, we will strive to increase the awareness and support of the society. We expect support from all political parties and non-governmental organizations for this action plan.”