Water Scarcity and Water Trade: Turkish Attempts to Supply a Drying Region

Abstract

Water scarcity is already causing serious challenges nowadays and devastating water-related processes will certainly continue for decades to come. The emerging water crisis requires new political arrangements, new technological solutions and the development of new water supply chains. Among the possible political-diplomatic answers, water trade may be a viable option, as water abundant countries could distribute resources by commercializing their water surplus. Water trade, however, faces serious obstacles. Dependence of different countries on states that have water surplus, political leverage and the possible opportunity when external powers could control the essentially important human needs are all examples of potential risks. These threats hinder the development of interstate water trade cooperation and orient countries struggling with water shortages towards domestic solutions. This study attempts to examine the practice of water scarcity and water diplomacy, while also applies the Turkish experience as a case study for demonstrating constraints of water trade. The paper will hopefully shed light on the threats posed by global and regional water scarcity and draw attention to the opportunities and limitations of water commercialization. The aim of our study is to outline the issues related to the distribution and trade of water, furthermore to present the problems of water as a product. Our research focuses primarily on Turkey, which has also become involved in water trade, but the story still ended in failure.