The Ilısu Dam Campaign was a UK-based campaign working to stop the construction of the Ilısu Dam on the river Tigris in south east Turkey. The construction plans for the dam would lead to the flooding of about 300 square kilometers and would displace up to 78,000 people from the Hasankeyf district of the Batman province.[1]
The main purpose of the dam is the production of hydroelectric power, but it's also supposed to provide better irrigation for local agriculture. Those who oppose the dam claim that human rights and environmental issues have been disregarded in the planning. The dam would also lead to the drowning of hundreds of archeological sites, including the ancient town of Hasankeyf.
The Swedish based Skanska, withdrew from the project in September 2000.[2] In November 2001 the campaign won an important victory when it achieved that the UK based company Balfour Beatty decided to withdraw from the Ilısu Dam project due to ethical, environmental and economical concerns.[1] The companies involved in the project had applied for Export Credit Guarantees from their home governments, which meant that taxpayers money would be used to finance the project.
Current plansedit
The plans for the dam were not scrapped however, and in 2005 the project resurfaced. This time one of the main contractors of the dam was Austria-based VA TECH, a subsidiary of Siemens AG. According to the Turkish government, new resettlement plans were planned and a large fund was supposed to be set up to rescue some parts of the town of Hasankeyf by moving them elsewhere. According to the opponents of the dam, these new plans do not adequately address their original concerns.
Construction of the dam began in 2006[3] and was completed in 2018.[4]
See alsoedit
Mark Thomas British comedian and journalist, Chairman of the campaign
Aswan High Dam a dam that caused a comparable loss of archaeological sites
External linksedit
Ilısu Dam Campaign 2008-10-25 at the Wayback Machine campaign homepage
Kurdish Human Rights Project, founding member of campaign
/ Mark Thomas, founding member of campaign
Friends of the Earth, founding member of campaign
Corner House, founding member of campaign
UK drops Turkish dam plan article from The Observer
Re-Emergence of Discredited Ilısu Dam Project
,
Watch the documentary "Life in Limbo" for free on snagfilms.com. 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
Referencesedit
^ ab"Balfour Beatty pulls out of Turkish dam project". The Independent. 2001-11-14. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
^"Turkey: Swedish Firm Pulls Out of World Bank Dam Project | corpwatch". corpwatch.org. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
^"Turkey begins controversial dam". 5 August 2006.
^"How archaeologists discovered an ancient Assyrian city – and lost it again". 7 February 2018.
January 01, 1970
ilısu, campaign, based, campaign, working, stop, construction, ilısu, river, tigris, south, east, turkey, construction, plans, would, lead, flooding, about, square, kilometers, would, displace, people, from, hasankeyf, district, batman, province, contents, ini. The Ilisu Dam Campaign was a UK based campaign working to stop the construction of the Ilisu Dam on the river Tigris in south east Turkey The construction plans for the dam would lead to the flooding of about 300 square kilometers and would displace up to 78 000 people from the Hasankeyf district of the Batman province 1 Contents 1 Initial plans for the dam 2 Current plans 3 See also 4 External links 5 ReferencesInitial plans for the dam editThe main purpose of the dam is the production of hydroelectric power but it s also supposed to provide better irrigation for local agriculture Those who oppose the dam claim that human rights and environmental issues have been disregarded in the planning The dam would also lead to the drowning of hundreds of archeological sites including the ancient town of Hasankeyf The Swedish based Skanska withdrew from the project in September 2000 2 In November 2001 the campaign won an important victory when it achieved that the UK based company Balfour Beatty decided to withdraw from the Ilisu Dam project due to ethical environmental and economical concerns 1 The companies involved in the project had applied for Export Credit Guarantees from their home governments which meant that taxpayers money would be used to finance the project Current plans editThe plans for the dam were not scrapped however and in 2005 the project resurfaced This time one of the main contractors of the dam was Austria based VA TECH a subsidiary of Siemens AG According to the Turkish government new resettlement plans were planned and a large fund was supposed to be set up to rescue some parts of the town of Hasankeyf by moving them elsewhere According to the opponents of the dam these new plans do not adequately address their original concerns Construction of the dam began in 2006 3 and was completed in 2018 4 See also editMark Thomas British comedian and journalist Chairman of the campaign Three Gorges Dam a controversial dam project in China Southeastern Anatolia Project Aswan High Dam a dam that caused a comparable loss of archaeological sitesExternal links editIlisu Dam Campaign Archived 2008 10 25 at the Wayback Machine campaign homepage Kurdish Human Rights Project founding member of campaign Mark Thomas founding member of campaign Friends of the Earth founding member of campaign Corner House founding member of campaign UK drops Turkish dam plan article from The Observer Re Emergence of Discredited Ilisu Dam Project Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive Life in Limbo is a 2009 documentary on life in the town of Hasankeyf which is threatened by the Ilisu Dam project It is directed by Sakae Ishikawa Hasankeyf waiting life is a 2009 documentary directed by Mauro Colombo Watch the documentary Life in Limbo for free on snagfilms com Archived 2011 09 27 at the Wayback MachineReferences edit a b Balfour Beatty pulls out of Turkish dam project The Independent 2001 11 14 Retrieved 2019 02 25 Turkey Swedish Firm Pulls Out of World Bank Dam Project corpwatch corpwatch org Retrieved 2019 02 25 Turkey begins controversial dam 5 August 2006 How archaeologists discovered an ancient Assyrian city and lost it again 7 February 2018 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ilisu Dam Campaign amp oldid 1073295214, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
