4th Biennial Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy was held in Ankara on 7th and 8th September 2004 in cooperation with the Bilkent University and the Turkish Foreign Policy Institute. The title of the forum was “Lessons in the Management of Transboundary River Basins” and informal discussions focused on the case studies for (1) the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin; (2) the Columbia River Basin; (3) the Nile River Basin; (4) the Danube River; and (5) the Parana-La Plata River System.

51 experts, academics, politicians from 21 countries participated. Minister of Water Resources of Kenya, H.E. Mrs. Martha Karua and Minister of Environment from Alberta/Canada Mr. Lorne Taylor were among the participants. A pre-conference field trip to Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa was made to observe the arrangements made for the transboundary river basin management, for the resettlement of those affected and also the value added benefits of the ongoing Southeastern Anatolia Project.

Keynote speakers were H. E. Süleyman Demirel, 9th President of the Republic of Turkey , Dr. Margaret Catley-Carlson of  ICARDA and Global Water Partnership and Dr. Ariel Dinar from the World Bank. President Demirel conveyed to the Forum his views on the importance of transboundary water basin management. H. E. Abdüllatif Şener, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Economic Affairs, addressed the participants at the lunch hosted by the Rector of the Bilkent University, Prof. Dr. Ali Doğramacı . Mr. Seyfi Taşhan, President of the Foreign Policy Institute, expressed his views at the opening session.

On the case study of the Euphrates-Tigris River Basin Mr. Muammer Yaşar Özgül, President of the GAP (Southeastern Anatolia Project) Administration talked about “GAP as a sustainable development project” . Prof. Dr. Veysel Eroğlu, Director General of State Hydraulic Works elucidated on “GAP as a sustainable water resources development project” ; Mr. Mithat Rende, Head of the Regional and Transboundary Waters Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spoke on “Turkey’s water resources management and transboundary rivers policy” and Prof. Dr. Yüksel İnan from the Bilkent University and also a member of the Administrative Board of the Foreign Policy Institute dealt with “the legal aspects of transboundary rivers” .

Presentations on the experiences in different transboundary basins from very formal, convention based, structuralized cooperation to not systematized cooperation between riparian states were most beneficial and it was noted that as awareness of the dimensions of the water related problems increase, water could be an instrument for peace, rather than a source of conflict.

As both a downstream and upstream country benefiting from transboundary rivers, as a country with significant progress made in developing and managing its water resources, as a country which has established good cooperation with many of its neighbours and trying to develop a culture of regional cooperation with some other neighbours to its south and also as a country directly influenced by the environmental effects of a transboundary river basin to which it does not belong, Turkey has always been interested in the experiences of the other countries and is prepared to discuss its own endeavours. Therefore, the discussions at this Forum were most timely.

In the concluding assessments made by some participants at the 4th Biennial Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy, the following points were emphasized:

-       Issues related with transboundary waters are very important and are very complex.

Not only environmental and ecological but economic, social and political aspects are also important. However each case may have different characteristics.

-       There is need for cooperation among riparian countries to resolve the problems

related with the transboundary rivers. It is one way of avoiding conflicts.

-       There are a lot of similarities in the problems faced in different river basins and a

lot to learn from the experiences of each but one model may not fit all cases. Institutional structures are helpful.

-       Political will and leadership is necessary to witness progress. Patience is needed to

build trust not only with other riparian states but also with stakeholders.

-       Politicians need to be educated and challenged by civil interest groups and NGO’s.

List of Participants

1.      Oktay Aksoy (Turkey)

2.      Saul Alvarez-Borrego (Mexico)

3.      Kimberly Beaird (USA)

4.      Josep Bernis (Spain)

5.      Leith Boully (Australia)

6.      Fred Cannon (USA)

7.      Margaret Catley-Carlson (USA)

8.      Prachoom Chomchai (Thailand)

9.      Ariel Dinar (USA)

10.     Josep Dolz (Spain)

11.     Antonio Embid (Spain)

12.     Veysel Eroğlu (Turkey)

13.     Alberto Garrido (Spain)

14.     W. Reg Gomes (USA)

15.     Kindy Gosal (Canada)

16.     John Harrison (USA)

17.     Piet Heyns (Namibia)

18.     Ron Hicks (USA)

19.     David Hill (USA)

20.     Yüksel İnan (Turkey)

21.     Helen Ingram (USA)

22.     Martha Karua (Kenya)

23.     Patrick Kahangire (Uganda)

24.     Richard Kellow (Canada)

25.     John Letey (USA)

26.     Jennifer McKay (Australia)

27.     Val Mellesmoen (Canada)

28.     Abdelfattah Metawie (Egypt)

29.     William Mills (USA)

30.     Muammer Yaşar Özgül (Turkey)

31.     Paul Perkins (Australia)

32.     John Pigram (Australia)

33.     Victor Pochat (Argentina)

34.     Ayman Rabi (Palestine)

35.     Silvia Rafaelli (Argentina)

36.     David Reeder (UK)

37.     Mithat Rende (Turkey)

38.     Richard Rosenberg (USA)

39.     Maria Saleth (India)

40.     Robert W. Sandford (Canada)

41.     Mordechai Shechter (Israel)

42.     Josh Smienk (Canada)

43.     Seyfi Taşhan (Turkey)

44.     Lorne Taylor (Canada)

45.     Sekou Toure (Ivory Coast)

46.     Peter van Niekerk (South Africa)

47.     Consuelo Varela-Ortega (Spain)

48.     Henry Vaux, Jr. (USA)

49.     Alejandro Vergara-Blanco (Chile)

50.     Philip Weller (Austria)

51.     Wang Xi (China)