Ministry to establish fund for flood management

ANKARA

Within the scope of “Flood Law,” aimed to be enacted by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry this year, a flood fund will be established to be used for disaster management.

Misapplications such as constructions on stream beds and the positioning of industrial zones and social facilities near these areas have led to increasing floods becoming even more noticeable and reaching the level of a disaster.

As the ministry is taking measures against floods, the preparations for a flood management plan are also ongoing in the Meriç-Ergene basin in the northwestern part of the country.

Accordingly, the second steering committee meeting of the “Technical Assistance for the Preparation of the Meriç- Ergene Basin Flood Risk Management Plan” funded by the European Union and Türkiye was held.

At the meeting, it was pointed out that there is quite a lot of legislation on flooding, which created a conflict of authority between institutions.

In the draft of the “Flood Law,” which is aimed to be adopted this year, it was stated that flood control requires large investments and that creating a “flood fund” is mandatory.

This fund will be used for reclamation works in areas with high flooding risk.

At the same time, the fund will also be applied for the elimination of infrastructure damages caused by flooding.

Recalling that the Meriç-Ergene basin is transboundary, the committee stated that Türkiye is a downstream country, which is highly affected by floods.

The relevant institutions should give priority to the measures determined in order to reduce the flood risk in their investment programs, the committee emphasized.

In the meantime, the action plan prepared for the prevention of water pollution in the Gediz basin and managing floods and droughts also entered into force last week with a presidential circular.

Within the scope of the plan, urban wastewater treatment, regular disposal of solid wastes, elimination of pollution caused by industry and ensuring food security by taking into account the supply-demand balance are aimed at the entire basin where about 2 million people live.

Accordingly, four gasification plants will be built to produce energy from the wastes generated in olive farming enterprises. A flood early warning system will be also installed.