Achieving sustainability in Orontes Transboundary River Basin: Nexus approach and the analysis of ‘friendship dam’

VAKUR SUMER, Selcuk University, Turkey
Purpose: The main objective in writing this paper is to conceptually frame not only problems but also proposed solutions, particularly the Friendship Dam between Syria and Turkey, associated with problems in the Orontes River Basin.
Design/methodology/approach: The research took the Friendship Dam project as a proposed solution to problems in the Orontes Basin, and evaluated in in the context of Nexus thinking, highlighting the lacking dimensions in the project.
Findings: According to Nexus thinking, there are basically two missing links: environment (EIA) and resettlement issues remains unresolved, this limiting the sustainability of the project.
Originality/value: The Friendship Dam between Syria and Turkey, as a multipurpose project, has not been studied in the light of Nexus approach, which has a potential to enable one to critically assess the pros and cons of the project that is mainly aimed at sustainability in the transboundary basin of Orontes. Findings of this paper could be used in order to improve the project so that it could yield greater results in terms of societal and environmental sustainability.
Keywords: Orontes; Turkey; Syria; transboundary waters.