Projects

Central Finance & Contracts Unit

Training and technical assistance for the development of monitoring of inland waters and coastal and transition areas in the Büyük Menderes river basin pursuant to Directive 2000/60/EC

The transposition of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EEC) (WFD) regarding the quality of waters, represents a fundamental objective for the integration of Turkey into the European Union. The project “Technical Assistance for Capacity Building on Water Quality Monitoring” is a significant contribution to this objective.

Aim of the project:
The aim of the project is to align Turkey’s water management with the WFD through a pilot project relative to the monitoring of surface waters of the Büyük Menderes river basin (Meandro).
The drafting and implementation of a monitoring plan for the whole basin was foreseen and designed according to the guidelines laid down by the Directive. Also the standards applied for classifying the quality of the waters from an ecological, chemical and general point of view were also chosen based on the WFD.
The project also included the training of Turkish authorities as regards the management and monitoring of inland waters. To this end a series of workshops for the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs (MoWFA) were performed.

Expected results
This project aimed to achieve two main, interconnected, results.
The first concerned the planning and implementation of an integrated network of monitoring systems capable of providing detailed information about the ecological and chemical state of the bodies of water within the Büyük Menderes basin. This programme comprised a series of samplings distributed over a year, as well as analysis and evaluation of the biological, physical-chemical and hydro-morphological chemical elements and as foreseen by the Water Framework Directive.
The second consisted of providing the necessary expertise and conceptual tools for the implementation of monitoring programmes and contributing to the on-site formation of a specialised team capable of continuing autonomously the application of EU guidelines (in parallel with that foreseen by national legislation) in other river basins in Turkey. To this end, the organisation and implementation of specific training sessions addressed to the authorities responsible for the management of inland waters (MoWFA) was foreseen.