Burdens of ‘Development ’ in Southeastern Turkey:

The Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey is where the two largest rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, and most of the arable land of the country are located. More than two decades ago, in order to utilize these resources, The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Turkish acronym GAP) was proposed as an irrigation and energy production project. Today, after going through number of transformations, GAP stands as a “regional development project”. However, under the current circumstances it is not offering an environmentally and socially sustainable future for the soil and local people. The introduction of irrigation in the region has caused a significant increase in salt concentrations in the soil, which is defined to be a result of ‘lack of education ’ by the authorities. The aim of this study is to take a broader perspective on the issue with an argument that the reasons of the problem lie in the development idea of GAP. Neglecting the importance of sociocultural values in the region, the project not onl