Abstract :
Scarce water resources are of vital importance for all living creatures. Therefore water and water resources are essential. Despite the fact that Turkey is abounded with water resources, amount of water consumption per capita is somewhat below the world average. Transboundary waters originate in one country, flow through the lands of other countries and flow into the sea in another country. Recently, no international regulations related to the management of transboundary waters are in force. Thus, the management of transboundry waters are governed by the common practices and transnational agreements. Maritsa River, which has origins in Balkans and flows into the sea in Turkey is a transboundary water. No water share based issues have been developed among Turkey and other coastal countries, Bulgaria and Greece, however flood and pollution have been concerned. While Bulgaria and Greece, which share the basin of the Maritsa river, are the members of the European Union (EU), Turkey’s accession process is stalled by a number of domestic and external problems. In spite of the fact that these three countries have made agreements over flooding and water pollution of the Maritsa river in different periods, these still constitute a major problem. In order to solve these problems, an international cooperation is needed to manage water resources. In this matter, The EU s Water Framework Directive and the European Flood Risk Management Directive the commitment of preparing River basin management plan and flood risk management plan requires the cooperation between the countries. In this study water management in Maritsa River Basin will be studied within the frame of international agreements concluded up until present.
NaturalLanguageKeyword :
Transboundary waters , Maritsa River Basin , Floods , Contamination , Water management , International agreements.
