Evaluation of Actual Impacts of the Atatürk Dam

The primary objective of this paper is to analyse the extent and magnitude of the actual social, economic and environmental impacts of the Atatürk Dam in Southeast Anatolia, Turkey, on the region some eight years after its construction was completed. The direct impacts, both positive and negative, due to the construction of the Atatürk Dam on the people living in the two provinces affected directly, Adiyaman and Sanliurfa, as well as on the region as a whole, are reviewed. The emphasis of this analysis was on economic, social and environmental issues, both direct and indirect, over the short to medium term, which could be objectively estimated and evaluated with reasonable accuracy.