In chapters 7 and 10 of the document “Agenda 21” adopted in the Rio Conference (1992), it is stated that each country should lay out new strategies for sustainable rural and urban development by considering its specific conditions, and practical implementation should be in conformity with these strategies.

In chapter 7 of the Agenda 21 which bears the title “Promoting of Sustainable Human Settlement GAP Development” it is stressed that the principal objective in relation to human settlements is the upgrading and improvement of the social, economic and environmental qualities of these settlements along with working and living conditions of human beings by giving priority to the rural and urban poor. To reach this, the Agenda 21 foresees that individual countries should analyze the following with a special reference to country specific social and cultural characteristics: (a) providing adequate shelter for all groups of human beings; (b) improving human settlement management; (c) promoting of sustainable land use planning and management; (d) promoting the integrated provision of integrated environmental infrastructure; (e) promoting sustainable energy and transport systems in human settlements; (f) promoting human settlement planning and management in disaster-prone areas; (g) development of activities in construction sector in a way confirming the objectives set for sustainable human settlements; (h) promoting of human resources and capacity building for human settlement developments.

Chapter 10 of the Agenda which is headed “Integrated Approach to the Planning and Management of Land Resources” states that disputes on land and natural resources must be resolved, and resources must be utilized in an optimum and integrated way in order to be able to meet the future land utilization demands in a sustainable way. To attain this (a) planning and management systems must be strengthened; (b) appropriate tools must be used for planning and management; (c) public awareness on these issues must be enhanced; and (d) public participation must be encouraged and secured.

The GAP Administration has started “Eco-City Planning Approach” for the province of Adiyaman in order to analyze the issue of sustainable urban development as stated in Agenda 21, but with specific reference to the GAP Region. It is one of the 28 sub-projects altogether constituting the “Program for Sustainable Development in the GAP Region” which is being carried out jointly by the GAP Administration and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

The objective of the project is to determine the parameters of sustainable urban development in the Sub-Region of Adiyaman through an eco-city planning approach and around the concepts of carrying capacity, protection-utilization balances and Local Agenda 21. There will be emphasis on the following issues to materialize the objectives of the work:

1. Development of a theoretical and technical framework to observe the balance between environmental considerations and development objectives, to pay due importance to the concept of carrying capacity, and to form the basis of physical planning.
2. Development of a dynamic and flexible ecological planning basis which should be open to all kinds of prospective developments in the Sub-Region.
3. Formation of an “environmental management model” around the principles of participation, sustainability, natural resources protection and management introduced by Agenda 21.
4. Development of strategies for the implementation of eco-city planning policies.
5. Development of mechanisms to ensure public participation to the process of eco-city planning.
6. Development of the institutional structure of the GAP Administration and supporting it in conformity with eco-city planning approach.
7. Formation of a Local Agenda 21 for the Adiyaman Sub-Region in line with above stated works.

Adiyaman and its surroundings have been selected as the pilot area of the project. The motives behind this selection can be summarized as follows: Adiyaman’s status as a medium-size centre; need for considering its development together with environmental conditions since the area will be under the impact of GAP’s irrigation projects, and the present trends of uncontrolled growth of industries. Additionally, the availability of master plans of scales 1/25000, 1/5000, and 1/1000 for Adiyaman which is prepared by GAP Administration, was also the other factor in the selection of Adiyaman as the pilot area.

The duration of the project is 10 months and it will become operational within the first half of 1998. Adiyaman is also one of the 9 provinces covered by the project “Development of Local Agenda 21in Turkey” initiated by the UNDP and IULA-EMME (International Union of Local Authorities-Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East). Therefore, both of these projects will contribute to the testing of the approach “Agenda 21 for Sustainable Human settlements” under the conditions existing in Adiyaman.