In projects carried out under GAP, the basic principles are participation, equity and fairness in development, sustainability and sensitivity towards the environment. The focus of the project is on people, education, health, culture, the urban and rural infrastructure, rural development and similar fields as the basic components of the project as well as large-scale physical investments directed towards economic growth. All investments made are evaluated in the context of the contribution they make to sustainable human development and the quality of life of the people of the entire region.

If necessary precautions are not taken, it is obvious that the major physical infrastructure investments under the project, headed by its dams, may negatively affect settlement units which will be inundated by reservoirs. At the head of these potentially negative effects is the resettlement of population groups whose homes will be inundated by the reservoirs.

Other efforts, besides expropriations and resettlement operations aimed at bringing to a position of advantage the groups which suffer loss of resources and are disadvantaged by the development projects and the infrastructural investments, are operations aimed at training in occupational skills and income-generating activities for the population groups which are resettled.

In operations of this type, the state takes a fully active role either as a guide or a facilitator of harmonisation with new areas of settlement or in the development of the social and economic lives of these groups. Here, the most important duty which the state assumes is the bringing about of planning implementation, which facilitates the harmonisation of these people with their new lives, and the realisation of this harmonisation with a concept of participatory planning and the participation of the people.

Another area in which the state acts as a catalyst is in the transformation of expropriation payments and capital savings into investment in productive fields. This is an important point which requires the creation of ‘new lives’ for people subject to resettlement and the consideration of their working or directing themselves in such a way as to protect or improve their existing income levels in resettlement operations.

While carrying out appropriate settlement and creating liveable environments, the provision of temporary sources of income and the transfer of existing accumulations of capital to appropriate investment areas, an approach which takes in hand both site development and economic development must be taken into consideration in the provision or facilitation of harmonisation with their new lives.

In summary, a special programme must be applied for the groups subjected to resettlement. The three basic elements of this programme are:

1. Resettlement;
2. Training operations which provide competence and income-generating activities;
3. The direction of expropriation payments and other accumulated capital towards productive areas.

The sub-regional development plans prepared, with the concept of participatory planning, have been developed within the context of these three approaches and have prepared a foundation for sustainable human development.

The sub-regional development plans have been prepared with an evaluation of environmental, cultural, geographical, social and economical data. The plans have been prepared with a holistic approach that includes all sectors and takes as its basis the in situ development of the affected population. In order to bring about the recommendations of the plans within a definite programme, co-ordination has been ensured with the relevant institutions.

In studies to be carried out on the subject of resettlement, the need for taking the basic lifestyles of the people into account has been realised as a result of past experiences. On this subject, one such experience has been that of the Birecik Dam Reservoir which covers areas within the borders of the provinces of Sanliurfa, Adıyaman and Gaziantep. Significant steps have been taken by the GAP Administration towards resettlement of the population, whose homes are to be inundated by the Birecik Dam Reservoir, in the same area.

Under the principles of sustainable development and participatory planning, while new housing is provided for the affected population, more modern accommodation and better environmental and living conditions will be created for both the rural and urban populations.

Studies being carried out consider the spatial, social and economic components as a whole, and are producing research and planning by ascertaining people’s opinions and working together with them. The opportunity has been created for communities, whose former settlements have been affected, to resettle in areas close to those former settlements. Investment guidance services and skills courses, using the expropriation payments, towards productive areas are being provided; demonstration and support programmes for the acquisition of new agricultural activities have been applied; and, a continual communications network has been created.

In these efforts, co-operation has been established between non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and concerned public and private sector institutions. Moreover, support for this project has also been secured from international institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Proceeding from the experience gained in efforts to resettle people affected by the Birecik Dam, an operation with a similar approach will be undertaken for the resettlement in the same area of the population affected by the Ilısu Dam. For realising the provisions of the Ilısu Sub-Regional Development Project, which will advise the affected group and which will be prepared in co-ordination with interested institutions, the necessary public investments, and the institutions responsible for their application, will be determined by preparing detailed action programmes.

In addition, the Sub-Regional Plan also includes the protection of cultural assets of the area which will be beneath the Ilısu Reservoir. The most important of the cultural treasures which will be inundated by the reservoir is the Hasankeyf Archaeological Site.

With the ‘Planning and Implementation Project for Resettlement, Employment and Economic Investments for the Population Affected by the Birecik Dam’, the GAP Administration has created, in the light of the concepts of sustainable development and participation, for the communities subjected to resettlement, a platform where the people can express their wishes freely concerning the choice of location, the creation of areas of employment and the direction of expropriation payments to productive, income-generating areas.

The Project, which for the first time in the world includes the resettlement of families who will be affected by dam construction, is based on the concepts of participation and sustainability, and is also supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The aim of the project is to help the people in affected settlements move to their new settlements and to facilitate their social, economic and cultural harmonisation with their new lives.

In the project, public participation is defined as ‘the playing of an effective role by the affected groups concerned in the realisation of the project in all areas of activity, from the gathering of information to the organisation of activities and their supervision’. For activities of this type, the project also incorporates the provision of necessary training and organisational support.

At every stage in the project, stakeholders are kept informed both about support for the socio-economic structure of the affected community and about efforts to resettle affected citizens, and their participation in the decision-making process. For this purpose, an “Information and Advice Centre” has been established in Halfeti.

Under the project, the following issues are under consideration:

• The carrying out of research directed towards determining people's preferences;
• Determination of alternative settlement areas;
• Social and economic guidance; and
• Support programmes.

Satellite photographs and images have been used and information collected in the context of the projects has been transferred to a Geographical Information System (GIS) database.

Three components of the project have been evaluated:

1. The social component concerned with the social life, organisation and administration.
2. The economic component concerned with the employment and investments.
3. The spatial component concerned with the physical aspects of the settlement.

1. Social Studies

Within the social component,

• Research has been carried out for determining people's preferences. In this context a poll was taken in 13 settlements affected in the first degree by the dam and a total of 1307 families were interviewed.
• An Information and Advice Centre was established in Halfeti.
• Meetings (for social and economic guidance) have been held in the villages for the purpose of providing information about the implementation of the project
• Training courses have been organized on the subjects of driving, bee-keeping, canning, photography, chess, playing the saz, painting and ceramic tilework and demonstrations have been made of mushroom growing.

1. Economic Studies

The dimension of the economic development of the project is to a great degree dependent on the expropriation payments which will be put into the sub-region concerned. The aim is to guide these sums of money into productive sectors. Also contained within the projects is the introduction of new agricultural and non-agricultural products; production practices; organisation; and, the provision of the relevant infrastructure to replace the agricultural land and crop patterns lost because of the reservoir.

In studies made of the economic dimension, the crop patterns of the region have been documented and the crops which have the largest share within this pattern have been determined. These crops are cereals (wheat, barley, corn); pulses (dried beans, lentils, chick peas); industrial plants (cotton, sugar beet); root vegetables (potatoes, onions, garlic); and fruit (grapes, apricots, pistachio nuts).

Cotton ginning, cotton weaving, slaughterhouses, milk and milk production and meat processing have been defined as sub-sectoral strategic industries. Research has been carried out towards determining the workforce capacity of the people who live in the selected region.

It has been determined that the main source of income in the villages examined is horticulture, followed by field crops and animal husbandry. It has also been established that one quarter of the total population of the villages is landless (the same as the national average); that land ownership patterns vary between villages; and that agricultural production is generally carried out on smallholdings.

After the research related to land ownership; natural resources potential; and crop patterns, the most suitable joint investment areas have been defined. These are bee-keeping, greenhouse culture, the distribution and marketing of fruit and vegetables, the establishment of slaughterhouses, chickens for meat, the establishment of nut processing plants, the production and processing of olive oil and felt, as well as aquaculture and tourism.

As an example of appropriate investment area projects, the Integrated Animal Husbandry Project has been put into effect in Kiragli village.

Under the project, which is a model application of co-operation between the people, the private sector, voluntary organisations and the state, the people have been organised into a co-operative. The people, who are making their own decisions on the subjects of the provision of cheap fodder, contracted veterinary services, the possibility of continual milk marketing and management, are aiming for the development of integrated animal husbandry.

The purpose of this project is to establish an economic animal husbandry establishment in Kiragli village and provide an example for other villages in the region.

2. Spatial Studies

Studies concerning the spatial component are fundamentally related to the resettlement of the population affected by the Birecik Dam. The priority aim of the studies is to determine alternative settlement areas. The studies are being carried on using the GIS (Geographic Information System).

The settlements affected by the dam have been determined; the characteristics and ownership of lands which come within the scope of expropriations have also been determined; and, a database has been set up to analyse the effects of the dam.

By analysing the existing structure of the settlements (population growth; infrastructural situation; land use; settlement patterns and housing typology; the system of relationships between settlements and their environment; the structure of ownership) and the effects of the dam on this structure, situations in which the people whose resettlement is required are resettled within or outside the boundaries of their existing settlement area, and this has been evaluated together with potential social and economic structures.

Alternative resettlement areas, first within the boundaries of the settlement units affected and subsequently within the boundaries of nearby settlement units, have been analysed. All data concerning the natural, social and economic structures of the region, its infrastructural situation and areas in public ownership, have been analysed and alternative areas suitable for resettlement have been determined.

In addition, the capacity of the urban centres of Birecik, Nizip and Gaziantep for an additional population inflow has been evaluated. A sub-regional development plan at the scale of 1/25,000 was prepared for the rural and urban areas affected by dam construction. An Application Programme and Action Plan were also prepared according to the sub-regional development plan.

On the subject of the conservation and documentation of cultural assets which will be inundated beneath the Birecik Reservoir and the publication of the documentation, studies have been made together with concerned institutions.

In this context, the GAP Administration and Hacettepe University have carried out the Documentation Project for the Immovable Cultural Assets of the Birecik, Halfeti and Suruç sub-district.

In the study, which encompasses Birecik, Halfeti, Suruc, Bozova and Rumkale, historical assets of the sub-district centres and their histories, the description of their historical assets and their urban structures, were considered. In addition an attempt was made to describe the historical assets in terms of their location, history, layout, frontages, internal characteristics, architectural elements, materials technology and decoration.

After the description of each structure, the texts and translations of construction and repair documentation taken from books, were issued. In addition, under the headings Mosques and Prayer Halls, Churches, Inns, Baths, Tombs, Graveyards and Domiciles, a comparative evaluation was also made with similar structures in Syria because of particular regional influences on the historical assets in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Moreover, with the approval of the Ministry of Culture, various archaeological excavations were carried out in the affected area.

In the framework of the "Planning and Application Project for the Resettlement, Employment and Economic Investments of People Affected by Birecik Dam", environmental studies were made as well.

"Enviroment Law" and "The Water Pollution Control By-Law" identifies the technical and legal bases for the protection of water resources. A "protection zone" concept and a development regulation are defined by the by-law. The Ministry of Environment and the GAP Administration have prepared a sub-regional development plan of this area giving importance to the above mentioned regulations.

During the course of dam construction and the creation of the reservoir, joint planning of the socio-economic and environmental effects in the area has been necessary. For this purpose the preparation and application of the projects of various organisations acting under their own statutory responsibilities has come on the agenda.

In order to ensure effective co-ordination between these organisations, which are affiliated to various ministries, and to monitor the development of the project, the Birecik Dam Resettlement Higher Commission secretariat, administered by the GAP Administration, has been established. In addition, a Steering Committee has been constituted to relay the decisions of this commission to central and local officials, to provide information about the development of the project and to obtain opinions and recommendations.

Steering Committee meetings are attended by representatives of all the public institutions and establishments concerned: Provincial Governorships, Municipal Mayoralties, Sub-Provincial Governorships, the United Nations Development Programme, Ministry of Environment, the State Planning Organisation Undersecretariat, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the General Directorate of Rural Affairs, the General Directorate of Agricultural Reform, the General Directorate of Electrical Work Survey Administration, the Mass Housing Administration, Turkish Radio and Television and Birecik Inc., the headmen of villages affected by the Birecik Dam and GAP Administration experts. These meetings are held periodically in the region.