IMPACT OF LARGE DAMS

Impact Of Large Dams

Impact Of Large Dams

Introduction

Most of the impacts of river engineering are extremely difficult, and in many cases impossible, to predict with certainty in Southeast Turkey. Theories on the ecological dynamics of streams are mostly based on short-term investigations of little temperate watersheds, so there is a limited comprehending of the functioning of large rivers in temperate regions — or of streams of any dimensions in the tropics. Most of the foremost streams in Europe and the United States were dyked, levelled, dredged and dammed long before their ecology or hydrology had been gravely studied. In the tropics, where study funds are couple of, often the only technical study of a river scheme has been done to find where best to dam it.

Discussion

As every river is unique in terms of its flow patterns, the landscapes of Southeast Turkey flows through and the species it supports, so the design and operating pattern of every dam is unique, as are the effects the dam has on the river and its associated ecosystems. While the great majority of the Southeast Turkey's large dams and all of the major dams have been completed within the last six decades, some of the environmental effects of a dam may not be realised for hundreds of years after construction. Adam can therefore be considered as a gigantic, long-term and mostly irreversible ecological trial without a control.

Two major Categories of ecological Impacts

The two main categories of environmental impacts of dams of Southeast Turkey's are those which are inherent to dam construction and those which are due to the specific mode of operation of each dam. The most important consequence of this myriad of convoluted and interconnected environmental disturbances is that they are inclined to fragment the riverine ecosystem, isolating populations of species dwelling up and downstream of the dam and chopping off migrations and other species actions. Because almost all dams decrease usual flooding, they also fragment ecosystems by isolating the stream from its floodplain, rotating what fish biologists period a 'floodplain river' into a 'reservoir river'. The elimination of the advantages provided by natural inundating may be the lone most ecologically damaging impact of a dam. This fragmentation of river ecosystems has undoubtedly produced in a huge decrease in the number of species in the world's watersheds.

Some of the environmental effects of Southeast Turkey's dams can benefit some ...