Yusufeli Dam

The proposed Yusufeli Dam and Hydro-Electric Power Project is to be located on the Çoruh River at Yusufeli in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The Yusufeli Dam will be the second largest dam within the larger Çoruh River Development Plan which plans to build 13 dams, of which 2 are operational and another 2 are under construction [ [http://www.dsi.gov.tr/english/ ENCON 2006, ‘Yusufeli Dam and Hydroelectric Power Project Environmental Impact Assessment’, Ankara, Turkey] ] . The Yusufeli Dam will have 33 km² surface area, 60 km total length (including tributaries), and an average width of 550 m. Operating 8 hours per day over peak period it will produce 315-540 MW and is expected to cost 855 million USD. The proponents of this project are the Turkish Government and a consortium consisting of: Doğuş Inşaat ve Ticaret AS (Turkey) as leader; Alstom (Switzerland, France and Brazil); Coyne and Bellier (France); and Dolsar Mühendislik (Turkey).

Biological Impacts

When built, the Yusufeli Dam will have significant biological impacts including:

* adversely affecting 21 nationally listed threatened plant species, of which all except one are endemic to Turkey [ [http://www.eca-watch.org/problems/dams/Comments_Yusufeli_EIA_9oct06.pdf Lambourne, M 2006, 'Biological Assessment: the Yusufeli Dam & Hydro-electric Power Project's Environmental Impact Assessment'] ] . Of these threatened species 2 taxa are limited to Yusufeli and its surroundings, 8 are limited to the Çoruh Valley, and 6 to the Artvin-Erzurum area. Turkish Red Book for Plants shows that of these, 7 species are critically endangered, 5 are endangered and 9 are vulnerable [Ekim, T, Koyuncu, M, Vural, M, Duman, H, Aytac, Z & Adiguzel, N 2000, Türkiye Bitkileri Kırmızı Kitabi – Red Data Book of Turkish Plants, Türkiye Tabiatını Koruma Derneği – Turkish Association for the Conservation of Nature, Ankara, Turkey.] .

* adversely affecting 12 nationally listed threatened mammal species including the; Wild Goat ("Capra aegagrus"), Chamois ("Rupicapra rupicapra"), Persian Squirrel ("Sciurus anomalus"), Forest Dormouse ("Dryomys nitedula"), Brown Bear ("Ursus arctos"), Eurasian Badger ("Meles meles"), Gray Wolf ("Canis lupus"), Mediterranean Horseshoe Bat ("Rhinolophus euryale"), Lesser Horseshoe Bat ("Rhinolophus hipposideros"), Greater Mouse-Eared Bat ("Myotis myoti"s), Schreiber’s Bat ("Miniopterus schreibersi") and Pipistrelle Bat ("Pipistrellus pipistrellus"). Of these species the Mediterranean Bat and Wild Goat are internationally listed on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [ [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/search-basic IUCN 2006, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species] ] .

* adversely affecting 2 nationally threatened fish species, the Black Sea Salmon ("Salmo trutta labrax") and Brown Trout ("Salmo trutta macrostigma"). The Black Sea Salmon’s migration will be blocked because of this and the other planned and built dams. Existing populations of fish will be adversely affected by the construction of the dam and another 6 species populations may not recover due to the reduction of creek and river habitat needed for breeding.

* potentially adversely affecting 5 butterfly and 1 dragonfly regionally rare species ("Polyommatus poseidon", "Pseudophilotes vicrama", "Pyrgus cirsii", "Scolitantides orion", "Thymelicus acteon", and "Onychogomphus assimilis") of which 2 are listed in the IUCN red list "Pyrgus cirsii" and "Onychogomphus assimilis" [Eken G, Bozdogan M, I˙sfendiyaroglu S, Kılıç DT & Lise Y, (editer) 2006, Key biodiversity areas in Turkey, Doga Dernegi, Ankara, Turkey.] .

References

External links

* [http://www.rivernet.org/turquie/yusufeli.htm European Rivers Network]
* [http://www.eca-watch.org/problems/mideast/turkey/index.html ECA Watch]
* [http://www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/briefings/pdf/20020220161528.pdf Friends of the Earth]