Turkey's water allocation regime under institutional change

Abstract Due to multiple drivers many countries are experiencing significant water-related risks, particularly to agriculture, making sustainable management of water resources critical for national development. One of the most susceptible countries to these risks is Turkey, where over-abstraction of surface and groundwater resources has occurred in agricultural regions, leading to severe environmental, social and economic impacts. In response to such risks, national water governance is currently undergoing a significant transformation through the implementation of river basin planning in the form of the EU Water Framework Directive alongside institutional innovations for water allocation. In this chapter, we therefore illustrate how this institutional change is occurring and then assess the effectiveness of this new, evolving water allocation regime in the agricultural sector in terms of its sustainability. By examining institutional change in two specific river basin case studies, Konya Closed Basin and Küçük Menderes, this chapter shows that it is not resulting in sustainable use of water resources.