Turkey sector Operational Programme Environment and Climate Change

5.Sector and donor coordination

Regarding the environment sector, three active sector coordination bodies can provide guidance to the MoEU for the IPA II period.

A Water Management Coordination Committee was established in accordance with Prime Ministry notice numbered 2012/7. The main tasks of this committee are to determine the measures necessary to conserve water resources within the framework of integrated river basin management, and to ensure inter-sectoral coordination, collaboration and speeding up investment in water provision within the context of effective water management. This Committee is chaired by the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs and consists of senior participants from the Ministry of EU Affairs, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Development, the Ministry of Health and State Hydraulic Works. IFIs and the International Organisations are not participants of this committee. This committee will provide suggestions to MoEU by evaluating all subjects relevant to IPA II and EU Accession and if necessary taking relevant board decisions. This committee decisions will ensure coordination of all institutions and support to policies and implementation of activities related to water management in Turkey. The committee decisions can be binding. This committee will manage implementation of RBMPs and protection of water resources policies.

To facilitate EU approximation, in the scope of Communique about Formation, Tasks, Procedures and Principles of Basin Management Committee numbered 28681 and dated 18.06.2013, for all basins in our country, Basin Management Committees have been formed and organisation on the basis of defined basins has been ensured by involving public participation in decision-making processes. The aim of the Communique is to ensure adequate monitoring of the implementation of BPAPs and RBMPs, to ensure protection of water resources via a holistic approach and to maintain coordination between the related institutions, including municipalities who can cooperate with IFIs and the International Organisations individually.

The Coordination Board on Climate Change and Air Management was established by the Prime Ministerial Circular and is chaired by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation. The board is the national ultimate authority of decision-making on the climate change issues which includes senior participants from the Ministry for EU Affairs, the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of the National Education, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, Undersecretariat of Treasury, TurkStat, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, TOBB, TUSIAD and MUSIAD. Additional NGO and private sector representatives, as well as participants from universities, may also be involved in the meetings and studies. Several working groups are established under this board in order to formulate policy options in different climate related themes. Only the members of the board are invited in the meetings of the Coordination Board, i.e. not IFIs and International Organisations.

Donor Coordination

From a national perspective, the Undersecretariat of Treasury (UoT) under the Prime Ministry plays the key role for defining the coordination arrangements for the loans and grants from donor institutions such as International Financing Institutions (IFIs), funds, governments, development banks and private banks for various projects implemented by public institutions in compliance with the development plans and programmes of Turkey prepared on the basis of the contributions of the relevant sector representatives by the MoD. These coordination activities also cover financing of programme loans for the national budget financing from the (IFIs).

The legal ground for the coordination of the donor institutions is set in the Law No. 4749 on the Public Financing and Regulation of the Loan Management; Regulation of the Rules and Procedures for External Financing under the Law No. 4749, and Regulation on External Financing except Grants without the Guarantee of the Treasury for the Public Institutions.

Coordination with other donors and international financial institutions (IFIs) is key to boost aid effectiveness and foster capacity building in the candidate countries and potential candidates.

The International Financial Institutions Advisory Group (IFIs AG) is one of the mechanisms to improve the coordination between the IFIs and the European Commission in the candidate countries and potential candidates. The objective of the Group is to facilitate the development and upgrading of regional infrastructure in South East Europe in key sectors such as energy, transport, environment, human development, employment and social protection which require large investments and are essential for the sustainable development of the region and the beneficiary countries.

In Turkey there are few possibilities of grants through international funds, mainly thanks to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other bilateral governmental funds. On the other hand, International Financial Institutions (IFIs), namely the World Bank group (IFC and IBRD), the European Investment Bank group (EIB and EIF), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) are very active with loan programmes, in particular in sectors such as energy, private sector development, transport and environment. Among bilateral institutions, German Development Bank KfW and Agence Français Développement (AFD) have local offices and have been active in the country. Also, the Council of Europe, several UN agencies (UNDP, UNIDO, UNICEF, and ILO) and other specialized International Organisations (IIOO) are active in Turkey. Some of them are also EU grantees implementing pre-accession assistance in the field of their respective expertise.

The Undersecretariat for Treasury is responsible for donor coordination. On the other hand Ilbank A.Ş., as a local investment and development bank that has specific expertise on the finance of municipal infrastructure projects, acts as an intermediary for use of IFI loans to municipalities and undertakes coordination and monitoring functions during the implementation period.