HISTORICAL CISTERNS IN ANATOLIA TRADITONAL WATER HARVESTING

The fact that the total amount of water on earth is remained constant is accepted However, the rapid growth in population, extension of irrigated agriculture and industrial development are putting stress on the natural ecosystem. Therefore, it is now totally accepted that water should not be regarded with the philosophy of use and discard’. Especially in the arid regions, water is the most limiting resource for improved agricultural production. Therefore, maximizing water productivity is a better strategy for dry farming systems. In this context, water harvesting as supplemental irrigation is considered as a highly efficient practice with great potential for increasing agricultural production and improving livelihoods in the dry rain-fed areas.Giving information on the historical findings about the traditional water harvesting methods in Anatolia where water harvesting had being applied since the very old times, this paper tries to highlight the effectiveness and productivity of existing water harvesting techniques and its future prospects in the dry rain-fed and arid regions of Turkey. This paper concludes that, together with traditional methods including water harvesting, sustainable improvements in water productivity can only be achieved through integrated management.

کلیدواژه ها:

Cisterns ، water harvesting