Sustainable regional development approach in Turkey and the case of Southeastern Anatolia Project

Until the recent years, the developing countries have believed that the development only requires fast and stable growth. But the fact that economic growth would cause alternative costs such as increasing inequalities in the distribution of income, poverty of masses, destruction of nature and natural sources which will disable growth in the long run and the damage of social peace bring about a new growth and development understanding. This understanding, introduced the sustainable development concept which is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet own needs. With the notion of sustainable development which was first addressed at the Stockholm Environment and Human Conference in 1972, countries have started applications to provide a balance between their production and the use of natural resources.On the other hand, for developing the countries it is necessary to implement the regional development and this development has to be implemented balanced. Because interregional differences in terms of development bring about economic, social and environmental problems in a country. On the one hand sustainable regional development removes regional imbalance, on the other hand prevents the pressure on the environment.It is clear that there are undeveloped regions and regional imbalance in Turkey. Turkey has put into practice to develop one of these region that is the region of Southeastern Anatolia by Southeastern Anatolia Project. In this context this study handles The Southeastern Anatolia Project as a case of sustainable regional development for Turkey.Key Words: Development, Sustainable Regional Development, Sustainable Development Indicators, Southeastern Anatolia Project.