Proceedings: 1st International Conference on Food and Agricultural Economics: SOCIAL IMPACT OF MAMASIN DAM IN AKSARAY PROVINCE: RISE OF FISHING SECTOR AS A RURAL DEVELOPMENT CASE

The MamasınDam, that was built between 1952-1967 in the 12 km East of Aksaray Province on the Uluırmak River with an area of 16 km square. The Mamasın Dam is being used for irrigation of 25 thousand hectare in agriculture and sanitation of Aksaray Province. Any dam project in Turkey, as well as the Mamasın, has direct and indirect social impacts and assessments. The main indirect social impact of the Mamasın Dam project is the rise of fishing sector in Aksaray, includes four villages in the coast of the dam’s lake. There is a fishing cooperative with more than 30 members holding the fishing in the dam, which feeds the people of Aksaray Province and the hotels in Cappadocia region. The cooperative and the fishing gave alternative income and social security opportunities in the area. To understand and analyze the social impacts of the fishing sector, which was not planned in the project of the Dam and later accidently it had rosen, interviews were conducted in the two villages of the fishing sector (Gökçe and Çatalsuvillages). The members of the cooperative and other fishermen were interviewed. Other interviews were conducted with the restaurant owners of the tourism destination and officials of the Aksaray Province Food, Agriculture and Husbandry Directory. As the result the rise of fishing sector in Aksaray Province as an indirect social impact of the Mamasın Dam was evaluated around the arguments of rural development.