reports in ENVIRONMENT category

'Turkey's climate law does not aim to combat climate change'

'Turkey's climate law does not aim to combat climate change'

Experts believe that the Climate Law draft is designed to regulate potential economic gains from climate change rather than addressing the issue itself.

26 February 2025

İstanbul grapples with high air pollution levels

İstanbul grapples with high air pollution levels

Residents are advised to wear masks on days when pollution is severe.

3 February 2025

2024: Ecological struggles in Turkey

2024: Ecological struggles in Turkey

The year 2024 proved a significant turning point at the intersection of the struggles in Turkey against the climate crisis, environmental destruction and for animal rights. Rights’ defenders continued their struggle across a broad spectrum that ranged from the protection of olive groves to forests and from the rights of animals living in the streets to the preservation of water sources.

2 January 2025 Tuğçe Yılmaz

Tuğçe Yılmaz

The struggle in Turkey for ecocide to be recognized as a crime

The struggle in Turkey for ecocide to be recognized as a crime

Melis Tantan of the Ecocide Law Citizens’ Initiative spoke to bianet about the struggle that continues to work towards preventing environmental damage.

27 December 2024 Tuğçe Yılmaz

Tuğçe Yılmaz

What is eco-anxiety?

What is eco-anxiety?

Eco-anxiety is a term that defines the type of anxiety that develops due to ecological crises. In the face of environmental problems, it is critical to take small steps to alleviate anxiety and find a way to access accurate information.

25 December 2024 Tuğçe Yılmaz

Atakan Asılbay

Surrounded by mines and plants, people of Artvin continue their environmental struggle

Surrounded by mines and plants, people of Artvin continue their environmental struggle

About half of the Black Sea province's agricutlural land and pstures have been marked as mining license areas.

25 December 2024 Atakan Asılbay

Tuğçe Yılmaz

“They are trying to criminalize the struggle to protect nature”

“They are trying to criminalize the struggle to protect nature”

The arrest of Dursun Ali Koyuncu, a leading figure in the ecological struggle in Artvin in northeastern Turkey, is yet another example of repression targeting environmental defenders in Turkey. The area licensed to mining has reached 70% of the province, while citizens continue to protect nature in the face of all manners of repression.

24 December 2024 Tuğçe Yılmaz

Lack of environmental impact report requirements threatens ecosystem in Dersim

Lack of environmental impact report requirements threatens ecosystem in Dersim

In Dersim, nine projects have received "environmental impact assesment not required" decisions in the last year. Ecology presenters stated that these decisions are against the law.

24 December 2024 Duygu Kıt

Cevat Baran Çaydaş

Widescale gold exploration license raises concerns in Zonguldak

Widescale gold exploration license raises concerns in Zonguldak

Villagers have launched a legal challenge, citing concerns about the harmful effects of substances like cyanide on their hazelnut crops and water sources.

24 December 2024 Cevat Baran Çaydaş

Smuggled baby gorilla seized at Istanbul Airport in good health

Smuggled baby gorilla seized at Istanbul Airport in good health

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry states that endangered baby gorilla seized at Istanbul Airport remains under observation.

23 December 2024

Esmer Değirmen

Is it possible to revitalize the Marmara Lake?

Is it possible to revitalize the Marmara Lake?

The court case on the transformation of the Marmara Lake in the Gölmarmara District of Manisa Province in the west of Turkey has concluded in favour of environmental activists. We asked experts whether it was possible for the lake to be rehabilitated back to its former ecological state.

23 December 2024 Esmer Değirmen

Konya sinkholes: The harbinger of a food crisis

Konya sinkholes: The harbinger of a food crisis

Climate change and uncontrolled groundwater usage are exacerbating the sinkhole threat in Turkey's "breadbasket." Farmland and residential areas are at risk, and experts warn that a major food crisis is imminent.

20 December 2024 Ali Dinç

Underwater video reveals return of 'sea snot' in Marmara Sea

Underwater video reveals return of 'sea snot' in Marmara Sea

Three years after the massive marine mucilage outbreak, the phenomenon has returned to Turkey's inland sea, this time observed at depths of 5 to 25 meters.

18 December 2024 Ali Dinç

Abir Naeseh Bilgin

Milleyha: Migratory birds' gateway to Turkey threatened by earthquake debris

Milleyha: Migratory birds' gateway to Turkey threatened by earthquake debris

Milleyha Wetland is not only a shelter and breeding ground for migratory birds, but also has a rich ecosystem with rare plant and animal species. However, the area is under threat due to interventions and rubble dumping after the earthquake.

14 December 2024 Abir Naeseh Bilgin

Tensions rise in parliament over Ergene River pollution

Tensions rise in parliament over Ergene River pollution

An opposition MP attempted to hand over a bottle of polluted water from the river to Environment Minister Murat Kurum, who knocked the bottle out of his hand.

12 December 2024

Ayşegül Arslan

Bursa, Turkey's fourth-largest city, could run out of water in 40 days

Bursa, Turkey's fourth-largest city, could run out of water in 40 days

Environmental advocates discuss the city's reservoir drought crisis and propose solutions.

21 November 2024 Ayşegül Arslan

'Clearest footage' of rare Anatolian leopard recorded in Turkey

'Clearest footage' of rare Anatolian leopard recorded in Turkey

Once believed to have become extinct in the country, the Anatolian leopard has been spotted again by camera traps in the wild.

14 November 2024

Environmental impact grows as mining, oil drilling expand in Şırnak mountains

Environmental impact grows as mining, oil drilling expand in Şırnak mountains

Areas around the Cudi and Gabar mountains have been frequently designated special security zones due to the conflict.

13 November 2024

Turkey's Nemrut Caldera closed to visitors as bears fed by humans 'losing instincts'

Turkey's Nemrut Caldera closed to visitors as bears fed by humans 'losing instincts'

The closure aims to restore the bears’ natural feeding behaviors as they have grown increasingly accustomed to food provided by humans, the lack of which leads to unpredictable behavior from the animals.

9 November 2024

Turkey remains Europe’s top dumping ground for plastic waste

Turkey remains Europe’s top dumping ground for plastic waste

The country has received the highest amount of plastic waste from European countries, with the UK being the top exporter.

6 November 2024

'We are working to mobilize people on climate issues'

'We are working to mobilize people on climate issues'

Ekosfer Association visited IPS Communication Foundation/bianet. Özgür Gürbüz stated, “Above all, we strive to improve climate communication to mobilize people.”

26 September 2024 Ali Dinç

Bird haven Gökgöl lake dries up as Turkey’s largest basin struggles with drought

Bird haven Gökgöl lake dries up as Turkey’s largest basin struggles with drought

The lake was formed more than half a century ago by a nearby dam and has since been a stopover for migratory birds

12 September 2024

Massive fish deaths in Turkey’s İzmir caused by ‘treatment plants discharging polluted water’

Massive fish deaths in Turkey’s İzmir caused by ‘treatment plants discharging polluted water’

The Environment Ministry has imposed a fine on the opposition-controlled municipality.

10 September 2024

Villager killed in armed attack targeting forest protection protest in northeastern Turkey

Villager killed in armed attack targeting forest protection protest in northeastern Turkey

The company that undertook an accommodation project in the forest announced its withdrawal following the killing.

5 September 2024

Tuğçe Yılmaz

Lake Salda: Protection or commercialization?

Lake Salda: Protection or commercialization?

While activists from the Salda Lake Protection Association view the inclusion of the lake in the "World's Top 100 Geological Heritage List" as a positive development, they remain concerned about the future of the lake.

3 September 2024 Tuğçe Yılmaz

Ayşegül Arslan

No action taken on electric pole that has 'killed hundreds of storks' in İstanbul

No action taken on electric pole that has 'killed hundreds of storks' in İstanbul

The insulation could be completed within a few hours at a cost of less than 75 dollars, yet the company has not taken action, according to a nature conservation group.

2 September 2024 Ayşegül Arslan

İnanç Yıldız

'Unlawful' hydroelectric plant project threatens ecosystem in Dersim

'Unlawful' hydroelectric plant project threatens ecosystem in Dersim

The project has commenced without an environmental assessment report.

28 August 2024 İnanç Yıldız

Tuğçe Yılmaz

Erdoğan issues ‘tailor-made’ decree for lake shore industrial zone in northwestern Turkey

Erdoğan issues ‘tailor-made’ decree for lake shore industrial zone in northwestern Turkey

A business conglomerate known for its close ties to the government has been permitted to establish a paper factory near Bursa's Lake İznik.

20 August 2024 Tuğçe Yılmaz

Turkey faces massive surge in wildfires in 2024

Turkey faces massive surge in wildfires in 2024

The surge was contributed by higher-than-average temperatures and dry winds, which facilitate the spread of wildfires, experts say.

Fish ‘can’t survive beyond 30 meters of depth’ in Turkey’s Marmara Sea due to oxygen depletion

Fish ‘can’t survive beyond 30 meters of depth’ in Turkey’s Marmara Sea due to oxygen depletion

New research by METU has revealed the concerning levels of oxygen in the inland sea.

Wildfires in western Turkey claim three lives

Wildfires in western Turkey claim three lives

Fires erupted in multiple locations in İzmir. Four individuals have been taken into custody in connection with the fire.

High court annuls regulation opening olive groves to mining

High court annuls regulation opening olive groves to mining

The regulation was enacted in March 2022, contravening the Olive Law.

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