Energy dreams in the days of power cuts The biggest city of Turkey, and its economic heartland, Istanbul has ended the year 2016 with power cuts over several days.
Environmental protection in the ‘New Turkey’ According to the report, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization has begun a scientific research project on the natural protection areas two years ago
Another “work accident” in Turkey, which is not an accident The issue of labour safety made a return to the headlines in Turkey with a mine “accident” on the night of November 17th. In an open copper mine in the war depressed south-eastern region of the country, 16 workers - truck drivers and operators of earthmovers – were buried by a landslide.
The Climate Network asks for the approval of the Paris Agreement by Turkey The Turkish civil society, among them the Climate Network, is monitoring Turkey during COP22 Marrakesh Climate Summit Negotiations, and keeps reminding the demands while Turkey bargains for the climate finance support
A Commentary on Turkey’s Habitat III National Report – Sustainable(?) Urbanisation in Turkey A brief, critical view to Turkey's (official) National HABITAT III Report, prepared by Helsinki Citizens' Assembly - Turkey
The poisonous apple: Turkish fruits and vegetables contain too many pesticides to be sold in the EU Bülent Şık, a food engineer from Turkey made an extensive analysis on RASFF facts about Turkey and found out that the “lemon case” was not an exception.
Article 75; the Knell for the Environment What exactly is article 75 about and what is its meaning for the environment? Article 75 ‘Supporting investments in accord with the scale of projects’ authorizes the cabinet to exempt certain infrastructure projects, that due to being controversial are in need of passing standard legal procedures, from the mandatory application of procedures such as permissions, licenses, allotments, and environmental as well as social impact assessments.
The infrastructure we don’t want: OECD infrastructure advice to the G20 A study commissioned by the Heinrich Böll Foundation found that the OECD's infrastructure investment advice to the G20 finance track lacks coherence with sustainable development and is “out of sync” with recent achievements of the global community.
Trees versus Concrete: Deforestation in the North Bosphorus Region and Civil Society Responses Currently, up to 4 million trees are cleared in connection to the construction of the 3rd Bosphorus bridge and a new airport, and this might just be the beginning. Against the background of this threat, Turkish environmentalists have organized protests and taken up the fight against deforestation. Due to problems with democratic decision-making and the rule of law, civil society efforts have so far shown very limited results. One of the pressing questions of the future, therefore, will be which other options are available to civil society to respond to the threat of deforestation. By Konrad Gürtler
Environmental Justice in Turkey: Megaprojects in the Framework of Democracy and the Rule of Law in Turkey and the EU To assess the impact of the EU environmental acquis in the context of the EU-Turkey accession negotiations and reinforce networks between European and Turkish environmental civil society actors, a delegation of Turkish legal experts, parliamentarians, academics and environmental activists visited Brussels between 26th and 29th January 2016.