ECOLOGY

Latest News

• Agricultural land in Iraq becomes desert 

  A lack of water and rising temperatures are causing 100,000 hectares of agricultural land in Iraq to dry out every year. Agriculture depends primarily on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
• Forest destruction in the Cudi Mountains 

  Massive forest clearing is taking place on Mount Cudi in northern Kurdistan. Every day, 400 tons of wood are removed and stored on the grounds of a military garrison.
• People in Dersim protest plans to build solid waste facility  

  People in the village of Sütlüce, in Dersim protested the solid waste facility project planned to be built there.
• A common struggle for nature: From Gülpınar to Ikizdere 

  Vahap Işıklı, co-spokesperson of the Hewsel Protection Platform, said: “We stand with the villagers in struggle from Van Gülpınar to Ikizdere. Nature is a common good and our struggle is common.”
• KCK call against ecological destruction in South Kurdistan 

  The KCK released a statement calling on all international ecological, environmental and human rights organizations to raise their voice against the Turkish attacks on South Kurdistan and the ecological disaster that it entails.
• Bar associations on Yurtbaşı: "Environmental protection is a human right" 

  More than fifty bar associations in Turkey have spoken out against the marble quarry in the Kurdish village of Yurtbaşı, demanding compensation for the damage to the population and an official apology.
• The village of Batirzan, a place of peace and natural beauty 

  The village of Batirzan in Çilaxa has attracted attention because of its rich nature and green environment.
• SOHR warns against a looming disaster as level of Euphrates water decreases 

  Level of water decreases despite Turkish government’s statements of re-pumping water to Syria.
• Decades-long fight against quarry in Van 

  The people of Özyurt in Van province continue to fight back against the company operating a marble quarry in their village. "It's not about money for us, but about the environment and our health," says farmer Mehmet Yücel.
• Village guards cut down trees on Mount Cudi 

  The invading Turkish state's village guards are cutting trees in the Besta Tikera area on Mount Cudi.
• HPG: Devastation of nature in Kurdistan will not be left unpunished 

  The HPG stated that the occupant Turkish state devastates the nature in Kurdistan and said, “This crime will never be left unpunished. Nobody must become accomplice to the Turkish state’s crime of devastating the nature in Kurdistan.”
• 'Nature protection zone' in Van becomes gas bomb training area of Turkish police 

  The gas bombs used in the training area damage both the historic fabric and natural environment.
• Drinking water project launched in Kobane 

  Kobane Canton Municipalities Committee and Water Directorate will launch a project for supplying drinking water to the city.
• Soldiers open fire on villagers protesting a planned marble quarry in Van 

  In Van, the people of Yurtbaşı village are resisting a marble quarry in their village. The private company DIMER has now arrived at the scene accompanied by 200 soldiers and construction machinery. Firearms have been used and stables demolished.
• Land grabbing and privatization in Kurdistan 

  The Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning has put well over a hundred fields in the Van, Şirnak and Hakkari up for sale. The population should either buy their own land or lose it.
• Forest in Dersim still on fire 

  The forest fire caused by the operation of the Turkish soldiers in Dersim has not yet been brought under control as authorities did not intervene.
• Urban renewal erodes farming in the Hevsel Gardens 

  Hacı Sular, who is engaged in farming in Hevsel Gardens, said that he was able to sell his products directly in Sur without a middleman in the past, but now there is no place to sell his products.
• Forest fire on Mount Cudi 

  A forest fire has broken out at the foothills of Mount Cudi in Şırnak. The cause is unclear; it is suspected that the Turkish military is once again lighting the fire.
• Ecologists protest attempts to cut down trees in Mersin 

  Ecologists stopped the environmental destruction in Mersin, saying, "People protect the forests from the state."
• Police in Istanbul take thirteen people into custody over Ikizdere protest 

  Thirteen people were taken into custody in Istanbul when police attacked the Youth Movement Coordination protest in front of Cengiz Holding to protest the nature pillage in Ikizdere.
• Investigation finds plastic from the UK and Germany illegally dumped in Turkey 

  Around 241 truckloads of plastic waste come to Turkey every day from across Europe as Turkey continues to be Europe’s largest plastic waste dump.
• Rize Governorate bans actions against quarry project in Ikizdere  

  Rize Governorate banned the actions carried out by villagers against the quarry project in Ikizdere for 15 days.
• Soldiers dismantle tents of Ikizidere villagers protesting quarry 

  The villagers of Ikizdere, who have been carrying out a vigil in defense of their land for 25 days, were attacked by soldiers and their tents dismantled.
• Forest fire provoked by the Turkish soldiers in Hozat continues 

  After the military operation launched in the countryside of Hozat, the fire of the forest provoked by the Turkish soldiers has not been extinguished for 5 days, while the Tunceli Governorship denied the nature massacre instead of putting out the fire.
• Evîn Cûma: Turkey will cause an ecological disaster by cutting off water 

  Evîn Cûma, one of the executives of the Jazira Region Human Rights Organization, warned that the Turkish state cutting off the water of the Euphrates River would cause an ecological disaster.