On 19 July, the omnibus bill regulating the energy and mining sectors, including a provision that opens olive groves to mining activities, was passed by the General Assembly of the Turkish Parliament.
Despite strong objections from the opposition, the bill was approved and immediately sparked protests by villagers and ecology activists, who condemned it for serving the interests of mining and energy corporations at the expense of vital ecosystems and local communities.
The bill, which also drew controversy during parliamentary debate, was pushed through in defiance of all objections. It effectively hands over numerous living spaces and natural areas in Turkey and Kurdistan to mining companies.
Presidency granted sweeping powers
The law overrides the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process and grants extraordinary powers to the presidency.
It authorizes the classification of certain minerals as “strategic” or “critical,” and opens the door for expedited state expropriation in areas where such minerals are found. The determination of which minerals qualify as “critical” will be made jointly by the Ministries of National Defense, Industry, and Trade.
If public institutions fail to provide their opinion within three months during the EIA process, any mining project, including those planned in olive groves, will be automatically considered approved. If requested, an additional one-month extension may be granted.
One particularly controversial clause that undermines the EIA process allows the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs (MAPEG) to grant mining companies up to 24 months of free access to operate in state-owned forests. If a forest permit has already been obtained, no additional opinion will be required during the EIA process.
Another major power given to the presidency is the authority to resolve disagreements among public institutions. In such cases, the final decision will be made by a special council chaired by the vice president and composed of the relevant ministers.
Despite complaints and court rulings, operations continue
The new law will accelerate not only future projects but also existing mining and hydroelectric initiatives across Kurdistan. While energy and mining capital is granted broad privileges, nature is being handed over for profit.
Although Turkey is a party to the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, both of which commit it to protecting endangered and endemic species, it continues to authorize mining and dam construction in ecologically sensitive areas.
A glance at the recent media coverage of mining and hydro projects in Kurdistan is enough to illustrate the scope of the problem.
In the Hesendîn Plateau, located in the Pasur (Kulp) district of Diyarbakır (Amed), Kulp Mining and Foreign Trade Incorporated Company has been operating without an EIA report. Despite 17 years of mining activity, the company began new exploration operations with a legally dubious “EIA not required” report. In response, the Environmental and Urban Law Commission of the Diyarbakır Bar Association filed a lawsuit with the Second Administrative Court of Diyarbakır.
The court requested the EIA report from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, only to discover that the report had been lost during a flood in 2020. Nevertheless, mining activities in the region continue unabated.
Similarly, in 2020, a report stating “EIA not required” was issued for a project in the rural neighborhood of Mizak in the Licê district of Diyarbakır. Although the license area spans approximately 700 hectares, only 24.87 hectares were declared as the active project site to bypass the EIA process. Thousands of trees were cut down in the area.
Following a lawsuit filed by the Diyarbakır Bar Association, the Ecology Association, and local residents, the Fourth Administrative Court of Diyarbakır issued a decision to conduct an ecological site investigation in the rural neighborhoods of Cixsê (Pasur) and Mizak (Licê).
In Cixsê, a solar power station is being planned just 48 meters from a residential area. On 25 June, a court-appointed expert committee visited the site and listened to testimony from both the plaintiffs and their legal representatives.
In the rural neighborhood of Korxa in Licê, the Eighth Regional Directorate of the General Directorate of Highways launched a project on 12 August 2021 to build a limestone quarry, mechanical plant, and crushing-screening facility. However, the project was halted due to strong objections from local residents.
The site is located in proximity to residential areas. If explosives are used, the rural neighborhoods of Xorxa and Hêdîk, as well as the historically significant Birkleyn Cave, will be affected.
Ahmet İnan, Chair of the Environmental and Urban Law Commission of the Diyarbakır Bar Association spoke to Mezopotamya Agency. He emphasized the historical importance of the area in question. He also noted that it is a vital grazing and forest zone used by local villagers to feed their livestock.
İnan stated that villagers filed a criminal complaint a year ago, citing the site’s historical value. He added that complaints were also submitted to the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, the Directorate of Cultural Heritage Preservation, and the company involved in the project.
Despite all these formal complaints, İnan said, no action has been taken.
Seventy-five percent of Qileban targeted for mining operations
Another mining initiative was launched in Şırnak (Şirnex), but was met with strong resistance from local residents, forcing the company to temporarily withdraw from the area.
In the town of Dêrahînê (Uzungeçit), located in the Qileban (Uludere) district of Şırnak, local residents rose up against a mining company that had arrived from Siirt (Sêrt). When company officials attempted to initiate zinc mining operations in an area that contains the town’s drinking water source, residents reacted strongly and forced construction machinery out of the area.
In reality, this region has long been on the radar of mining companies. In recent years, those with close ties to the government have flocked to the area, and the number of companies operating there has increased rapidly.
Some of the companies currently active in the region included: Acar, Özdağlar, Sihan, Evrensel, Özel, Göksad, Öz Kardeşler, Taşar, Geliş, Şırnak Afa, Bölünmez Group, Eloş, and Dıvın Mining.
On 21 December 2021, the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs, under the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, opened a tender for a mining operation named “Group 203” in Qileban. The tender covers 54,009.77 hectares of natural land for the extraction of 250,000 tons of lead and zinc, and 2.4 million tons of copper.
The proposed mining zone accounts for 75 percent of Qileban’s total surface area, which spans 73,100 hectares.
Companies linked to AKP deputy
In the Sisê neighborhood of the Licê district in Diyarbakır, a limestone quarry and associated mining activities are causing significant environmental destruction. Although the site is located only a few hundred meters from residential areas, a “no EIA required” decision was issued for the Limestone Quarry – Crushing-Screening Facility and Mechanical Plant in 2022.
The company operating the facility is owned by Ferhat Nasıroğlu, a member of parliament from the Justice and Development Party (AKP). In a project file prepared by the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) for the EIA process, it was stated: “Explosions will be carried out as part of the project, and all necessary precautions will be taken before detonation. Watering will be carried out during operations to prevent dust formation.” Despite these assurances, many homes in the area were damaged by the blasting.
Additionally, oil exploration is also taking place in the same area. Both the limestone quarry and oil operations are being carried out by companies owned by Ferhat Nasıroğlu, the AKP deputy representing Êlih (Batman). The Fernas Group of Companies, owned by the Nasıroğlu family, is subcontracting for the DSI.
Oil drilling operations in the area are being carried out by Turkish Petroleum International Company (TPIC), a subsidiary of Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO). TPIC is also reported to be under the ownership of AKP deputy Ferhat Nasıroğlu.
TPAO’s oil exploration license covering a 25,000-hectare area in Diyarbakır was extended for an additional two years by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, now valid until 11 May 2027.
Meanwhile, in Gabar Mountain in Şırnak, oil exploration activities led by TPAO have resulted in the cutting down of thousands of trees. Companies constructing roads throughout the mountain have brought local wildlife to the brink of extinction. In Bertûr village, which lies within the Şırnak city center district, the 600-year-old natural spring known as Kaniya Mizgeftokê has begun to dry up and become polluted due to the drilling activities.
People resist hydroelectric power projects
In the Sarım Basin, located between the Licê district of Diyarbakır and the Dara Hênî (Genç) district of Bingöl (Çewlîg), a legal case concerning the proposed Birsu Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) project took a new turn when the Fourth Chamber of the Council of State overturned a lower court’s decision to cancel the “positive EIA” approval.
The Council of State ruled that a new expert committee must be appointed to conduct an on-site inspection and prepare a new report.
In its decision, the court emphasized that the expert reports presented in the case, both the initial and supplementary ones, did not fully and scientifically address the parties’ concerns in a way that left no room for doubt. This was cited as a key reason for annulling the ruling by the Second Administrative Court of Erzurum that had canceled the positive EIA decision.
The region is also home to the critically endangered Batman River Loach (Paraschistura chrysicristinae), a species thought to have been extinct for 47 years and now protected under the highest conservation status.
On 31 March 2024, the administrative court ruled in favor of canceling the EIA approval. The decision cited the project’s potential negative impacts, stressing that the EIA report should have included details regarding beekeeping activities in the area and measures to mitigate avalanche risks.
Additionally, the court noted that defining the impact zone solely based on the construction site was inappropriate. Instead, the report should have evaluated this issue under the “Socio-economic Characteristics of the Environment” section in the EIA Summary Format.
In another case, local residents are resisting the construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Zorê River, located between the Sason district of Batman (Êlih) and the Pasur district of Diyarbakır, by Maya Energy Production Company.
Although a previous court ruling had already canceled the project, the company revised the EIA report and initiated a new legal process, which is now being reviewed by the Second Administrative Court of Diyarbakır.
In the second case, a newly conducted expert assessment warned that the dam project would destroy water sources, agriculture, and wildlife. However, the expert committee was replaced with a new panel that issued a report in favor of the company.
In response, the Diyarbakır Bar Association filed an appeal with the Fourth Chamber of the Council of State.