Environmental destruction is intensifying across Kurdistan and Turkey, where life is increasingly being poisoned by capital-driven projects. Following dams, mining operations, oil exploration, and cyanide-based activities, a large-scale search for geothermal resources is now planned in districts with dense fault lines, including Tekman (Tatos), Varto (Gimgim), and Karlıova (Kanîreş). The first drilling is expected to begin in the second week of May, and the project is set to destroy the living spaces of dozens of people and animals, particularly in Varto and Karlıova. Pasture lands used by villagers engaged in livestock farming will also be occupied. In response to this anticipated destruction, villagers have organized under the Karlıova Ecology Platform and launched a struggle against the Geothermal Power Plant (GPP) project. One of the villagers, Mehmet Zahit, said, “Let the capital owners and companies know that we will not give up our land,” emphasizing that they will not allow these projects to proceed.
GPP exploration planned in three villages
Debates over the geothermal energy project continue in Varto and Karlıova, while a recent decision has approved a “positive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)” for a geothermal resource exploration project to be carried out in three villages of Karlıova. According to a statement from the General Directorate of Environmental Impact Assessment, Permitting and Inspection, the project file submitted by IGNIS H2 Energy Production Joint Stock Company for geothermal exploration in the villages of Qerxebazar, Şorik, and Çêrme was reviewed, and the governorship granted a positive EIA decision. Within the scope of the project, the company has been licensed to conduct exploration activities across an area of 7,132 hectares in the three villages, with drilling planned at 58 separate locations.
Covers thousands of hectares
According to the project file prepared for geothermal resource exploration in Qerxebazar, the relevant company was granted a three-year geothermal exploration license for an area of 2,664 hectares by the Bingöl Special Provincial Administration. In Şorik, the designated project area covers 2,118 hectares. Within the exploration license area, geothermal fluid exploration activities are planned across a 23-hectare EIA zone, involving 23 separate polygons and 23 geothermal drilling points. In Çêrme, the company has been granted a license for an area of 2,350 hectares. Within this license area, geothermal fluid exploration is planned across a 17-hectare EIA zone, with 17 polygons and 17 geothermal drilling points.
Residents form ecology platform against GPP
Villagers who came together in response to these policies of environmental destruction aim to carry out an organized struggle through the platform they have established. Members of the platform have been engaging with local residents through press statements and public meetings, and they state that they will not abandon either legal action or on-the-ground resistance in order to prevent the project from moving forward. Mehmet Zahit, a platform member from the village of Hacılar in Karlıova, said they oppose these projects targeting their living spaces and are making efforts to protect them. Drawing attention to the rich ecosystem and endemic plant species in the region, Zahit said: “The American company has been conducting exploration activities here since 2024. At the current stage of these efforts, it is clear that our extensive pastures and natural habitats are facing the threat of destruction. This destruction directly threatens the lives of people living in the region.”
Destruction of nature is inevitable
Mehmet Zahit continued his remarks as follows: “If these projects are implemented, our villages and pastures will suffer great damage. We have experienced similar destruction before. In the 1990s, livestock farming in our villages nearly collapsed, and many villagers were forced to migrate to cities to make a living. These projects are presented to us as ‘clean and renewable energy.’ However, we know that the destruction of our nature, the pollution of our air, and the contamination of our underground water are inevitable. This situation will not only destroy plant and animal life but will also threaten human life and force us to migrate.”
We want to live on these lands
Mehmet Zahit emphasized their determination to protect their living spaces and said: “We see it as our duty to defend our living spaces and to expand this struggle. As the people of Karlıova and Varto, we are determined in our struggle against wind power plants, hydroelectric power plants, and geothermal projects. Because we want to live on our own land. We will not allow ourselves to be driven from these lands. Our ancestors have lived on these lands for thousands of years, drinking this water and breathing this air. We want to carry our lives into the future and leave a clean environment to our children and grandchildren.”
We resisted wind projects, now it is GPP
Mehmet Zahit noted that their struggle against the wind power plant project planned in the region had resulted in gains and underlined that they would show the same determination in their fight against geothermal projects. He said: “We do not accept that our lands are handed over to different companies. We also know that new geothermal projects are being brought forward in the basin covering the villages of Aynik and Hacılar in Karlıova. Through these projects, they are trying to intimidate us and destroy our nature. The first phase of the wind power plant projects had been completed, and the second phase threatened our nature and livelihoods by blocking our water resources. We resisted this and carried out a strong struggle. As a result of this struggle, it was verbally stated that the projects were canceled.”
We want to protect our future
Mehmet Zahit concluded his remarks with a call to the public and said: “One of the greatest threats today is geothermal projects. Wells to be opened underground can irreversibly damage our water resources and ecosystem. Many people in our region make their living through livestock farming and beekeeping. If underground water is polluted and vegetation is destroyed, it will not be possible to continue these activities. For this reason, we want to protect our living spaces, our livelihoods, and our future. These lands have been entrusted to us by our ancestors, and we want to pass them on to future generations in a clean and livable condition. This is our living space. Raise your voice for us and support our struggle. Because not only human life, but also the lives of animals, plants, and a unique natural environment are under threat here.”
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