Forests are being burned, trees are being cut down, mountains are being blasted with dynamite and rivers are being dried up. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government is sacrificing biodiversity and ecosystems to capital. In many cities such as Giresun, Gümüşhane, Ordu, Rize, Samsun, Sinop, Aydın and İzmir, thousands of hectares of land are being opened to mining, oil, geothermal power plant (GPP) and hydroelectric power plant (HPP) tenders. The scale of destruction, intensifying over the past two years and accelerating in the first months of 2026, reveals that state institutions and pro-government companies are acting in coordination, opening tenders based on the underground wealth of each region.
The forest fires that broke out in July–August 2021, the seizure of land for mining sites through the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs (MAPEG), and the process accelerated through Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports are pushing the country toward a large-scale ecological disaster, economic crisis and social collapse.
Through the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs, the state allocated hundreds of sites to mining and oil companies in tenders opened between the beginning of 2023 and the end of 2025. Mining tenders reached record levels, and thousands of projects were approved through Environmental Impact Assessment processes. The tenders were awarded to profit-driven companies, including Alagöz Mining owned by AKP Iğdır MP Cantürk Alagöz, Eti Bakır under Cengiz Holding, Lidya Mining under Çalık Holding, BNP Production Joint Stock Company, Karadeniz Zemin Construction Engineering Limited Company, Lider Bentonit Mining, Petsan Bentonit Mining and Safi Galata Mining.
Hydropower, quarries and mining sites in the Black Sea
Due to its geography and natural energy resources, the Black Sea region has long been on the state’s radar, with the most extensive destruction taking place through hydroelectric power plants. Because these plants use nearly all available water at the source, they dry up smaller streams in valleys during the summer months and severely disrupt the ecological balance. They also alter the natural flow and structure of rivers, degrading water quality. As water levels decline, the impact extends from microorganisms to fish, from wildlife on land to agricultural areas, threatening all forms of life and driving some species toward extinction. While there are reported to be more than 250 hydroelectric power plants in the Black Sea region, quarrying and mining sites have been added to this expansion in recent years.
Hydroelectric power plants are concentrated in provinces such as Giresun, Trabzon, Rize and Ordu, while quarries are being built in Giresun, Ordu and Samsun. In Giresun, one of the world’s key hazelnut production centers, ecological destruction that began with hydroelectric power plants has accelerated in recent years through mining activities. According to data from the State Hydraulic Works (DSI), the city has 45 active hydroelectric power plants, while new projects continue to be proposed, and 85 percent of the province is now covered by mining licenses.
Following tenders by the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs, the province is now largely dominated by Alagöz Mining. Data from the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs shows that 85 percent of the area is licensed for Group IV minerals (such as gold, silver, copper and zinc). In 11 of its 16 districts, this rate exceeds 90 percent. Around 90 percent of forest areas, 85 percent of agricultural land, 99 percent of pastures and 84 percent of residential areas are under mining licenses. Both the natural and historical sites of the region are also under threat from mining activities.
Mining operations launched across a wide area, including Sekü village in Tirebolu and extending to Dereli, Görele and Çanakçı districts, have drawn strong reactions from environmental organizations and local residents. People seeking to protect their living spaces and water resources initiated legal action and obtained a court decision to halt the projects. Despite the court ruling, the company reportedly continues its operations illegally at night. Residents have set up tents in the area and continue their resistance, while visits in support of villagers are ongoing. In addition, several highland areas such as Kartepe, Duman, Küllük, Çakırgöl and Dereyurt have been tendered to large companies.
Meanwhile, thousands of hectares of land in the provinces of Ordu, Rize, Samsun and Sinop were allocated to pro-government companies, primarily Eti Bakır, through tenders held on April 9. The copper mine in Küre district of Kastamonu, operated since 1939, was also awarded to Eti Bakır. In Hanönü district, Acacia Mining, a joint venture of İlbak Holding and Akfen Holding, is seeking to open another copper mine. The Environmental Impact Assessment process has been initiated for a project planned over an area of 1,448.17 hectares in Vakıf Geymene neighborhood, where enrichment and waste storage facilities will also be constructed. Projects such as cage aquaculture and organized industrial zones in Alaplı and Ereğli districts of Zonguldak, a mining site in Tavşanlı district of Kütahya, and waste dumping projects in Samsun have also been approved.
Destruction more visible in the Aegean
Since the 2020s, areas in the Aegean region that were burned during summer fires, often near settlements and coastal zones, and left to burn despite public reactions with claims that “there are no firefighting planes”, have gradually been opened to development. Areas that were not burned are, as in the Black Sea, being exploited through Environmental Impact Assessment reports. Hotels and luxury villas are being built, land is expropriated for mining and coal projects, livelihoods are taken away, and those who resist are detained.
In Izmir, widespread plunder is taking place across many areas, from gold mining in Bergama to coal mines and thermal power plants in Akbelen, from wind energy projects (WEP) in Karaburun to geothermal power plants in Aydın, amounting to an open ecocide.
In Kuşçular and Yağcılar villages of Urla district, new zoning plans approved on March 13 by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change opened a 15-hectare “natural protected site” to construction. It is reported that 85 villas will be built on this land, including areas previously designated for natural protection and agricultural use.
In Orhanlı village of Seferihisar, one of the centers of olive cultivation, beekeeping and organic farming, residents have been waging a legal struggle against a geothermal project for six years. The village of 2,500 people, which relies on olives, beekeeping and organic agriculture, is awaiting a court decision that could halt the geothermal project planned by Küçük Menderes company.
The Latmos region in Söke district of Aydın is known as a haven for pine nuts and olives. Since 2004, Latmos has been subjected to ecocide due to quartz, quartzite and feldspar mining activities carried out by Kale and Kormed companies. Mines operated without licenses for 18 years have turned many areas into piles of stone and soil. Although a lawsuit was filed three years ago against these unlicensed operations, the companies continue mining after obtaining licenses from the state.
Resistance in Akbelen
The struggle of local residents against tree-cutting carried out to expand a mining site in the Akbelen Forest, located in Ikizköy village of Milas district in Muğla, has been ongoing since 2019. Covering an area of 740 hectares, the forest hosts a wide variety of tree species including pine, oak, alder, chestnut and plane trees. More than 200 plant species, over 100 bird species and more than 30 mammal species live in the area. Experts warn that the destruction of the forest would not only mean the loss of trees but the collapse of an entire ecosystem, leading to the pollution of surface and groundwater, contributing to climate change and posing serious risks to human health. The resistance against environmental destruction began in 2019 when the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry allocated the Akbelen Forest to Yeniköy Kemerköy Energy (YK Energy), a company under Limak Holding, to supply coal to the Yeniköy and Kemerköy thermal power plants. Following the expansion of coal mining activities in 2018, İkizköy was expropriated and gradually evacuated. Villagers were forced to relocate to agricultural lands near Karadam neighborhood, several kilometers away. However, the mining company also sent notices for the lands where villagers had newly settled.mIn response, residents of Ikizköy filed a lawsuit in 2019 against YK Energy, which sought to open a lignite mine in Akbelen Forest. Despite the ongoing legal process, the state granted the company permission to proceed with logging activities. Villagers then launched a continuous protest vigil in the forest on July 17, 2019, to stop the deforestation. With state approval, the forest was handed over to YK Energy, which holds a license for a coal mining area covering 220,000 decares.
In 2021, the Işıkdere settlement of İkizköy was demolished and converted into a mining production site due to the expansion of the coal mine. A lawsuit filed by the nature protection association KARDOK, established by the villagers, seeking recognition of the area as an archaeological site was rejected at the end of 2022 by Muğla 3rd Administrative Court without a comprehensive expert assessment. Residents of Ikizköy, located adjacent to the 740-decare Akbelen Forest, also filed a lawsuit at Muğla 3rd Administrative Court seeking the cancellation of the forest’s allocation to the company. In 2023, the company, backed by state security forces, launched operations against the villagers in the early hours of the morning. While residents continued their resistance and awaited court decisions, the enactment of a mining law in 2025 led to widespread destruction of olive groves in İkizköy and surrounding villages. An urgent expropriation decree signed by the president on January 10, 2026 further intensified the pressure.
Currently, expert assessments are being conducted on 679 parcels of agricultural land across six neighborhoods surrounding Akbelen Forest following urgent expropriation decisions. A panel of experts appointed by Muğla 2nd Civil Court of First Instance is working to determine the value of lands to be seized in order to supply coal to thermal power plants. In response, villagers have been maintaining a vigil at the entrance of the village since March 30. Nejla Işık, head of Ikizköy neighborhood, and Esra Işık were detained the same night after protesting the expert inspections, and Esra Işık was arrested on March 31. While clearing operations continue in the area, villagers remain on-site, sustaining their resistance.
Unextinguished forest fires
At the start of every summer, forest fires break out across the country from one end to the other. While some are brought under control, others are not even intervened in. The failure to extinguish fires, and the spread of flames to new areas while others are still ongoing, points to a deliberate pattern of ecocide. The lack of effective measures against fires, particularly in June, July and August since 2021, along with the state’s claim that there are “not enough firefighting aircraft and equipment,” reveals a serious level of negligence.
Based on the average of the 2011–2020 period, approximately 9,000 hectares of forest burned annually in Turkey, while this figure rose sharply to 139,000 hectares in 2021. The fires that began in late July 2021 in Manavgat district of Antalya and spread to many regions could not be contained for a long time, prompting criticism over the insufficiency of firefighting aircraft. A total of 2,793 fires were recorded in 2021, resulting in 139,505 hectares being burned.
Following 2021, the largest fires occurred last summer. The scale of destruction in districts such as Aliağa, Seferihisar, Çeşme and Buca in Izmir is striking. A total of 27,000 hectares burned in the summer of 2025, equivalent to roughly 37,000 football fields. Although the General Directorate of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry claimed that 1,933 of the 3,224 forest fires in 2025 were caused by “negligence, carelessness, intent and accidents,” the fires still reduced 43,577 hectares to ash. The aftermath of fires in provinces such as Muğla, Istanbul, Hatay and Antalya shows that the state has put both wildlife and human life at risk for profit. Instead of reforestation efforts, many of the burned areas were reportedly handed over to pro-government companies for the construction of hotels, housing projects or mining exploration. The fires also caused the deaths of both wild and domestic animals. Habitat loss led to significant declines in populations of mammals, birds, reptiles and insects, increased the risk of soil erosion and flooding, and inflicted lasting damage on biodiversity.
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