Each year, the BBC presents a list of 100 remarkable and influential women from across the globe. This year, Nejla Işık, head of İkizköy village in Turkey, is honored in the “Climate Pioneers” category. The village and its women have played a central role in an environmental movement fighting against deforestation in the Akbelen forest, located in Muğla province.
İkizköy Village
İkizköy village is positioned adjacent to the Akbelen forest in Turkey’s southwestern Muğla province. Since 2019, the village residents have been actively fighting to stop deforestation in the Akbelen forest, despite facing significant opposition.
In July 2023, two companies, Limak Holding and İÇTAŞ Enerji, with connections to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), initiated tree cutting in the Akbelen forest. This action followed the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s decision to allocate approximately 740 decares (740,000 square meters) of forest land to YK Energy— a joint venture created by Limak and İÇTAŞ— for lignite mining, a decision made in April 2021.
As the destruction of the forest commenced, a group of women from İkizköy emerged as powerful symbols of local resistance, with Nejla Işık at the forefront. In an interview with Fayn Studio, a Turkish online media platform, Işık expressed that being included in this distinguished list brought renewed hope to the community, highlighting their struggles to the world. Reflecting on the past, she lamented, “We had a dream-like village. They cut our wings and made us suffer. I wish instead that our forest was preserved, and I was not on that list. We truly believed we could save our forest and fought fiercely, but with the trees, they also took our happiness.”
In March 2024, during local elections, Işık made history by being elected as the village’s first female mukhtar, or village head.
Business Interests
In Turkey, the preservation of green spaces is not prioritized by the ruling party, which lacks a credible environmental policy.
The crackdown on environmentalists protesting the devastation of Gezi Park in 2013 marked a significant shift towards anti-environmentalism under the AKP. Since then, numerous protests have erupted across Turkey, organized by local community members striving to protect remaining green spaces from the expansion of power plants. However, with a government focused on economic gain at the environment’s expense, the struggle appears to be ongoing.
The deforestation in Akbelen that began in July 2023 exemplified this trend. Companies involved in this destruction blatantly ignored a court order that had initially suspended the project.
The extent of forest area losses in Muğla over the past decade was documented by local media outlet Fayn Studio, which produced a time-lapse video illustrating the gradual deforestation.
Simultaneously, the National Movement Party (MHP), an ally of the AKP, labeled the villagers as provocateurs. MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli denounced the protesters, branding them as criminals and terrorists attempting to “disrupt the tranquility” in Akbelen. Ironically, local residents accused the ruling government of doing precisely that.
Among the 35 coal-fired power plants operating globally, three are located in Muğla: Yatağan (since 1982), Yeniköy (since 1986), and Kemerköy (since 1993). All three underwent privatization in 2014, with Yeniköy and Kemerköy purchased by YK Energy, a collaboration between Limak Holding and İÇTAŞ Enerji, both known for their close ties to the government.
Since assuming management of these plants, the companies have failed to address the severe health and environmental consequences affiliated with their operations, which residents have meticulously documented in both local and international reports. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources introduced a new regulation in March 2022 that permitted the development of natural olive groves and approved mining operations for power plants.
In the same month, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change amended the regulations for protected natural areas for the fourth time, allowing mining and construction within these zones. These announcements coincided with an ongoing court case initiated by İkizköy residents, as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry continued to ignore local protests while transferring 740 decares of forest land for lignite mining.
In a joint statement from 16 environmental NGOs at that time, the signatories asserted, “Deforestation cannot be justified for the maintenance of thermal power plants, which are a leading cause of the climate crisis and lead to premature deaths. We can combat the climate crisis by cooperating with nature rather than against it. We cannot sacrifice forests, which offset a significant portion of the carbon dioxide we’ve emitted over the last decade, for coal power plants that threaten natural areas, climate, and all forms of life.”
In recent years, Turkey has encountered numerous natural disasters and environmental challenges, including drought, wildfires, floods, and mudslides, alongside a catastrophic earthquake in February 2023. Forest fire reports have become a yearly occurrence. Experts suggest that while climate change and extreme weather may contribute, these disasters stem largely from poor governmental planning and detrimental decision-making.
The Climate Transparency Turkey report indicates that Turkey still generates over 30 percent of its electricity from coal. Despite a slight decline in coal power generation in the past years, Turkey remains committed to expanding its coal capacity, with around 20.4 GW of new projects planned, ranking it sixth worldwide. In June 2022, the first block of a China-funded 1.3 GW coal power plant began operations in Hunutlu. To meet the 1.5-degree Celsius goal of the Paris Agreement and achieve net-zero emissions by 2053, Turkey should discontinue plans for any new coal plants.
Turkey only recently ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement, aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, in October 2021— five years after its initial signing. At that time, Turkey also announced an objective to reach net-zero emissions by 2053.
According to Climate Action Tracker, the country’s actions toward fulfilling the Paris Accord’s commitments are “critically insufficient.” Additionally, the ratification of the Paris Agreement was influenced by financial assurances received from France, Germany, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as reported by Politico and Reuters. Previously, Ankara cited unfair treatment in classification as a reason for its delay in signing, arguing that being classified as an Annex I country hindered its ability to seek necessary funding.
Nejla Işık’s battle continues. “This is a fight for our right to live peacefully in our village and to resist what has been imposed upon us. They destroyed half of our forest last year but didn’t find the coal they were searching for. Nonetheless, we have never lost our hope or determination,” she stated in an interview with local media.
