Every year, the BBC highlights 100 remarkable and influential women from around the globe. This year, Nejla Işık, the head of Ikizköy village in Turkey, has been recognized in the “Climate Pioneers” category. The village, and particularly its women, have taken a stand against deforestation in the nearby Akbelen forest, located in Muğla province.
The Struggle of İkizköy Village
Situated close to the precious Akbelen forest, İkizköy village has been at the forefront of environmental activism since 2019, striving to halt the relentless deforestation activities encroaching upon their land. However, their efforts have been met with severe resistance.
In July 2023, two companies, Limak Holding and İÇTAŞ Enerji, linked to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), initiated tree felling in the Akbelen forest. This action came following 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 enterprise of Limak and İÇTAŞ, for lignite extraction, a move announced in April 2021.
As the forest destruction commenced, women from İkizköy village emerged as powerful symbols of local resistance, with Nejla Işık leading the charge. In an interview with Turkish media outlet Fayn Studio, Işık expressed that being listed among influential women instilled a renewed sense of hope within the community, offering a platform to voice their struggle. She recalled her village’s former paradise, stating, “They cut our wings and made us suffer. I wish, instead, that our forest was kept alive, and I was not on that list. We genuinely believed we could save our forest, fought hard, and did not give up, but with those trees, they also cut our happiness to live.”
In March 2024, during local elections, Işık made history by being elected as the village’s first female mukhtar, or head.
Business Interests and Environmental Concerns
In Turkey, safeguarding green spaces is not a priority for the AKP, which has demonstrated a lack of comprehensive environmental policy. The pivotal moment came in 2013 when environmentalists protesting against the devastation of Gezi Park faced a brutal crackdown, marking a significant shift towards anti-environmental policies. Since then, countless protests have erupted across Turkey, driven by local residents keen on defending dwindling green spaces from expanding power plants. Yet, without a government that champions environmental sustainability, this battle continues to be uphill.
The deforestation in Akbelen, which began in July 2023, stands as a blatant exhibition of these challenges. The companies involved showed blatant disregard for a court order that initially suspended their operations.
Fayn Studio reported on the staggering scale of forest destruction in Muğla over the past decade, utilizing time-lapse videos to illustrate the gradual loss of natural landscapes.
During this saga, the National Movement Party (MHP), allied with the AKP, maligned the local residents, labeling them provocateurs. MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli criticized the protesters as criminals, accusing them of undermining peace in Akbelen. Ironically, the residents claimed that it was the government causing unrest.
Among the 35 coal-fired power plants globally, three operate in Muğla: Yatağan (since 1982), Yeniköy (since 1986), and Kemerköy (since 1993), all privatized in 2014. Yeniköy and Kemerköy were taken over by YK Energy, reflecting the ongoing ties between these companies and the ruling party.
Since the management transition, these companies have failed to address the dire health and environmental consequences of their operations. Local residents have extensively documented these issues in various reports. This negligence continued despite new regulations issued by the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources in March 2022, which facilitated development in protected olive groves and sanctioned mining activities near power plants.
Additionally, in the same month, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change altered rules governing protected natural areas for the fourth time, permitting mining and construction in designated conservation zones. These decisions were made concurrently with ongoing legal challenges from İkizköy villagers, showing a dismissive attitude towards their protests.
In a statement from 16 environmental NGOs, the groups remarked, “Deforestation should not be allowed for the continuity of thermal power plants, which cause premature deaths and are significant contributors to the climate crisis. Combatting this crisis requires collaboration with nature, not against it. We cannot sacrifice our forests, which have absorbed over half of the CO2 emissions we’ve generated in the last decade, for the sake of coal power plants threatening our environment and communities.”
In recent years, Turkey has faced numerous natural disasters and environmental crises, including droughts, wildfires, floods, and landslides, capped off by a devastating earthquake in February 2023. Each summer, forest fires have become a recurring news story, and experts warn that while climate change plays a role, many disasters stem from poor governmental planning and decisions.
According to the Climate Transparency Turkey report, Turkey continues to derive over 30% of its electricity from coal. The report also highlights that despite a decline in coal-powered generation during 2021-2022, Turkey has no plans to phase out coal and has approximately 20.4 GW of new coal capacity in development, ranking it sixth globally. The first unit of a China-financed 1.3 GW coal power plant opened in Hunutlu in June 2022. While the coal capacity pipeline saw a 63% decrease compared to 2020, experts assert that to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and achieve Turkey’s net-zero emissions goal by 2053, no new coal power plants should be constructed.
Turkey ratified the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in October 2021, five years post-signing, alongside its declaration for achieving net-zero emissions by 2053. However, Climate Action Tracker deems the nation’s efforts as “critically insufficient.” Reports indicate that the ratification followed guarantees of financial backing from France, Germany, the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, raising questions about the commitment behind the agreement. Previously, Turkey hesitated to sign due to unfavorable classification as a developed country, hindering its pursuit of funding.
For Nejla Işık, the fight continues. She remarks, “This is a battle for our right to live peacefully in our small village, resisting what has been imposed upon us. They destroyed half of our forest last year but didn’t find the coal they were hoping for. Still, we’ve never lost hope or determination,” during an interview with local outlets.
