They do not listen to the scream of the earth

Berfin BAYSAN

The geothermal power plant (JES) project on fertile agricultural lands covered with olive and fig trees in Kuyucak and Buharkent districts of Aydın has been brought back to the agenda. The project, which was previously cancelled by Aydın 1st Administrative Court due to its environmental impacts, is being revived by Kocaer Energy Inc. with an investment of 3 billion 295 million liras. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change announced that a public participation meeting will be held on May 23 as part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process. However, the locals reacted .

Speaking to BirGün about the legal process, lawyer Ferah Altuntaş said, “There are thousands of trees in the region, tens of thousands of people live in that region. Therefore, how did they allocate a budget for people’s bread? We need to ask how did they allocate a budget for people’s labor and lives. They have set aside a very good budget for themselves. 7 villages live side by side there. The villages are close to each other within walking distance. There is no area that is not green in that region. The gardens there are lined up with trees. The scream of the soil is ignored. This is a massacre of nature. It is a massacre of agriculture. It is a great betrayal to those who are producers in that region and contribute greatly to the country’s economy. There is no equivalent for these people’s livelihoods. I want to ask how much budget did they allocate for people’s losses, past and future.”

OBJECTION TO THE MINISTRY

Altuntaş, who stated that the locals will continue the struggle stronger and more crowded, said, “What they are doing is an intervention in life, an intervention in bread. Interfering with people’s livelihoods, this is never acceptable. They will give their legal struggle against this. There is nothing tangible about this project. This is a license granted in 2011. The license granted in 2011 is very different from the current conditions. That region was a different region in 2011, it is a completely different region in 2025. Therefore, a project granted under the conditions of 15 years ago, and it is not clear who notified it and how it was made official, cannot be taken over and processed in 2023. The population and trees have changed since then. The transfer of a license granted a long time ago is also a separate topic of discussion. We will evaluate the project technically from its agricultural and legal aspects. We will convey our objections to the ministry regarding this. We will give our serious legal struggle with broad participation until the last stage.”

Making a call to the regional deputies, Altuntaş said: “In this regard, I invite our authorities to seriously follow the legal procedures in the procedures for recognizing the region and all regional deputies, regardless of party, and all political deputies appointed by the producers to protect the land, the source of life and the bread of the people. Our trees have no party or political view. It is not a struggle for sides but a struggle for the source of life of the people. This is a struggle to protect their bread, there is nothing beyond that.”

HARMFUL TO HEALTH

The Aydın 1st Administrative Court annulled the “ EIA is not required” decision given to the GES project planned by Kocaer Enerji A.Ş. in the same region on December 20, 2024. The court stated that drilling activities to be carried out in the region where olive and fig trees are dense may have negative effects on the environment and human health. It also ruled that the environmental impacts of the project were not adequately evaluated.