This week on Turkey Roast
Asbestos-laden aircraft carrier to be dismantled in Aliağa, 'Paradise' lost to tourism, as well as mass seagull deaths, deforestation, and a literal case of greenwashing.
Hello dear Turkey Roaster,
The record-breaking heatwave may be the primary issue of concern in the US and Europe, but here in Turkey, this week has been all about asbestos.
The pending arrival of NAe Sao Paulo, an asbestos-laden Brazilian aircraft carrier, at a ship breaking facility in Izmir’s Aliağa district was met with widespread concern and outrage.
For those of you unfamiliar with the substance, asbestos is a stone made of thin fibers that are strong, flexible and resistant to heat. Due to these properties, it was previously dubbed the ‘magic mineral’, and was wildly popular throughout most of history. In more recent times, asbestos was used widely in construction for insulation, and as a flame retardant.
Just looking at some old commercials make it clear that the mineral was considered a safe substance until recently.
Its deadly health effects became apparent only in the 1970s, prompting an all-out asbestos ban in a number of countries, with the addition of Turkey in 2010.
We now know that exposure to asbestos can lead to serious diseases including lung cancer and mesothelioma, as well as other types of cancer. There is even a chronic lung disease named Asbestosis.
Still, Ankara seems willing to welcome a navy ship with an estimated 700 tons of asbestos - not to mention other heavy metals and hazardous substances - to be dismantled by its citizens, and to have the stripped asbestos stored in its land.
To be clear, due to Turkey’s chronic lack of transparency, there isn’t reliable information on the exact amount of asbestos onboard the Sao Paulo. Environment Minister Murat Kurum unconvincingly claimed the French-built aircraft carrier merely contains nine tons of asbestos. This would be surprising since its sister ship, the Clemenceau, reportedly had at least 760 tons of asbestos even after directly friable asbestos was removed from it.
Minister Kurum also incorrectly alleged that only two countries, Turkey and India, were capable of breaking up a ship such as the Sao Paulo - even though the Clemenceau was dismantled in the UK.
He is right though, that the heart of the ship breaking industry is nowhere near Europe: Up to 80 per cent of global ship recycling takes place in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, in facilities grossly inadequate to carry out such a dangerous and toxic undertaking. (This VICE video could give you an idea.) The remaining dismantling takes place in Turkey’s Aliağa, and China.
Though the working conditions in many Turkish facilities are far from ideal, they are still considerably better than their South East Asian alternatives, which put both the environment and workers’ health at even graver risk. The company that hopes to dismantle Sao Paulo, Sök Denizcilik, is one of eight Turkish companies on the EU-approved list of ship recycling facilities.
So, from a western perspective, dismantling the ship in a certified facility in Turkey sounds better than doing it in Asia. But from a local perspective, an unavoidable question follows: Why here? Why not in France, for instance, where this ship was built?
Indeed, one of the slogans in the protests against the arrival of the Sao Paulo in Aliağa was precisely this: ‘Those who used it, should be the ones to dismantle it.’
Considering that Turkey also recently emerged as a leading destination for European plastic waste, the public is increasingly alarmed at becoming the wealthy continent’s waste basket (Here’s an article on the subject by yours truly).
The issue of environmental justice is increasingly on the global agenda as well. Treating the global south like an expendable wasting ground is reminiscent of colonialist practices, a recent Greenpeace report argued. (The report also devoted an entire section to Turkey, which you can read here.)
I’m currently working on a deep dive on this issue for Turkey Roast subscribers **who deserve all the best things in the world** - so stay tuned!
Remember: If you have any questions on this, send them by. I promise to do my best to get you your answers!
In the meantime, here are a few things you can do to take action:
There’s a petition at change.org against the dismantling of Sao Paulo in Aliağa. It aims to reach 75 thousand signatures, and over 55 thousand people have signed it so far. Check it out here.
It is easy to forget, but MPs don’t solely exist to ask for your vote every five years: Remind them that they are there to serve. In case you are a Turkish citizen, consider reaching out to local MPs about your concerns and demands.
Ultimately, the decision to approve this ship’s dismantling rests with the Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change. Send them a message to let them know what you think.
Paradise Lost to Tourism?
Another cause of fury this week was Cengiz Holding’s attempt to build a luxury hotel and a hundred villas in Cennet Bay (Turkish for ‘Paradise Bay’), a protected area in the Aegean resort town of Bodrum.
The owner of Cengiz Holding, Mehmet Cengiz, infamously has close ties to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and is a member of the so-called ‘Gang of Five’ - a group of conglomerates that has notoriously been benefiting from government contracts and tenders.
The pristine land in question, around 68 hectares of grade three natural and archaeological protected area, was privatized and sold for 278 million TL in 2012. However, environmentalists underline that legally speaking, the land doesn’t even belong to Cengiz Holding.
The decision to privatize the area was annulled by the Council of State because the purchasing was done wrongfully, and through a loan by the state-controlled Ziraat Bank. Still, a tailor-made 2018 decision by the Presidency prevented the state from retrieving the land. Environmentalists responded by suing the presidency for obstruction, and once again, the Council of State decided in their favor.
This saga might as well be called ‘Turkey in a nutshell’ because despite mounting legal decisions, as well as justified questions over whether it even repaid its loan to Ziraat Bank, Cengiz Holding is moving forth with the project. It started construction work to build 100 villas in addition to a luxury hotel which would be run by Bulgari Hotels.
A similar (though legally less problematic) story played out on the western shores of Cennet Bay a few years ago, when Mandarin Oriental was built on 60 hectares of protected land despite public outcry. It costs at least 1595 euros to stay at the hotel for one night, around five times the minimum wage in Turkey.
Earmarking the country’s most beautiful shores for luxurious buildings not only inhibits the rule of law, but also prevents the public from being able to enjoy nature. It is also a heavy blow to vulnerable ecosystems.
The Mediterranean Sea, which the Aegean Sea is a part of, has the highest percentage of endemic species after tropical seas. According to WWF, nearly a quarter of all marine species can only be found here.
An untouched part of this ecosystem, Cennet Bay is home to species such as the Mediterranean monk seal, striped dolphin, loggerhead turtle and the green turtle. When excavation works began, archeological discoveries were also made in the area, another reason for widespread outrage against turning this land into a construction site.
Want to take action?
Here’s a change.org campaign called ‘Don’t let Paradise Bay become hell’ aiming to reach 75 thousand signatures.
If you live in Muğla, you can consider joining or supporting the efforts of Muğla Environmental Platform (MUÇEP), which consistently battles against environmentally detrimental projects.
You can leave your comments at the Instagram page of Bulgari Hotels, and let them know what you think.
Finally - and perhaps most importantly - it is vital to keep in mind that these projects are being built with the expectation that some people will purchase the villas and stay at the hotels. Money is power. So, if you have it, please use it wisely. Preferring ecologically sustainable hotels for your vacation could really go a long way in protecting nature.
I know I’ve taken up much of my allowed space with these two lengthy stories this week, so I’ll keep the remaining portion concise.
Below are headlines from other important stories:
(1) Hundreds of seagulls found dead in Lake Düden
Around 500 seagulls were found dead at Lake Düden in the Central Anatolian province of Konya. The fearful discovery was made by wildlife photographer Fahri Tunç, who speculated to news outlets that the deaths could be a result of toxic waste poisoning or a disease. The bird flu that killed thousands of birds in Israel this year is another possibility, according to Dicle Tuba Kılıç from Nature Association.
Officials from the Directorate of Nature Protection and National Parks could find no gunshot injuries in the carcasses of slender-billed and black-headed seagulls. A local veterinary institute is set to perform necropsies to determine the causes of death.
(2) Some 60 animals injured due to illegal toxic waste dumping in Konya
Some 60 animals were injured after being exposed to toxic waste illegally dumped to a meadow in Konya. Investigation revealed that barrels full of hazardous substances were taken around the city to be discharged at various locations. Three people were arrested for intentionally polluting the environment, and damaging ‘property’ - which is a referral to the injured animals, as animals only have rights as properties of humans.
They are set to pay a fine of 38,5 million TL (2,1 million euros).
(3) Ukraine, Russia to sign grain export deal, says Ankara
Ukraine and Russia has finally agreed to sign a deal to restart grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, according to a statement by President Erdoğan’s office. As the two countries are amongst the world’s biggest grain exporters, the decision was long awaited to alleviate the ongoing international food crisis.
(4) Logging destroys 8% of Şırnak’s forests
A ghastly 8 per cent of forests in Turkey’s southeastern province of Şırnak has been lost to logging in the past two years, according to the environmental commission of the city’s bar association. Army supervises the deforestation as part of counterterrorism efforts, the association claims, as Şırnak has long been marred by the conflict between the Turkish state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Unlike the wildfires on Turkey’s Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, the loss of forests in the southeast receive little media and public attention.
(5) Most*Literal*Greenwashing
The yellow grasses of a public park in the central Anatolian Yozgat province were allegedly dyed green ahead of a visit by Turkey’s Vice President Fuat Oktay.
In a picture shared on social media, a worker seemingly sprays green paint on the yellow lawn of Çekerek public park. The local municipality denied the claims, arguing the worker was in fact hydroseeding - a specialized method of applying grass seeds that allows them to take root quickly.
However, according to an investigation by teyit.org, a Turkish factchecking website, hydroseeding is applied on soil (rather than on top of existing grass) with different, larger equipment. The worker could either be dyeing the grass, the website said, or hydroseeding incorrectly.
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Well, this is all for now! I hope you enjoyed this week’s Turkey Roast.
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See you next weekend!
Hi Selin,
Thank you for the insightful newsletter. I do have one piece of feedback, while I understand why you may feel the need to mention international developments in which Turkey is involved, I do think it is better to keep the niche ecological focus (e.g. we can go read about the grain deal on Reuters, but we can't find anything about the rate of logging in Şırnak there). Keep up the great work and thank you again!