Tayfun Özkaya
The law allowing olive groves to be destroyed and used for mining has been passed. But the game is not over yet. Everything is not finished. I will return to this issue.
The law mentions relocating olive trees to other areas. However, past experiences show that these relocated olive trees do not survive, and even if they do, their yield is extremely low. They will argue that mining is also necessary. The coal mine in question is the primary concern.
Coal causes global climate change and also causes environmental pollution when used to generate electricity. Perhaps coal will be banned in 20-30 years. But it will not be possible to bring back the thousands of olive trees that will have been lost. It is possible to extract minerals without destroying the earth by opening galleries. But mining companies do not choose to do this; destroying nature is cheaper.
When social resistance reaches very high levels, even negative laws are not enforced 100%. For example, according to the Seed Law enacted in 2006, which is very harmful to agricultural biodiversity, villagers are prohibited from selling their local seeds and seedlings produced from them. However, there has been such a strong social reaction against this law that they have not been able to fully enforce this ban for 19 years. In fact, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry presents itself as the protector of local seeds. Recently, the Emine Erdoğan Institute of Seed Science and Technology was established at Ege University.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry actually wanted to allow the production of GMO products in Turkey. However, there was such a huge backlash that they were unable to legally implement this.
Coal brings death and is destroying life on Earth. Other minerals can be extracted without destroying the earth’s surface. When choosing between life and money, life must always be chosen. What needs to be done is to convince the vast majority of the public to defend life and olive trees. The implementation of laws aimed at destroying olive trees and life can be restricted until these laws are changed. The fight continues. It’s not over yet.