Müge Okur
When we look out at the coastline of Çanakkale, the first thing we see is the sea. But beneath that blue, there are not just fish, nor are there only stones and rocks on the shore. There are also creatures that most people have never even encountered. For example, Mediterranean monk seals…
One of the world’s rarest marine mammals, the Mediterranean monk seal is a critically endangered species with habitats in the Sea of Marmara, particularly around the Kapıdağ Peninsula, the Marmara Islands and the Karabiga area. Years of research by the Underwater Research Association – Mediterranean Monk Seal Research Group (SAD-AFAG) have revealed that the coastline around Karabiga is a crucial habitat for this species. The fact that two Mediterranean monk seals were photographed together in the same area using camera traps also provided concrete evidence of the area’s importance.
It is precisely here that the familiar question arises:
What are we prepared to sacrifice in the name of energy production?
The never-ending power station issue on Karabiga’s coast
Karabiga has long been at the centre of environmental campaigns against thermal power station projects. Over the years, various thermal power station projects have been proposed in the region; Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) processes have been carried out, legal cases have been brought, and some projects have been halted by court rulings.
Today, however, the debate has flared up once again.
Plans are in place to add a new 1,050 MW unit to the existing 1,320 MW capacity of the CENAL Thermal Power Station operating in Karabiga. The aim is to increase the facility’s total capacity to 2,370 MW. The EIA process for the project is back on the agenda.
This is not merely a debate over an energy investment.
This is because the area where the power station is located is home to agricultural land, forests, the sea, and sensitive coastal ecosystems all in one place. Moreover, scientific studies have identified this region as a habitat for Mediterranean monk seals.
In other words, the issue is not simply a matter of ‘will another power station be built?’.
The real question is:
What is the limit to the burden a coastal ecosystem can bear?
Can the monk seals be ignored?
One of the most striking aspects of environmental campaigns is sometimes not the figures, but the story of the unseen creatures.
The Mediterranean monk seal has been present on the Karabiga coast for years. Research by SAD-AFAG and other scientific studies in the region have shown that these coastlines are important for the seals’ feeding, shelter, and breeding. The Çanakkale City Council’s Environment Committee had also highlighted that the coastline between Karabiga and Karaburun qualifies as an ‘Important Mediterranean Seal Area’.
Furthermore, studies conducted in the region using camera traps have shown that the seals utilise caves and coastal habitats.
Nevertheless, the inclusion in expert reports – which had previously been the subject of some thermal power station court cases – of the view that seals had not been present in the region for a long time provoked a strong reaction from environmental organisations and scientists.
This inevitably leads one to ask the following question:
When we turn a blind eye to a species, does that mean its habitat has disappeared?
No.
It simply means that our desire to see it has disappeared.
The struggle is not new
The environmental struggle in Karabiga is not a matter of today.
For years, local residents, environmental organisations, town councils and professional bodies have been waging various legal and social battles against thermal power station projects.
The struggle, which includes organisations such as the Biga Ecology and Life Platform, the IDA Solidarity Association and the Çan Environmental Association, has at times taken the form of protests and public awareness campaigns. In 2014, the court annulled the positive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) decision for a proposed thermal power station in Karabiga; however, the debate over projects in the region had not come to an end.
Greenpeace has also run a campaign against the new coal-fired power station initiative in Karabiga. The organisation’s campaign page states that plans are in place to add a new 1,050 MW unit to the existing power station’s capacity of 1,320 MW.
SAD-AFAG, meanwhile, has been monitoring the Mediterranean monk seals in the region for years, taking a different approach by directly defending the species’ habitat. The association’s work highlights the importance of the Karabiga area for Mediterranean monk seals in the Marmara Sea.
These struggles share a common message:
Karabiga is not merely an energy production site.
The sea is not a ‘blank space’
In debates about thermal power stations, we often focus on emissions from the chimneys. Yet there is an unseen cost on the marine side as well.
The use of seawater for the power stations’ cooling and other processes, deep-sea discharge, the pressure exerted by coastal structures, and changes in the marine ecosystem must all be assessed together.
In the capacity expansion project proposed for 2026, it is anticipated that, during the operational phase, the facility will use 152,500 cubic metres of seawater per hour.
It is easy to view this figure merely as an engineering statistic.
But when we step out to face the sea and reflect, the issue takes on a different dimension.
Because the sea is not an infinite reservoir.
Nor is the coastline an empty plot of land where we can experiment with as many projects as we please.
And the Mediterranean monk seal is certainly not merely a footnote that can be tacked onto the supplementary documents of a thermal power station plan at a later date.
Will Çanakkale’s fate be written by chimneys?
In recent years, Çanakkale has become one of the provinces at the centre of intense environmental debates surrounding energy, mining and industrial projects. The presence of existing coal-fired thermal power stations in the region makes the ‘carrying capacity’ debate all the more significant whenever new projects and capacity increases are on the agenda. For this reason, environmental organisations argue that Çanakkale is not in a position to accommodate new thermal power stations.
However, it is not enough simply to listen to the objections of environmentalists here.
We need energy.
We need electricity.
Industry must produce.
None of these are beyond the scope of debate.
What needs to be discussed is where and on whose behalf the cost of this energy requirement is being borne.
If we lose a coastal habitat whilst generating one megawatt more electricity, the cost of this must be calculated.
If an investment creates economic value whilst diminishing the value of agricultural land, the sea and biodiversity, this too must be factored into the calculation.
Because nature’s bill often does not appear on the power station’s balance sheet.
But years later, it rears its head in healthcare, agriculture, fisheries and the loss of species.
Perhaps the issue is far greater than just a single seal
The Mediterranean monk seal in Karabiga has, in fact, become a symbol of this debate.
Because protecting the seal’s habitat does not simply mean protecting an animal.
It also means protecting the integrity of the coastline, the caves, the rocky outcrops, marine life, fisheries, water quality, and the continuity of the ecosystem.
The existence of a species is often a sign that the surrounding system is still functioning.
If the seal is there, the sea is still telling us something.
Our duty is to ensure that voice is not silenced any further.
Instead of measuring Çanakkale’s future solely in terms of energy production figures, we must also ask how many species are able to thrive along its coastline.
Because some losses cannot be made up for.
A thermal power station can be built elsewhere.
An energy model can be changed.
An investment can be re-planned.
But when a species’ last remaining habitat is destroyed, it may not be possible to rebuild it.
Perhaps this is precisely the decision that must be made today on the shores of Karabiga:
How much of nature can we consume whilst generating energy?
And more importantly:
Do we want to see Çanakkale with its chimneys, or with its sea where seals can still swim?