National Park faces a threat 60 years in the making

Uludağ National Park in Turkey, a protected area for 62 years, now faces a threat from the district ministry seeking to strip the area of its national park status. Environmentalists argue that the district ministry’s decision will open the protected area to development. Medyascope traveled to Bursa, Uludağ’s closest major city, to speak with local environmentalists and visit the park.

Uludağ is a large mountain in northwestern Turkey with a length of 40 kilometers and a width of approximately 15-20 kilometers. The highest point is Karlıtepe at 2543 meters, which enjoys a high alpine climate.

The mountain and surrounding area have rich vegetation and a wide variety of habitats. It is of special scientific importance in forestry because it is host to a variety of forest zones (Zone: An area determined by similar fauna and flora; an area where some species are exclusively found). These zones occur at various heights and can be seen during a 45-minute vehicle journey.

Uludag hosts 1,308 plant species. 32 of them are endemic to Uludağ, while 169 of them are endemic to Turkey as a whole.

Some 20% of Uludağ National Park consists of treeless areas. Treeless areas are areas that cannot be replaced, that must be protected and whose ecological stability must be supported. The first and second development zones mentioned earlier, where hotels and runways are located, are built on habitat of locally endemic species.

In Uludağ National Park, 46 species of butterflies and 11 species of bumblebees have been identified. The Apollo Butterfly (Parnassius Apollo), an endemic species unique to Uludağ, can be seen in the region between the southern slopes of Küçük Zirve and Aras Waterfall in late April. The animal population consists of wild boar, fox, jackal, badger, marten, squirrel, rabbit, hedgehog, mountain vole, and small amounts of wolves and bears.

The area was first declared a national park in 1961 as Turkey’s fifth national park. The area’s abundance of endemic species, habitat, and wildlife led to its designation as a protected area.

Impacts on Uludağ have increased in recent years due to increased visiting and use. On October 21, 1985, plans for an Uludağ Ski Center and developed area with hotels and facilities were frozen.

A second ‘development area’ was declared within the park by Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry in 1986. The first development was placed under the administration of the Conservation and National Parks authority, while the second development area came under the control of the aforementioned tourism ministry. Six plots of land containing five hotels were built in this second development area, with the empty land plots belonging to Culture and Tourism Minister Nuri Ersoy’s company ETS Tourism.

According to a long-term development plan of the area, 84% of the park belongs to an ‘essential conservation zone’. These are areas in which only scientific research is permitted, and other human use is forbidden.

A motion put forward by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) entitled “Uludağ District Authority Legislative Proposal” was accepted by the Public Works, Development, Transportation, and Tourism Commision in the Turkish parliament on 10 December. The proposal will turn over authority over the Uludağ National Park area from the Conservation and National Parks authority to the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the local district ministry.

Why the change in authority?

The designation of certain areas in Turkey as national parks is seen as a major obstacle to uncontrolled and lawless development.

The 14th article of Turkey’s National Park Law makes clear the purpose of the parks as areas of natural conservation. Environmentalists see the change in Uludağ’s governing authority as at odds with this National Park Law.

The law reads as follows:

Article 14

a) Natural and ecological balances will not be spoiled.
b) Natural wildlife will not be disrupted.
c) No actions will take place in these areas that will spoil or change the area’s natural features, pollute the water, soil, or air, or lead to other environmental problems.
d) The production of forest products, hunting, and grazing and grazing will not be permitted.
e) Except for the structures and facilities specified in pre approved plans and facilities required specifically for defense, no structure or facility can be established or operated under any circumstances, unless there is an indispensable and definite necessity in terms of public interest, and no settlement can be made outside the existing settlement areas in these areas. ”

Environmental organizations oppose the bill

Environmentalists oppose the transfer of a part of Uludağ National Park to district authorities who would open the area to development.

Since the possible change came to light, environmental organizations have been actively opposing a change to Uludağ’s national park status with protests and petitions.

Bursa Water Collective is one of the organizations involved in the conservation effort. The group, which opposes the draft law, was seen protesting in front of the Regional Directorate of Conservation and National Parks authority last week.

“They have chosen this approach because they were unable to cover the area with concrete”

Bursa Water Collective volunteer Caner Gökbayrak, spoke with Medyascope saying, “Uludağ is grappling with a big problem, that is, the abolition of the national park status and the implementation of a system called ‘Area Presidency’. There is a draft law in parliament that can be presented to the general assembly and be discussed at any time. The draft law passed the commission [Public Works, Development, Transportation, and Tourism Commission] at light speed.”

Gökbayrak mentioned that Uludağ had previously been open to development, continuing: “These previous development plans were challenged in court under the leadership of the Bursa Bar Association, and the majority of them were won. As these cases were won, a lie started to spread. They started to say, “There is a multi-headedness in Uludağ”. No such thing. There is only one spokesperson in Uludağ, there is only one judge there, and that is the Directorate of National Parks. But they go this way because they can’t build the construction, concrete, hotels and facilities they want to do. The National Parks Act is very strong. They want this current draft law to be passed, since they cannot overcome the provisions that prevent construction.”

“This ‘shameful bill’ must be withdrawn”

Mentioning the nearly 20 lawsuits that have been filed in the past, Gökbayrak said, “They want to carry out a bigger, more harmful, and more concrete version of these lawsuits that have been previously put forward. What we want from our deputies is to withdraw this bill, this ‘shameful bill’. Or, when the draft law comes to the Parliament, they should vote ‘no’ by listening to their conscience and listening to the voice of the people of Bursa. In other words, vote ‘no’ to all items. Do not let this shameful bill pass. It would be a major shame for Turkey.”

“The construction that they wish to build is not allowed by the National Parks Law”

Bursa Water Collective volunteer and Agricultural Engineer Şafak Erdem said, “Uludağ has survived this long because it is protected by the National Parks Law.”

Characterizing the proposed change as an attempt to remove Uludağ’s ‘protection shield’, Erdem said, “The model in which a national park is governed by the district authority is not a suitable model for such places. This first happened in Gallipoli. It was a place that was declared a national park due to its rich history. A second example is Cappadocia. It actually had three different protection statuses. It was both a UNESCO natural site and a national park at the same time. But it was declared a national park again due to its historical and geological features. Today, Uludağ is the first place in Turkey to be declared a national park for ecological reasons.”

“They will be exempt from supervision”

Emphasizing the confusion over the authority of the area and developers’ greed for income, Erdem explained the dangers awaiting Uludağ as follows:

“With the law, the District Authority Commission and the Ministry will be able to plan all development of all scales on their own. They will be exempt from supervision and inspection. The district authority will exercise control over an area of 2000 hectares according to the current plan. Additionally, there is a clause in the 10th article of the law that says this area can be changed by the presidential decree, perhaps from 2000 hectares today to 5000 tomorrow and maybe 7000 hectares in the future.”

“Previously, on our trips to the top of Uludağ, water gushed from everywhere”

Hüseyin Gür, who lives in Bursa, also opposes the proposed change in park authority.

Gür, who actively mountaineers within the park, said he has visited some 70% of Uludağ. Stating that he used to frequently encounter snow in Uludağ in the previous years, Gür said, “Unfortunately, there is no snow at the moment, only pebbles. In the past, on our trips to the summit of Uludag, water gushed from everywhere. There was even a stream when we went down to the Sarıalan region. We had a hard time crossing that stream. We were able to walk over the trees crossing the stream in an acrobatic fashion. It was such a lush stream. Now, when we approach that creek within 300 meters, we have to cover our noses from the smell of sewer.”

“They will open it up for development just like in Cappadocia”

Explaining that Uludağ’s air and forests are being depleted by the day, Gür said, “They are pursuing new development projects that will accelerate this plunder. There is a draft law that they recently presented to us. According to this bill, Uludag’s national park status will be abolished and Uludag will be handed over to Bursa’s politicians, administrators, the governor, and various other people. In other words, just as Ürgüp brought the Cappadocia Area Presidency to the Cappadocia region and demolished the fairy chimneys there and built a road and said, “We have the right to do this,” they will open this area to development just like in Cappadocia. Uludağ is the primary water source for Bursa; it is our everything.”

The original of the article appeared on January 8, 2023 on Medyascope . Edited for Medyascope English by Leo Kendrick