KANAL İSTANBUL LIKELY TO HAVETODAY`S ZAMAN)
HARSH ENVIRONMENTAL GONSEÇUENGES CUMALİ ÖNAL İSTANBUL 1 1 Kanal İstanbul, a third bridge JJ över the Bosporus and a third J/Km airport, three megaprojects that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) govemment -- which has changed the general look and feel of the city of İstanbul through urban transformation projects -- is planning to implement will reportedly harm the green areas in the city, diminish vvater reserves and radically alter the citys ecosystem. Experts say that if these projects, vvhich promise no added value to the Turkish economy, are not stopped, the northern areas of İstanbul, currently protected from residential development, will suffer from rapid urbanization and that this would be a disaster for the city.
Baran Bozoğlu, chairman of the Clıamber of Environmental Engineers, says that only the interests of the construction firms will be served by these projects, which would leave behind an impoverished city suffering from vvater scarcity and unchecked urbanization. Bozoglu argues that neither Kanal İstanbul nor the other megaprojects vvould offer added value to the Turkish economy.Esen Çağlar from the Economic Policy Research Foundation (TEPAV) says that the third bridge and Kanal İstanbul projects are not included in Turkeys lOth Development Plan and that funding these projects vvould be extremely difficult at a time vvhen economic indicators are not good. Çağlar said the Kanal İstanbul project vvould revive the construction sector but added that the project has the potential to do grave harm to the areas ecosystem.
In a speech delivered at a party rally last vveek. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "We vvill build Kanal İstanbul. We vvill hold the tender shortly.
We vvill save the [Bosporus] strait from environmental threats. We vvill give İstanbul a nevv identity vvith the nevv environment vve vvill build around it." Professor Ethem Gönenç, vvho argues that the public is not adequately informed about Kanal İstanbul, says the dravvings shovvn to the public vvere too simplified.
Gönenç holds that like other megaprojects, Kanal İstanbul vvas devised to create unearned income, arguing that the Anaerial vievvofthe predicted Kanal İstanbul route through İstanbul is seen on this Oct. 8, 2013 file photo.
heart of the project is the construction of residential areas around the canal. The length of Kanal İstanbul, vvhich Erdoğan called an ambitious project on April 27, 2011, vvill be 40-45 kilometers. There is no detailed information on hovv people in Russia and other countries around the Black Sea vvould react to this project, vvhich proponents claim vvould alleviate traffic in the Bosporus. Under the 1936 Montreaux Convention, ali commercial ships are entitled to pass through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits free of charge.
Bozoglu points to the difference of elevation betvveen the Black, Marmara and Aegean seas and says there is a delicate ecological balance betvveen the vvarm, salty vvaters of the Mediterranean and the cold vvaters of the Black Sea. "An ecosystem emerged out of this balance, and living and non-living things created their ovvn habitat. Building a canal in this area vvill destroy this balance." Hacettepe University department of environmental engineerings Professor Cemal Saydam, vvho is knovvn for his research into the project, believes that Kanal İstanbul vvill be a dramatic environmental disaster. Saydam argues that the countries along the Black Sea vvill not let this project happen as it vvould change the Black Seas ecological balance.
At a time vvhen the vvhole vvorld is vvorking to address climate change, he says, Turkeys projects and policies seem to run counter to this effort, adding that the nevv megaprojects in İstanbul, including Kanal İstanbul, vvill lead to drought, flooding and other natural disasters.
Gönenç said that comprehensive research on the infrastructure of İstanbul he did in the 1990s has been rendered meaningless by rapid overdevelopment.
He says experts predict that the population in İstanbul vvill increase to 18 million by 2040 -- 25 million if the projects are completed.
Gönenç, noting that northern İstanbul gets three times as much rainfall as the south, says: "The most important vvater supply areas are in this region. This is the main oxygen supplier of İstanbul. If these projects are implemented, the city vvill not be able to breathe." Arguing that these projects vvill not contribute to development and commerce in the country at ali, Bozoglu says there vvill be no vvay to make money if life is restricted.
Bozoğlu adds: "What İstanbul needs is obvious. It needs healthy and cheap mass transportation, green spaces and potable vvater. Turkish people are forced to buy vvater from supermarkets. This alone shovvs vvhat the publics real needs are. Being a megacity or a global city vvill not do anything good for İstanbul in the long term. People in different cities in different parts of Europe lead a healthy and peaceful life in natural areas. We should remember that this is real peace."
