Akçay Wetland zoned for construction

Click to read the article in Turkish

Releasing a statement about the Akçay Wetland in Balıkesir, one of the last remaining wetland ecosystems in the northern Aegean region of Turkey and a home to hundreds of species, the Mount Ida Natural Cultural Assets Preservation Association has announced that at least 60 square kilometers of the wetland have been zoned for construction.

According to the statement, some parts of the Akçay Wetland have been filled with rubble and waste deep stream mud by the Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality (BBB) for over a year. The Association has raised concerns that the area is now marketed by Engin Real Estate firm.

In fact, in a social media post shared by the firm, it is seen that there will be a ground-breaking ceremony on July 11 at 4 pm:

What does the project foresee?

In the project's promotional video, which features main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) İstanbul MP Gürsel Tekin, it is seen that the project is marketed under the name of "Akçay Enginkent" and promotes an estate where 200 villas, 300 square meters each, can be built.

The estates will be sold for at least 300 thousand lira.

It is a Wetland

However, the area where the project is planned to be carried out has the characteristics of a "Wetland" according to the RAMSAR Convention, which Turkey is a party to, the Environmental Law, the Law on Land Hunting and the Regulations on Preservation of Wetlands.

Moreover, it is also within the boundaries of the 148-hectare "Akçay Reed Field and Wetland", which is registered in the SAYBİS, the Wetland Inventory System of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Directorate General of Nature Conservation and Natural Parks.

Akçay Wetland is home to 30 percent of the 487 bird species registered across Turkey as well as to the Anguilla anguilla, an endangered species of eel, and hundreds of plant species.

It is not the first intervention

The related project is not the first intervention against the Akçay Reed Field and Wetland. A significant part of the area was allocated to the Edremit Agricultural Greenhouse (Ornamental Plants and Floriculture in 2017) as a result of a change in the environmental plan in violation of the Regulation on Wetlands and RAMSAR Convention.

Another part of the area was taken from the Treasury by the Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality for purposes of Reserved Housing Area.

Questions from the association

In its statement about the recent zoning for construction, the Mount Ida Natural and Cultural Assets Preservation Association has said, "The Akçay Reed Field and Wetland is not an area of unearned income, but home to hundreds of living beings", asking a series of questions to the related parties, including the Edremit District Municipality, the relevant directorates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Engin Real Estate firm, CHP MP Gürsel Tekin and the Edremit Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. (TP/SD)