Citizens lie down in front of excavators to prevent road construction in grove

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The road attempted to be constructed by the municipality in İstanbul's Validebağ Grove, which is located in Üsküdar district and classified as Grade 1 Natural and Historical Site Area, has been met with the objection and protests of the Validebağ Volunteers group.

Earlier today (September 2), sand was poured in the grove on the grounds that a walking trail would be constructed.  While there is reportedly no conservation board decision regarding this action attempted to be taken in Validebağ, the grove was previously attempted to be opened to unearned income in the name of a "Landscaping and Rehabilitation Project."

In the face of the municipality's recent attempts to open a road in the natural site area, citizens have lied down in front of the excavators.

The Validebağ Volunteers group has shared a video showing the moment of incident, attaching the note, "This is a Grade 1 Natural Site Area; you cannot take a step without the approval of the conservation board! The Municipality of Üsküdar; there is no return from the damage that you inflict on the grove. What part of it do you not understand? Get out of the grove; we call on all lovers of the grove to say stop to this nonsense."

Burası 1. Derece doğal sit alanı koruma kurulu onayı olmadan adım atamazsınız! @uskudarbld koruya verdiğiniz zararın dönüşü yok. Bunun neresini anlamıyorsunuz. Korudan çıkın tüm koru severleri bu saçmalığa dur demeye çağırıyoruz. pic.twitter.com/hNyIP0EBU5

— ValidebağGönüllüleri (@ValidebagKorusu) September 2, 2021

In another message, the group has reiterated its call for help, noting that the dozer is standing by to enter the grove from another entrance. 

What happened?

The Validebağ Grove was certified as a "natural protected area" in 1999. Transferred to the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İMM) for two years in 2014, the grove started facing interventions in 2014.

Even though there were several mosques around the grove, a mosque was constructed at one of the entrances of the grove.

A "Nation's Garden" project was drafted for the grove in 2018; but this project was not realized thanks to the struggle of volunteers. In March 2020, the Üsküdar Municipal Council had an "emergency" meeting and allocated 261 thousand square meters of the Validebağ Grove, which belonged to the Treasury, to the Üsküdar Municipality for purposes of care and maintenance.

Nearly a year later, Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum visited the grove on April 24 and announced on social media that they would introduce the "Landscaping and Rehabilitation Project" in the Validebağ Grove in cooperation with the Üsküdar Municipality.

In his speech on June 18, he said that the project would start in the grove on June 21. Shortly afterwards, the people of the neighborhood started keeping watch in the grove to prevent the project.

With the 17.6-million-lira tender, it was planned to turf an area of 88 decares. The İstanbul 11th Regional Administrative Court, in its decision dated July 30, ruled for the stay of execution by indicating that "irrecoverable damages might be caused by the de facto interventions to be made into the related immovable due to the action, the unlawfulness of which was proven."

About the Validebağ Grove

Located among the Altunizade, Koşuyolu and Acıbadem neighborhoods in Üsküdar in the Anatolian side of İstanbul, the Validebağ Grove hosts 130 of the 485 bird species, 31 of over 400 butterfly species in Turkey and 200 of 2,000 herbaceous plants in İstanbul.

101 tree, arbuscule and bush species have been identified in the grove, which is a Grade 1 Natural Site Area. Some of these trees are monumental trees. (TP/SD)