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Greenpeace has launched a petition as part of its project "Close the Valve, Save Marmara". Addressed to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, the petition has requested that wastewater discharge from Ergene River to Marmara Sea be stopped immediately.
In its petition, the organization has underlined that the "Project for Saving Ergene", which is introduced as the biggest environmental projects of Europe, is about the toll the death knell for the Marmara Sea:
"The industrial waste turned the Ergene into one of the most polluted rivers of the world. Now, this waste is discharged to the depths of Marmara Sea with pipes. Marmara cannot stand pollution any longer."
Recalling that waste has been discharged into the Marmara Sea for 32 years, Greenpeace Mediterranean has warned, "The oxygen necessary for marine life is almost gone now. Life in this unprecedented inland sea will end completely if the Marmara receives any more waste discharge."
Wastewater the volume of 280 olympic pools
According to the data shared by Greenpeace Mediterranean, 700 thousand cubic meters of wastewater is discharged into the Ergene River without water treatment every day and 65 percent of this amount is industrial waste. In other words, wastewater the volume of 280 olympic pools mixes with the Marmara Sea from the Ergene River on a daily basis.
Mucilage crisis and fish die-off
The organization has also reminded the public that when the deepsea discharge from the Ergene to the Marmara began in December 2020 and in the following months, fish die-off was observed at discharge points and the mucilage (sea snot) crisis was visible in May 2021.
"These were the cries of the Marmara, which was about to die," Greenpeace Mediterranean has said, warning that "even though the mucilage crisis seems to be resolved as a result of the cleaning efforts on the surface, the crisis is still ongoing at the bottom of the sea."
Noting that deepsea discharge means the dilution of household and industrial waste in marine environment, the organization has underlined that "with this method, the Marmara Sea has been carrying the waste load of millions of people and thousands of industrial facilities for 32 years."
"Shouldering the waste load of the Ergene as well since December 2020, Marmara cannot stand it any longer," it has added.
'Close the valves urgently'
Greenpeace Mediterranean has emphasized that carrying the industrial waste from the Ergene to the Marmara will not save the former, but it will toll the death knell for the latter. The organization has also listed its recommendations: "Treatment of industrial waste with chemical treatment methods and reusing them for agriculture and irrigation activities."
"If we want to save the Marmara, the valves that discharge the industrial waste into the sea must be urgently closed," Greenpeace has said. (KÖ/SD)
Click here to sign the petition (in Turkish)
