Experts who gave green light to mega projects to review Canal İstanbul appeal

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A team has been formed to carry out an inspection and expert examination for the lawsuit against the "Environmental Arrangement Plan Amendment" and the "reserved construction area" decisions made by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change for the Canal İstanbul project.

Canal İstanbul is a planned artificial waterway running parallel to the Bosphorus strait to link the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Opposition parties and environmental groups have strongly opposed the project, citing its possible environmental and economic impact.

Journalist Nevşin Mengü shared the names of the 11 people in the expert team on Twitter.

On November 11, 2022, the İstanbul 5th Administrative Court decided to conduct an inspection and expert examination on the site to resolve the dispute, after seeing the claims of the Bahçeşehirliler Association and citizens living in the Canal İstanbul project area.

According to Başar Alipaça, a city planner from the Northern Forests Defense, "Canal İstanbul is one of the ways to open up natural and rural areas in the north of İstanbul to construction lootings, like the third bridge and the third airport."

Toros said the proceedings carried out were illegitimate and lacked legal grounds, as they went against reason, science, and public interest.

"The fundamental purpose of city planning is to protect and support the natural and rural environment, which is the source of life for the city. Unfortunately, the government continues to leave İstanbul vulnerable to earthquakes and all disasters."

Who are the members of the team?

Professor Dr. Kadir Alp, Professor Dr. Mustafa Sait Yazgan, Professor Dr. Şenel Özdamar, and Professor Dr. Mustafa Yanalak, all of whom are members of the expert team, also served as "experts" in a lawsuit filed for the cancellation of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change's environmental impact assessment report on the Canal İstanbul project, which resulted in a "positive" decision.

Alp and Yazgan had also served on expert teams for lawsuits against the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant and the Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, and their positive opinions in their reports drew public criticism.

Many city and nature conservationists, as well as professional organizations, including the Sinop Anti-Nuclear Platform, objected to these names on the expert team.

Professor Dr. Mustafa Yanalak had signed the "1071 academics" statement, which was published following the Constitutional Court's ruling of human rights violations against the Academics for Peace.

Doç. Dr. Muhammed Ziya Paköz, Doç. Dr. Fatih Eren, and Dr. Numan Kılınç, who are among the members of the expert team, are faculty members of the Department of City and Regional Planning at the İstanbul Technical University (ITU) Faculty of Architecture. It is noteworthy that these individuals were not among the academics who were subject to censorship, dismissal, and investigation in the statement made against the ITU Department of City and Regional Planning. (VC/VK)