Parliament has approved a legislative package that includes provisions permitting mining activities in olive groves despite strong opposition from political parties and environmental advocates.
The 21-article omnibus bill was passed on Jul 19 with 255 votes in favor and 199 against. It includes a controversial amendment to the mining law, outlined in article 11 and publicly known as the "super permit," which allows the use of agricultural land, including olive groves, for mining operations under certain conditions.
Also part of the omnibus law, the provisional article 45 added to the Mining Law designates two separate olive-growing areas in the province of Muğla as mining zones. The lignite extracted from these areas will supply nearby thermal power plants.
Critics argue that the amendment undermines environmental protection and violates the Olive Law. Since its introduction in parliament, the bill has been protested across Turkey’s southern and western regions, which host most of Turkey's olive groves.
Energy company wants villagers to cut down their olive groves in İkizköy
Ministry authorized
The new law allows the Energy and Natural Resources Ministry to authorize mining in areas officially registered as olive groves or where olive trees are currently located, if the mining activity is aimed at meeting electricity needs and cannot be relocated elsewhere.
In such cases, the olive trees may be transplanted within the same province or district, and temporary facilities may be built to support the mining activities, provided that the public interest is taken into account.
According to the new legislation, mining companies will be required to pay an additional fee equal to their operating license cost each year for land rehabilitation efforts. If state-owned land is needed to establish new olive groves or relocate trees, it may be leased directly to former landowners for ten years at market value, subject to approval by the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry.
Turkey suspends olive oil exports amid soaring domestic prices
The law also extends several incentives for renewable energy investments. The Energy Market Regulatory Authority will be authorized to issue urgent expropriation decisions until Dec 31, 2030, to secure land for licensed renewable energy facilities.
Also, a discount of 85% will apply to permits, leases, and easement procedures for renewable energy projects operational by that date.
Additionally, the five-year duration of existing fee reductions for using domestic energy resources will be extended to support efforts to reduce energy imports and the current account deficit.
'We will not give up our groves'
The “We Won’t Give Up Our Land” campaign, formed by local environmental and ecological groups, announced that they will resist the new legislation.
In a statement released yesterday, the group said the law facilitates access to natural areas, which they described as “a direct seizure of the public’s living spaces.”
“We say this clearly to mining and energy companies rubbing their hands: We will not hand over our olive groves, parks, coasts, or registered lands,” the statement read. “We will not bow to policies of dispossession, uprooting, and displacement. We will fully exercise our legitimate right to resist in order to protect our living spaces.” (VK)
