TEMA Reviews a Difficult Environmental Year in Türkiye

The TEMA Foundation, one of Türkiye’s leading civil society organizations focused on combating erosion, protecting soil, forests and biodiversity, has released its year-end review of environmental developments in 2025, warning that ecological pressures intensified nationwide even as legal and civic efforts produced limited but meaningful gains.

A Clear Message From 2025: The Risk Is High, but Hope Remains

TEMA opened its assessment by stating that the environmental events of 2025 delivered a stark message: ecological risk is growing rapidly, time is limited, yet hope has not been lost. The foundation stressed that policy choices made today will determine whether environmental damage becomes irreversible.

Environmental Gains That Offered Hope in 2025

Despite mounting pressures, TEMA highlighted developments it described as “hope-giving,” including court rulings that halted or suspended environmentally harmful projects and scientific objections that gained legal recognition. These cases involved forests, mining sites, coal projects, rivers, wetlands and sensitive landscapes, underscoring the role of law and civic oversight.

Environmental Threats That Defined the Year

The report detailed several trends that deepened ecological vulnerability:

• Türkiye experienced its driest year in 52 years, intensifying water stress and agricultural losses.
• Forest fires destroyed an area larger than the province of Yalova, exposing the combined effects of climate change and land-use mismanagement.
• The threat of mucilage in the Sea of Marmara persisted, pointing to unresolved marine pollution.
• Climate legislation failed to prioritize nature and public interest, according to TEMA.
• Mining pressure on natural areas increased, affecting forests, farmland and water basins.
• Olive groves were cut down for coal extraction, raising concerns over biodiversity and energy choices.
• Environmental degradation deepened in ecologically sensitive regions, including mountain and forest ecosystems.
• Mining accidents were described as preventable, reinforcing calls for a clear transition away from coal.

A Call for Structural Change

In its conclusion, TEMA argued that 2025 showed environmental problems in Türkiye are no longer isolated incidents but part of an interconnected crisis involving climate, biodiversity, land use and governance. The foundation called for science-based environmental policy, stronger legal safeguards, and recognition of natural assets as strategic national resources.