LEGAL STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN TURKEY

Abstract

Dealing with environmental problems, "participation" has emerged as a central theme. There has, for some time, been a growing recognition within the government and society at large that the future of Turkish environmental protection depends on more effective participation of multiple stakeholders. Along with growing appreciation of the potential benefits has come more systematic understanding of the factors that currently inhibit wider and more effective use of participatory techniques in Turkey. Over the last decade, there has been a succession of studies pointing to the conclusion that current environmental practices, entrenched institutional arrangements and attitudes, and poorly adapted laws are major constraints on participatory approaches. With specific reference to the legal framework, there is a growing consensus that Turkish legislation falls short in comparison to those in most developed countries and acts as a constraint on participation because of its command and control approach, in which most decisions are made by the state and the principal role of law is to ensure compliance and penalise non-compliance with those decisions. The law does not fully reflect current social, economic and environmental realities. The purpose of this study is to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of Turkey's environmental law per se, by highlighting some international lessons and practices that might be useful to Turkey as it considers what future steps to take in improving the legal framework for participation. The 1998 case in which the environmentally damaging activities of the Eurogod Mining Company at Bergama, Western Turkey, were stopped following a petition by local people to the Appeals Court is cited as an example. This case study reflects the people's participation in environmental issues and supports the main argument of this article, from which recommendations are made for improving the legal outline for participation.