Chapter 5
Environmental Impact Assessment
in Turkey: A Principal Environmental
Management Tool
Şule Güneş
Abstract Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been one of the core areas
which is addressed in parallel with the overall developments in the environmental
field. The projects which require EIA extend to a wide range of sectors which
necessitate the use of technical tools and methodologies and require the stakeholders to hold the respective qualifications. A considerable number of EIA
applications were made in Turkey. This paper identifies the means and tools as well
as the course of conduct for the incorporation of the EIA systematic into the Turkish
environmental agenda. The EIA Procedure is evaluated from a critical perspective
in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the whole system and turn the
Turkish EIA structure into an efficient tool for protection of natural resources and
cultural assets.
Keywords Turkey Á Environmental impact assessment
5.1 Introduction
It has been more than two decades since the introduction of the EIA practices in
Turkey which affected a considerable number and variety of projects. Between
1993 and 2018 the number of EIAs conducted amounted to 5341; of these, 5288
ended in “EIA is Positive” decisions, and only 53 in “EIA is Negative” decisions.
The breakdown of “EIA is Positive” decisions was: 27% Oil and Mining; 24%
Energy; 13% Waste and Chemicals; 11% Industry; 7% Transportation and Coast;
13% Agriculture and Food; 5% Tourism and Housing sectors. Concerning the
projects that were subject to selection and elimination criteria, 61,699 applications
were made to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization (MoEU), but “EIA is
Required” was the outcome for only 1,005 project proposals, while the remaining
60,694 applications were finalised with the decision that “No EIA is Required”. The
sectoral composition of the “No EIA is Required” decision was: 49% Oil and
Dr. Şule Güneş, Associate Professor, Middle East Technical University, Department of
International Relations, Ankara, Turkey. e-mail: gunes@metu.edu.tr.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Z. Savaşan and V. Sümer (eds.), Environmental Law and Policies in Turkey,
The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science 31,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36483-0_5
83
Environmental Impact Assessment
in Turkey: A Principal Environmental
Management Tool
Şule Güneş
Abstract Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been one of the core areas
which is addressed in parallel with the overall developments in the environmental
field. The projects which require EIA extend to a wide range of sectors which
necessitate the use of technical tools and methodologies and require the stakeholders to hold the respective qualifications. A considerable number of EIA
applications were made in Turkey. This paper identifies the means and tools as well
as the course of conduct for the incorporation of the EIA systematic into the Turkish
environmental agenda. The EIA Procedure is evaluated from a critical perspective
in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the whole system and turn the
Turkish EIA structure into an efficient tool for protection of natural resources and
cultural assets.
Keywords Turkey Á Environmental impact assessment
5.1 Introduction
It has been more than two decades since the introduction of the EIA practices in
Turkey which affected a considerable number and variety of projects. Between
1993 and 2018 the number of EIAs conducted amounted to 5341; of these, 5288
ended in “EIA is Positive” decisions, and only 53 in “EIA is Negative” decisions.
The breakdown of “EIA is Positive” decisions was: 27% Oil and Mining; 24%
Energy; 13% Waste and Chemicals; 11% Industry; 7% Transportation and Coast;
13% Agriculture and Food; 5% Tourism and Housing sectors. Concerning the
projects that were subject to selection and elimination criteria, 61,699 applications
were made to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization (MoEU), but “EIA is
Required” was the outcome for only 1,005 project proposals, while the remaining
60,694 applications were finalised with the decision that “No EIA is Required”. The
sectoral composition of the “No EIA is Required” decision was: 49% Oil and
Dr. Şule Güneş, Associate Professor, Middle East Technical University, Department of
International Relations, Ankara, Turkey. e-mail: gunes@metu.edu.tr.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Z. Savaşan and V. Sümer (eds.), Environmental Law and Policies in Turkey,
The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science 31,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36483-0_5
83