"Will Our Animals Hitchhike?

People in Fırtına Valley, Kavrun Plateau gathered and responded to Green Road Project which was planned to connect plateaus between Samsun and Artvin provinces of Black Sea Region of Turkey.

8 provinces in Black Sea Region; Samsun, Bayburt, Giresun, Gümüşhane, Ordu, Rize, Trabzon and Artvin are expected to be linked via 2,600 kilometers-length  road in order to improve tourism in the area.

People in Çamlıhemşin district of Rize province reacted to heavy equipment of project before and after they heard heavy machineries were coming, Rize people gathered and played horon (a group of a circle folk dances from the Black Sea region of Turkey) as a protest against the project.

"They’ll build cities along 3000 meters"

Lawyer Yakup Okumuşoğlu told bianet:

 “They’ll build cities along 3000 meters.You know, there is Blue Voyage in Aegean and Mediterranean Sea of Turkey. Now, they want to make Green Voyage in Black Sea Region. They want to build 40 tourism facilities in 40 plateaus. People know what happened in Ayder Plateau and Uzungöl (Long Lake); they are totally concrete and lost their natural beauty. Now they set their sights on Fırtına Valley.

"There is no reason for these roads to be built because they already have their natural paths. Valleys will look like gas stations if the roads are built. Under the name of “tourism” will cause people abandon their valleys and plateaus on which they live.”

2 lawsuits were filed against Green Road Project

Lawyer Okumuşoğlu, on behalf of Fırtına Initiative and Lawyers for the Environment and Ecology Movement (ÇEHAV) stated:

“They want to escape from Environmental Impact Assessment Report (ÇED). We filed two lawsuits already against these projects.

 “Kavrun Plateau and Samistral Valleys are parts of natural protected area and national park. This road cannot be built without protective construction plan. These places are pasture areas. If they build the road, wild animals and domestic animals will have difficulty to feed.

 “Huser and Haczane Plateaus are forestland. They have old growth forest and cannot be cut down. These plateaus are like a home to many wild animals.” (NV/BD)

 Click here to read this article in Turkish