The ecocide and environmental destruction that has long continued in Kurdistan has intensified in recent years. While attacks on the nature of Kurdistan increase day by day, public resistance has also become increasingly visible.
The environment of Kurdistan has faced looting and devastation for a period that predates the history of the Republic of Turkey. Beyond the Turkish state’s direct attacks, often justified by the presence of guerrillas, the construction of dams, hydroelectric power plants, marble and stone quarries has also contributed to turning Kurdistan’s natural landscape into an uninhabitable zone.
Melis Tantan, a member of the Ecology Commission of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), spoke to ANF about the ongoing environmental destruction and ecocidal policies in Kurdistan.
Looting and attacks in Kurdistan have deep historical roots
Melis Tantan emphasized that the looting and attacks in Kurdistan have a long history and should be understood as part of the state’s special warfare strategy. She continued:
“The destruction of nature in Kurdistan dates back a long time. For many years, forests were burned, dams were built across valleys, and history was erased along with nature as part of the physical and psychological warfare waged against the region. Depopulation policies have also inflicted severe damage on wildlife.
I would like to expand your question by asking, ‘What has changed and accelerated today in terms of this destruction?’ In short, mining and energy projects are increasing throughout the geography of Kurdistan. Most of these are approved without undergoing any environmental impact assessment procedures.
This process has led to the transformation of villages emptied in the 1990s and their surroundings, into zones of investment, rendering them irreversibly damaged. Today, we are witnessing a second wave of forced displacement, where those who returned to their villages after the 1990s are now being pushed out again due to the threat of mining.”
Deforestation policies have also changed
Melis Tantan noted that deforestation policies have evolved in recent years: “In the 1990s, forests were burned. Today, instead of being set on fire, trees are cut down from the root and sold as timber. This shows that war policies have now created their own economy of profit. Trees that can be sold are no longer burned, they are harvested and sold for profit.
Companies that have grown through tenders for roads, construction projects, and airports are increasing the value of land rent. There is no research into their environmental damage, and through massive projects, massive destruction is unleashed, severing people from nature and wiping out wildlife.
In Şırnak (Şirnex), coal mining continues; in Batman (Êlih) and now in Diyarbakır (Amed), fossil fuel-based investments such as oil drilling, extraction, and processing proceed unchecked. Drilling wells opened across Kurdistan are depleting underground water reserves and causing chemical contamination of the soil.”
There are threats targeting the Zîlan Stream basin to erase the traces of the Zîlan Massacre
Melis Tantan explained that the displacement of Kurdish youth to major Turkish cities due to unemployment, and the perception of Kurds as cheap labor, also contributes to the plundering of nature:
“Due to the dominance of industrial agriculture and imported goods in the market, agricultural and animal production no longer provides sufficient income. Farmers are drowning in debt, and state-imposed restrictions are destroying traditional farming.
While economic hardship has driven Kurdish youth to work in construction in major cities for years, recently established organized industrial zones in the region, along with the mining, energy, and large-scale construction projects I mentioned earlier, are now providing jobs for locals and small companies. However, these opportunities are both exploitative in terms of labor conditions and restrictive of living spaces. They expand the reach of capital, turning Kurdish labor into a source of cheap workforce, while also seizing their land, polluting their air, and depleting their water.
Hasankeyf, a 12,000-year-old heritage site, and the many villages submerged by security dams, were all part of a strategy to erase the Kurdish people’s memory and past. Now, for instance, the hydroelectric power plant (HPP) project planned for the Nerdush Stream in Cizre (Cizîrê) threatens to destroy villages once known for their orchards, which were emptied in the past, along with their historical fabric. Although the project has been shelved for now, similar threats targeting the Zîlan Stream basin continue, aiming to erase the traces of the Zîlan Massacre.”
Attacks on Kurdish cities also aim to erase collective memory
Melis Tantan emphasized that the Turkish state’s attacks on Kurdish cities are accompanied by the destruction of memory. She stated that entire cities have been razed and reconstructed according to the ruling power’s ideological framework:
“Historical and social assaults on Kurdish cities have led to a parallel erosion of collective memory. Since 2017, the erasure of Sur’s (Sûr) memory has continued through so-called culture route projects and similar initiatives. In cities like Cizre and Nusaybin (Nisêbîn), the construction projects by the Housing Development Administration (TOKI) have dismantled the social fabric, undermining community solidarity and the culture of collective production. These projects also serve as a form of ‘gentrification’ that destroys memory while disconnecting social ties.
Moreover, instead of building climate and culture, appropriate settlements, cities are being concretized without consideration for local temperature patterns. All these interventions in urban and rural life contribute to the annihilation of the Mesopotamian basin, which has been home to humanity since the beginning of civilization. They result in forced changes in lifestyles, ongoing displacement, the loss of ecological memory, and the burial of history beneath water.
The increasing ecological threats targeting Kurdistan, the wholesale plunder of war zones, and the use of security policies for state and corporate gain all continue at the expense of the people. For instance, after oil drilling began in Mount Gabar, petroleum was found in the drinking water of nearby villages. This clearly illustrates how little the lives of local residents are valued and exposes that these actions are part of a continuing war strategy.”
The Kurdish freedom struggle is also a struggle to protect nature
Melis Tantan emphasized that the Kurdish freedom struggle is, at the same time, a struggle to protect nature: “The Kurdish freedom struggle is also a struggle to preserve the natural world. Kurds have always known that fighting for freedom meant also protecting their environment. However, this protection has been severely undermined by the proliferation of military outposts and the construction of so-called security dams.
These outposts and dams were built in the most beautiful parts of the mountains and villages. Valleys like the Goderne Valley no longer exist. The condition for ending ecological destruction is not only peace, but a peace that is equal, just, dignified, and permanent. The public’s concern that exploitation will continue even when the weapons fall silent is valid and deeply rooted, because peace processes often activate markets and investment flows. For example, after the U.S. invasion of Iraq ended, the country became a secure investment zone for capital groups. Similarly in Syria, after parts of the country came under the control of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Turkish capitalists rushed in to invest in electricity and infrastructure.
This same risk exists in Kurdistan as well. The only way to prevent it is to strengthen the ecological struggle today and to declare that Kurdistan cannot become a space open to the plunder of capital. The peace process can only become genuine and lasting if we manage to ensure this. In other words, what we call an honorable peace is also a peace with nature.”
This period offers greater visibility of the scale of attacks in Kurdistan
Melis Tantan stated that the DEM Party will act in accordance with the spirit of the new period, emphasizing their efforts to create a common ground for struggle:
“The new period presents significant opportunities within the framework of a call for a democratic society. Supporting the existing ecological movements in Turkey and Kurdistan, and strengthening the channels of solidarity among them, is more critical now than ever. The way for peoples to truly see each other lies in recognizing that they are subjected to similar forms of aggression.
In this period, there is a growing possibility for those engaged in ecological struggles in the western parts of the country to understand that the scale of attacks is far greater in Kurdistan, and that the struggle there is much more difficult. For this reason, we are striving to explain, discuss, and make more visible both the similarities and the specific challenges caused by war policies. As part of the peace and democratic society gatherings, we will meet with those who are engaged in ecological resistance.
Alongside these efforts to strengthen the ground for joint struggle, we are also holding discussions on how a democratic and ecological society, a communal life, can be made possible. Guided by the principle that ‘yesterday was too early, tomorrow will be too late, we must act today,’ we are exploring the paths and methods for building an ecological future starting from today.”
Attacks on nature will increase, but so will the ecological struggle
Melis Tantan stated that attacks on nature in Kurdistan are expected to intensify, but added that the ecological struggle will also grow stronger in response:
“Societies are inseparable from their history and their environment. Every attack on a society inevitably brings with it assaults that also damage its history and its nature. The current period is being shaped as a new social process, one where historical memories are revived, collective mourning becomes a path to healing, and future generations inherit both the losses suffered and the victories won through struggle.
Although this period will be shaped through peace, it does not mean that the struggle will come to an end. There is a reality we must collectively acknowledge: unfortunately, attacks on nature in Kurdistan will increase. However, this will inevitably lead to something else, the ecological struggle will rise in equal measure. We are already seeing signs of this. For the first time in many years, a continuous ecological action is taking place in Kurdistan; in Diyarbakır, villagers are keeping watch against a mining project.
Protests are being held in various locations against mining and energy projects, and lawsuits are being filed to stop them. Those leading these struggles are, from time to time, coming together. In some villages, women farmers who do not want their agricultural fields turned into solar farms are blocking the roads and preventing company machinery from entering. In other words, even if localized, all forms of legitimate and practical resistance are becoming visible. If the attacks target living spaces, then resistance to defend these spaces becomes essential.
The most urgent challenge ahead is to ensure that these struggles do not remain confined to their localities, but instead become movements embraced by people in the cities as well. This is one of the key paths to achieving success in the ecological struggle.”
We must build peace through a social structure that recognizes the rights of nature
Melis Tantan stated that Rojava represented a turning point in the recognition of Kurdish status, and that Abdullah Öcalan’s February 27 call for a Democratic Society and Peace marked another important threshold:
“Rojava was a turning point in the recognition of Kurdish status, and the emergence of the conditions for the February 27 ‘Call for a Democratic Society and Peace’ is yet another threshold. But this must be completed by ensuring that nature also gains the status it deserves.
What I want to point out here is that a section of the Tigris, which for thousands of years has nourished fertile lands and been home to humanity and all living beings, has been stripped of its status as a river. This current process must be one where the Tigris regains that status, where the Euphrates is no longer poisoned by cyanide, where abundance is restored, and waters flow freely and without borders.
To achieve this, we must build a lasting peace through a social structure that recognizes the rights of nature.”
Source: ANF News
