Turkey strengthens oversight of mining site rehabilitation

Turkey is intensifying its oversight of the rehabilitation of lands degraded by mining activities. Following regulations established in 2007 and 2010, the rehabilitation process is integrated into the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) phase. This process extends beyond simple reforestation to include land reshaping, ensuring ground and slope stability, implementing erosion and drainage measures, and protecting soil to prepare sites for post-mining use.

Under the Mine Site Rehabilitation Action Plan, which began in 2014, approximately 5,783 hectares were rehabilitated between 2014 and 2018. By the 2014–2025 period, the total area of rehabilitated land reached approximately 6,334 hectares. To improve management, the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs (MAPEG) launched a project in 2022 to consolidate all rehabilitated mine sites into a single national inventory.