Turkey's Parliament adopts stricter land and water protection rules

The Turkish Grand National Assembly began a new session on 9 June, with the General Board set to debate a draft amendment to the Land Protection and Use Law and related statutes. The proposal requires provincial administrations, municipalities and other public bodies to adopt protective safety measures for water structures and to report to the State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). It also introduces fines of 250,000 to 5 million Turkish lira for hydro‑electric plants that fail to comply with DSİ operating instructions, and penalties of 50,000‑100,000 lira per megawatt for technical deficiencies.

Other measures on the agenda include a ban on any sponsorship or promotional activity by alcohol producers, the establishment of carbon‑sink forests to boost climate mitigation, and an extension of existing water‑project agreements to 2040. The session will also address forest‑law 2/B provisions, sugar beet pricing mechanisms, and fines for unauthorised utility connections or livestock shipments lacking required documents.

On the same day in Erzurum, Governor Aydın Baruş chaired a Toprak Koruma (Soil Protection) Council meeting. Fifteen agenda items were examined, focusing on safeguarding agricultural land, improving its productive use, and monitoring related issues. Officials from the provincial agriculture and forestry directorates, the DSİ regional office, local government and academic representatives discussed evaluation results, problem areas and corrective actions to ensure sustainable land management.