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KONFERANS HAKKINDA/ ABOUT THE CONFERENCE:

10 Ülkeden 80’in üzerinde katılımcı, 50’nin üzerinde kurumu ve sosyal hareketleri temsilen, 4. Uluslararası Orman Savunucuları Konferansı için Kazdağları Turkiye’de bir araya geldi. Konferans, Not1More (İngiltere), Kazdağı Doğal Ve Kültürel Varlıkları Koruma Derneği ve Doğa Savunucuları Asya Pasifik Ağı tarafından organize edildi. Türkiye’den iletişim için: kazdagikoruma@gmail.com

Over 80 participants from across 10 countries, representing over 50 organisations and social movements, came together for the 4th International Forest Defenders Conference. The conference is organised by Not1More and Kazdağı Association for the Preservation of Natural and Cultural Resources with partnership from Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders. For further details and information about our funders, please contact outreach@not1more.org

Konuşmacılar/ Interviewees

- Manolo Morales; Avukat, Ekvador/ Lawyer, Ecuador

- Nejla Işık; İkizköy Çevre komitesi, Akbelen, Turkiye/ İkizköy Environment Committee, Akbelen, Türkiye

- James Mema; IMPACT, Kenya

- Regilanne Guajajara; Guajajara Kabilesi Şefi, Coletivo Acessibilindígena, Yerliler Hareketi, Brezilya/ Leader of the Guajajara people, Coletivo Acessibilindígena and Indigenous Movement, Brazil

- Angela Maldonado; Direktör, Entropika Vakfı, Kolombiya Amazonu/ Director, Fundacion Entropika Colombian Amazon

- Stephanie Borcea; Küresel Orman İzleme, Birleşmiş Milletler/ Global Forest Watch, United States

- Fatma Orbay; Kızılcaköy Çevre ve Dayanışma Derneği/ Kızılcaköy Environment and Solidarity Association, Turkiye

- Vedtey Ngoun; N1M, Kamboçya/ N1M Cambodia

PRESS RELEASE IN ENGLISH

Kazdağı National Park, Türkiye, October 2023 -

Not1More’s fourth International Forest Defenders Conference in collaboration with the ‘Kazdağı Association for the Preservation of Natural and Cultural Resources’, and Asia-Pacific Environmental Defenders Network successfully took place in October. Held in the magnificent Kaz Mountains, between the olive groves, this closed meeting brought together 80 participants from across 10 countries representing over 50 organisations and social movements.

Kazdağı Association for the Preservation of Natural and Cultural Resources hosted the conference; over four days activists shared stories of their experience as forest defenders. Türkiye is facing rapid deforestation of pine and cedar forests due to the expansion of mining industries, power plant constructions and mega infrastructure projects. This threatens the forests and community's lands and centuries-old olive groves - a vital part of their cultural heritage, archaeological sites and local economy. The mining and burning of coal will contaminate the air, making it dangerous to breathe; the presence of the coal industry in the Muğla province has been responsible for 45,000 premature deaths since 1982 courtesy of air pollution (1). Of course, many locals, such as those in Akbelen Forest, strongly oppose the destruction of their forest. In Türkiye, front-line environmental defenders face relentless oppression and criminalisation - we invited local and international defenders to the conference to share their experiences, have a moment of solidarity through storytelling and work together to build an international struggle - one Turkish defender said: “At this moment solidarity is crucial as we know these assaults are not just an issue in Türkiye”.

Participants included Angela Maldonado, founder of Columbia-based Entropika Association, which is actively working to stop animal trade from Columbia to the international market. Claudice Santos also attended, as the founder of the 'Zé Claudio e Maria Institute,' dedicating her life to the safety of defenders after her brother and his wife were killed whilst defending their forest in the Amazon, Brazil. From Kenya and Cambodia, activists attended who were fighting the destruction and displacement caused by the development of hydroelectric power plants. From the UK, activists attended who were fighting against the attack on nature during the construction of new high-speed railways. The groups ‘Global Forest Watch’, which monitors deforestation through satellite images, and ‘Action4Justice’, which works to improve international access to justice and legal aid, were also in attendance.

Representatives from various environmental groups and activists in Turkey attended the event. These included 'İkizköy Resists' (ikizköy.direniyor), a group defending the Akbelen Forests in Muğla; 'Dikmece Villagers' from Hatay, who are facing the threat of losing their olive groves due to urgent expropriation for construction activities after the earthquake disaster in February; 'Kızılcaköy Residents' from Aydın, engaged in the fight against geothermal energy; the 'Alakır River Friendship,' which opposes a hydroelectric power plant; the 'Diyarbakır Ecology Association,' dedicated to protecting Hevsel Gardens in Diyarbakır; activists advocating for human and environmental rights in Maraş against a thermal power plant; the 'Deştin Environmental Platform'; as well as the 'Muğla Environmental Platform,' 'Burhaniye Environmental Platform,' 'Aegean Environment and Culture Platform,' 'Validebağ Volunteers,' 'Turkish Medical Association,' 'Foresters Association,' 'Climate Justice Coalition' known for its effective actions against a cement factory. Representatives from the Chamber of Environmental Engineers, Change.org, and the Kaos GL Association, along with environmental lawyers, were also present.

One Turkish defender said, “Our struggle will be so much more powerful if we can be supported by people around the world”. The International Forest Defenders Conference along with Not1More’s work is an important part of creating this international defender-led network, articulating the needs, successes and demands of frontline defenders to the international community - the connections made at the conference have “laid the foundations for work tomorrow” said James, from Kenya. N1M creates a safe and inspiring space to bring together at-risk defenders, grassroots organisations, funders, NGOs, inter-governmental agencies, public interest lawyers, and researchers. “After years of defending the forest, and constant attacks from the [armed] security forces, surrounded by other defenders is one of the only spaces where I feel safe”, one defender from Akbelen, Türkiye said.

The conference was defender-led, and facilitated by defenders in Türkiye. Participants came from Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa, unified in their experiences as defenders, their goals to protect nature, their home, and their lives; and their collective determination to “carry the soul of this resistance”. The focus of the fourth International Forest Defenders Conference was on building international solidarity and support - utilising storytelling methods for the personal healing of activists, identifying shared approaches to environmental activism, and uplifting the work that their communities and organisations are doing to defend the forests; together creating international networks based around shared goals. The conference had a range of workshops and collective discussions, focusing on shared threats faced by defenders, and how an international approach could be used to minimise these threats. Participants identified risks ranging from legal persecution, intimidation from security forces, corporate threats, and murder, and worked together to build tools of solidarity, collaboration and shared well-being. These tools included international legal collaboration, direct solidarity campaigns against transnational companies, and the sharing of emotions in order to promote well-being and resilience.

Emine Büyüknohut.u, the daughter of Aysın and Ali Ulvi Büyüknohut.u, who tragically lost their lives due to an armed attack in their home while protecting the pine and cedar forests in Antalya's Kızılcık Plateau, came together through a zoom call with Claudelice Santos, the sister of Maria do Espírito Santo and her husband José Claudio Ribeiro dos Santos, who were killed in Brazil while defending the Amazon. Both, visibly emotional, said to each other that struggle has no border and that shared family ‘your family is our family’. Defenders shared sorrow, but also their sentiments that the struggle is not buried with the martyrs. Seda said, “These meetings are very important, we always must be strong, but we have the right to love, to cry, to be disappointed and frustrated, we need all these emotions.” Clau said, “I am alone but I do not walk alone. Not all of our comrades can physically walk with us, but they will never leave our memories, and they will walk with us in our hearts.”

Topics of gender inequalities in the realm of ecological activism were discussed by participants from many organisations and countries. One Akbelen defender said, “when women are separated from the forest area, their economic independence is taken from their hands. Akbelen resistance is a strong voice against males in society and male-dominated system, defend the forest for women”. The event paid tribute to activists from various countries who had lost their lives in the fight against deforestation. Attendees had the opportunity to watch the Büyüknohutcu Documentary and the documentary titled 'Listen, the Land is Falling Apart,' which portrays the resistance of three indigenous tribes in Brazil striving to protect their lands from illegal mining.

On the conference's final day, a visit was made to Kazdağı National Park and Sarıkız Hill. Throughout this visit, participants received insights into Kazdağları's unique flora, mythology, and legends - these stories reminded us just how deep the connection is between Turkish people, particularly women, and nature; therefore solidifying the struggle to defend the forest.

KONFERANS BASIN BİLDİRİSİ TÜRKÇE

Konferans, Kazdağı Doğal ve Kültürel Varlıkları Koruma Derneği, Not1More ve Asya- Pasifik Çevre Savunucuları Ağı tarafından 5-8 Ekim 2023 tarihleri arasında Kazdağları’nın muhteşem doğasında, kapalı bir buluşma olarak gerçekleştirildi. 2017 yılından itibaren ekoloji hareketinin risk altındaki aktivistlerini destekleyen kampanya grubu Not1More’un düzenlediği, sırasıyla İngiltere (2017), Tayland (2018) ve Brezilya’da (2019) gerçekleşen Uluslararası Orman Savunucuları Konferansı, bu yıl Kazdağı Doğal ve Kültürel Varlıkları Koruma Derneği ev sahipliğinde 5-8 Ekim’de, Türkiye’de düzenlendi. Dört gün boyunca, aktivistlerin bireysel hikayelerini paylaşmaları ve ortak mücadele yollarını aramalarının tartışıldığı bir buluşma gerçekleştirildi. 28'i yurtdışından olmak üzere, toplam 80 aktivist katıldı. Orman savunucularının ihtiyaçlarını, kazanımlarını ve taleplerini dile getirmek için oluşturulan bu uluslararası konferansa; Kamboçya, Ekvador, Kolombiya, Kenya, Birleşik Krallık, Brezilya ve Rusya’dan katılan aktivistlerin yanı sıra Türkiye’nin çeşitli kentlerindeki ekoloji örgütleri yer aldı.

Amazonlar, Kolombiya’dan dünyanın farklı yerlerine hayvan ticaretini durdurmak üzere çalışmalar yürüten Kolombiya merkezli Entropika Derneği’nin kurucusu Angela Maldonado; Brezilya, Amazonlar’da abisi ve abisinin eşi, ormanlarını savunurken öldürüldükten sonra tüm hayatını savunucuların güvenliğine odaklayan ‘Zé Claudio e Maria Ensitüsü’ kurucusu Claudice Santos; Kenya’da ve Kamboçya’da hidroelektrik santrallerin zararlarına karşı; İngiltere’de hızlı tren inşaatı sırasında yerinden edilen köyleri ve doğanın tahribatını engellemek üzere mücadele eden aktivistler; ormansızlaşmayı uydu görüntüleri ile harita üzerinden takibini sağlayan ‘Küresel Orman İzleme’ grubu (‘Global Forest Watch’), ‘Action4Justice’ grubundan hukukçular katılımcılar arasındaydı.

Türkiye’den; Muğla’da Akbelen Ormanları’nı savunan İkizköy Direniyor, Hatay’da acil kamulaştırmayla zeytinlikleri tehlikede olan Dikmece Köylüleri, Aydın’da jeotermale karşı mücadele eden Kızılcaköylüler, hidroelektrik santrale karşı duran Alakır Nehri Kardeşliği, Diyarbakır’da, Hevsel Bahçelerini koruyan Diyarbakır Ekoloji Derneği, Maraş’ta termik santrale karşı insan ve doğa haklarını savunan aktivistler, çimento fabrikasına karşı etkili eylemler düzenleyen Deştin Çevre Platformu, Muğla Çevre Platformu, Burhaniye Çevre Platformu, Ege Çevre ve Kültür Platformu, Validebağ Gönüllüleri, Türk Tabipleri Birliği, Ormancılar Derneği, İklim Adaleti Koalisyonu, Çevre Mühendisleri Odası, Change.org ve Kaos GL Derneği’nden temsilciler ve çevre avukatları da katıldı.

Konferans boyunca, ekoloji mücadelesinin ortak yollarını arayan ve aktivistlerin bireysel iyileşmesi için hikaye anlatıcılığı yöntemlerini kullanan etkinlikler gerçekleşti. Katılımcıların temsil ettikleri grupların çalışmalarını paylaşabilecekleri bir paylaşım ortamı oluşturuldu. Brezilya’daki Casa de Respiro’nun (risk altındaki yaşam savunucularına destek veren merkez) hikayesinin anlatıldığı, örnek bir davanın canlandırmasının yapıldığı eş zamanlı atölyeler gerçekleştirildi.

Antalya’nın Kızılcık Yaylası’ndaki çam ve sedir ormanlarını taş ocaklarına karşı korudukları için evlerinde silahlı saldırı sonucunda öldürülen Aysın ve Ali Ulvi Büyüknohutçu'nun kızları Emine Büyüknohutçu ile Brezilya’da Amazonları korudukları için öldürülen Maria do Espírito Santo ve eşi José Claudio Ribeiro dos Santos’un kardeşi Claudelice Santos bir araya geldi. Ekoloji mücadelesinde cinsiyet eşitliği üzerine tartışmalar yürütüldü. Bir çok ülkeden, ormansızlaşmaya karşı mücadele ederken yaşamını yitiren aktivistlerin anıldığı etkinlikte, Büyüknohutçu Belgeseli ve Brezilya’da 3 yerli kabilenin, yasadışı madenciliğe karşı topraklarını korumak için direnişlerini anlatan ‘Dinle Toprak Parçalanıyor’ belgeseli izlendi.

Konferansın son gününde Kazdağı Milli Parkı’na ve Sarıkız tepesine ziyarette bulunuldu. Önce Kazdağı Köknarı Ormanına, daha sonra Sarıkız Zirvesine yüründü ve bu süreçte Kazdağları endemikleri, mitolojisi ve efsaneleri hakkında bilgilendirmeler yapıldı.