The struggle to save Akbelen Forest, Turkey - in pictures

Coal mining continues to erode the landscape of Turkey's Aegean coast

There is a struggle to save the Akbelen forest in Mugla province on the Aegean Sea. All Photos: AFP

The struggle is to stop the coal mining expansion that continues in the country’s south-west

Coal-powered thermal power plants continue to be part of Turkey’s development agenda

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Turkey aims to reach net zero emissions by 2053

Despite this, it is commonly believed that Turkey has no goals for going beyond coal to generate electricity

Turkish villager Okan Goktas, 44-years-old, cools off using the water irrigating his field in the late afternoon close to the coal-powered Yatagan power plant, at Yatagan, in Mugla province, southwest Turkey on August 16, 2023. The struggle to save the Akbelen forest in Mugla province, southwestern Turkey, on the Aegean Sea, from an expanding coal mining continues in the country’s southwest, as coal-powered thermal power plants continue to be part of Turkey’s development agenda. Although President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the country aims to reach net zero emissions by 2053, Turkey has no goals for going beyond coal to generate electricity. (Photo by BULENT KILIC / AFP)

A young woman stands on the water edge along the beach close to the coal-fired Karabiga Cenal power station in Canakkale Province

Turkish farmer Yusuf Avci works his field close to the Afsin power plant in Kahramanmaras province

A billboard that states, 'Olive carrying area' erected by the coal-fired Yenikoy power station in Milas, in the south-western Mugla province

Osman Arslan, 75, prepares a pot of tea before working in his field adjacent to the coal-fired Soma power plant in the west of the country.

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