Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Mining · Türkiye · 2021–2026

Akbelen forest felling for YK Enerji coal mine (Türkiye)

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not measured · 2 unclear See the gaps

Trees were felled at Akbelen in 2023 under gendarmerie escort for the coal operations of YK Enerji, a partnership of Limak and İçtaş. A 2025 law later opened mapped olive groves in Milas and Yatağan to mining; court challenges are pending.

679Parcels under urgent expropriation at Akbelen
Figure as reported by Bianet (2026); expropriation and valuation cases are stayed pending a Council of State ruling.

Status As of 2026: two Constitutional Court applications filed (September 2025, March 2026); expropriation and valuation cases at Akbelen stayed until the Council of State decision is final; no ruling found.

What?
Trees were felled at Akbelen for the mining area of YK Enerji's coal operations, and a 2025 law opened mapped olive groves in Milas and Yatağan to mining. Yetkin Report
Where?
Akbelen forest and İkizköy in Milas, and the mapped olive groves of Milas and Yatağan, Türkiye. bianet
When?
Court suspension 2021; lifted 2022; felling July 2023; Law No. 7554 dated 24 July 2025; Constitutional Court applications September 2025 and March 2026. Medyascope
Who?
Gained
  • Yatağan Termik and YK Enerji (İçtaş and Limak), named by bianet as the beneficiaries of the exception in the law — Access to the mapped olive groves for mining bianet
Lost
  • Producers with olive groves on the map (77 went to the Council of State) — Their groves are opened to mining if the trees are moved or replaced bianet
Harmed
None on record
Why?
A letter attributed to YK Enerji, published by Halk TV on 20 June 2025, asked the Privatisation Administration for additional resources for areas it could not expropriate because of olive legislation. Halk TV
How?
Felling under gendarmerie escort after a court suspension was lifted; then a law adding provisional article 45 to the Mining Law and urgent expropriation of parcels. Medyascope
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

YK Enerji, a partnership of Limak and İçtaş that owns coal-fired power plants, sought to extend its mining area at Akbelen. In July 2023 trees were felled in the Akbelen forest under gendarmerie escort. Yetkin Report reported the start of the felling on 26 July 2023. In September 2023 the business magazine Para Dergi described the same group's investments with an emphasis on solar power.

The record also states that a court suspended execution of the plans in 2021, that the decision was lifted in 2022, and that YK Enerji then felled trees in 2023. The sources reviewed do not name the court. A 2022 regulation opening olive groves to mining was annulled by the Council of State, according to bianet (2024).

On 20 June 2025 Halk TV published a letter attributed to YK Enerji. According to Halk TV, the company asked the Privatisation Administration for additional resources for areas it had not been able to expropriate because of olive legislation. In July 2025 Law No. 7554 (24 July 2025) added provisional article 45 to the Mining Law: olive groves mapped in Milas and Yatağan become open to mining if the trees are moved or an equivalent grove is established. Medyascope reported the bill's adoption by parliament on 19 July 2025.

Bianet reported that 77 producers whose land is on the map went to the Council of State against the law. Two applications were made to the Constitutional Court, in September 2025 and March 2026. Bianet and Cumhuriyet reported in 2026 that urgent expropriation covered 679 parcels at Akbelen, that the Council of State suspended execution for about 194 parcels, and that expropriation and valuation cases were stayed until the Council of State decision becomes final.

Amnesty International documented a conviction connected with Akbelen in 2026. The record states that one defender received a prison sentence of 2 years and 1 month.

  1. 2021A court suspends execution of the plans (court not named in the sources reviewed)
  2. 2022The suspension is lifted; a 2022 regulation opening olive groves to mining is later annulled by the Council of State (reported by bianet, 2024)
  3. 2023Trees felled at Akbelen under gendarmerie escort (Yetkin Report, 26 July)
  4. 2025Halk TV publishes a letter attributed to YK Enerji (20 June); Law No. 7554 adopted (19 July) and dated 24 July; Constitutional Court application (September)
  5. 2026Second Constitutional Court application (March); expropriation and valuation cases stayed until the Council of State decision is final; Amnesty documents a conviction

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • The group's investments were presented with an emphasis on solar power.
    Para Dergi, September 2023 · Para Dergi

Recorded

  • Trees were felled at Akbelen under gendarmerie escort in July 2023 for the owner of coal-fired power plants.
    Yetkin Report
  • Law No. 7554 added provisional article 45 to the Mining Law, opening mapped olive groves in Milas and Yatağan to mining if trees are moved or an equivalent grove is established.
    Medyascope
  • 77 producers went to the Council of State against the law; two Constitutional Court applications were filed (September 2025, March 2026).
    bianet
  • The Mining and Petroleum Affairs authority (MAPEG) found the relocation of 5,093 olive trees in Milas appropriate.
    bianet
  • The Milas court stayed the expropriation cases for 679 parcels at İkizköy until the Council of State rules; the Council of State suspended execution for about 194 parcels.
    Cumhuriyet

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2025–Ongoing
    Council of State challenge to Law No. 7554 by 77 producers
    Council of State (Danıştay) · Administrative · 77 producers with olive groves on the map → The State (Law No. 7554)

    Producers whose groves are mapped in Milas and Yatağan went to the Council of State against the law that opens their land to mining. bianet

  2. September 2025 and March 2026–Ongoing
    Constitutional Court applications against Law No. 7554
    Constitutional Court · Administrative · Applicants not named in the sources reviewed → The State (Law No. 7554)

    Two applications were made to the Constitutional Court; no decision is recorded. bianet

  3. Ongoing
    Expropriation and valuation cases for İkizköy and Akbelen parcels
    Milas court and Council of State · Administrative · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Not stated in the sources reviewed

    Urgent expropriation covered 679 parcels. The Council of State suspended execution for about 194 parcels, and the Milas court stayed the expropriation and valuation cases until the Council of State decision is final. Cumhuriyet

  4. 2021; lifted 2022Outcome not on record
    2021 suspension and 2022 lifting of execution at Akbelen
    Court not named in the sources reviewed · Administrative · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Not stated in the sources reviewed

    A court suspended execution in 2021; the decision was lifted in 2022, and trees were felled in 2023.

  5. 2026Claimant won
    Prison sentence of a defender connected with Akbelen
    Criminal court (not named in the sources reviewed) · Criminal · The State → A defender of the forest

    Amnesty International documented a sentence of 2 years and 1 month in prison. The charge and the stage of any appeal are not given in the sources reviewed. Amnesty International

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Trees felled at Akbelen
Number not stated
The sources reviewed record the felling in July 2023 without a count
Olive trees approved for relocation (Milas)
5,093
MAPEG finding, as reported by bianet (2025)

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Case pending / contestedCourt ruling exists

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

Court

  • Unclear 2021 suspension and 2022 lifting of execution at Akbelen: outcome not on record.

Record

  • None on record The number of trees felled at Akbelen in 2023 is not stated in the sources reviewed.
  • None on record The court that suspended execution in 2021 and the reasons for lifting the suspension in 2022 are not named in the sources reviewed.
  • None on record No source reviewed gives a public-interest assessment or its supporting calculation for the exception created by Law No. 7554.
  • Unclear No ruling by the Constitutional Court or the Council of State on the law is recorded as of the latest source.

Did the harm stop?

Not on record: the sources reviewed do not say that felling or mining has stopped. Expropriation and valuation cases are stayed pending a Council of State decision.

Who paid?

The record names the producers whose olive groves are on the map as the party affected by the law; compensation for them is not recorded in the sources reviewed.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Law and courts

Constitutional Court
The highest court for questions of constitutional rights in a country.
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