Anamur (Karaagac) Beach, Mersin, Türkiye: Bern Convention file 2019/5 and Recommendation No. 226 (2024)
A 2019 complaint to the Bern Convention concerns construction of a public beach and picnic area at the Anamur (Karaagac) nesting beach in Mersin. The Standing Committee opened the case in 2022 and adopted Recommendation No. 226 in 2024; the file is open.
Recommendation No. 226 adopted in 2024 after an on-the-spot appraisal. No court ruling and no money are on record.
Status As of October 2026: Bern Convention file 2019/5 is open; Recommendation No. 226 was adopted in 2024; no court ruling is on record.
- Anamur (Karaagac) nesting beach — Nesting site for loggerhead, green and Nile soft-shelled turtles; the complaint lists run-off, vehicle traffic, beach furniture, fireworks, light pollution and litter Council of Europe, Bern Convention
What happened
In Recommendation No. 66 (1998) on nesting beaches for marine turtles in Turkey, the Bern Convention Standing Committee asked Turkey to prohibit sand extraction at Anamur and to secure the remaining unbuilt beach plots against development.
In 2019 MERCED (Mersin Environment and Nature Association) complained to the Bern Convention about construction of a public beach and picnic area at Anamur (Karaagac) Beach, grass and tree planting, water and soil run-off onto the beach, vehicle traffic, beach furniture, fireworks, light pollution and litter. MERCED said the municipality planned bicycle paths, sports parks and playgrounds. The beach is a nesting site for loggerhead, green and Nile soft-shelled turtles. The Standing Committee opened the case in 2022 and, after an on-the-spot appraisal (report T-PVS/Inf(2024)13), adopted Recommendation No. 226 in 2024. The file is open.
- 1998Recommendation No. 66 asks Turkey to prohibit sand extraction at Anamur and secure remaining unbuilt beach plots
- 2019MERCED lodges a Bern Convention complaint on the Anamur (Karaagac) public beach and picnic area (file 2019/5)
- 2022Standing Committee opens the case
- 2024On-the-spot appraisal (T-PVS/Inf(2024)13); Recommendation No. 226 adopted
What was said
“secure the remaining unbuilt beach plots against development”
How it looked
Shown
Recorded
- Complaint of 2019 by MERCED: public beach and picnic area, grass and tree planting, run-off, vehicle traffic, beach furniture, fireworks, light pollution and litter at a beach used for nesting by loggerhead, green and Nile soft-shelled turtles.
- Recommendation No. 66 (1998) asked Turkey to prohibit sand extraction at Anamur.
- Recommendation No. 226 (2024) adopted after an on-the-spot appraisal; file 2019/5 open.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2019–OngoingBern Convention file 2019/5, Türkiye: habitat destruction in Mersin, Anamur beachBern Convention Standing Committee (Council of Europe) · International court · MERCED (complainant) → Türkiye
The Standing Committee opened the case in 2022 and adopted Recommendation No. 226 in 2024 after an on-the-spot appraisal (T-PVS/Inf(2024)13). The file is open. No court ruling is on record. Council of Europe, Bern Convention
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Reported by the complainant only: the account of the works comes from the complaint; no government account is on record in the sources reviewed.
- Not measured Not measured: no nest counts or other measurements of the beach are given in the sources reviewed.
- None on record None on record: money in the case, and a court ruling.
- Insufficient Unconfirmed: NGOs say in a 2026 report that Recommendation No. 226 has not been implemented.
Did the harm stop?
The Bern Convention file is open and Recommendation No. 226 was adopted in 2024. The sources reviewed do not say whether the works or the pressures listed in the complaint have stopped.
Who paid?
None on record.
Sources
International bodies
- Recommendation No. 66 (1998) of the Bern Convention Standing Committee on nesting beaches for marine turtles in Turkey, adopted 4 December 1998Council of Europe, Bern Convention · 1998-12-04
- Bern Convention case file 2019/5, Türkiye: habitat destruction in Mersin, Anamur beachCouncil of Europe, Bern Convention ·
Connected cases
- Fethiye and Patara nesting beaches, Türkiye: Bern Convention files and recommendations, 1996-2025 Türkiye · 1996–2025
- MEDASSET (NGO) — here: Co-complainant; there: Complainant (2012)
- Bern Convention Standing Committee (Council of Europe) (International organisation) — here: File 2019/5; Recommendations No. 66 (1998) and No. 226 (2024); there: Files, appraisal and Recommendations No. 54, 66, 182 and 183
- Government of Türkiye (Government) — here: Party to the Convention; the Turkish Ministry is named among the parties; there: Party to the Convention; reports to the Standing Committee
- Dalyan / Iztuzu Beach, Türkiye: Kaunos Beach Hotel project stopped (1987) Türkiye · 1987
- Bern Convention Standing Committee (Council of Europe) (International organisation) — here: File 2019/5; Recommendations No. 66 (1998) and No. 226 (2024); there: Recommendation No. 8 (1987)
- Government of Türkiye (Government) — here: Party to the Convention; the Turkish Ministry is named among the parties; there: Prime Minister Turgut Ozal received the request for a moratorium
- Limni Bay / Polis-Gialia golf and villa resort, Cyprus: infringement procedure closed (2019), land sold (2025) Cyprus · 1995–2025
- MEDASSET (NGO) — here: Co-complainant; there: Bern Convention complainant (1995)
- Bern Convention Standing Committee (Council of Europe) (International organisation) — here: File 2019/5; Recommendations No. 66 (1998) and No. 226 (2024); there: Akamas file 1995/6; Recommendations No. 63 (1997) and No. 191 (2016)
- Belek, Antalya: 1998 Bern marina recommendation, 2014 hotel-road annulment and 2021 hatchling deaths Türkiye · 1998–2021
- Government of Türkiye (Government) — here: Party to the Convention; the Turkish Ministry is named among the parties; there: Addressee of the recommendation; Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation fined the two hotels and filed a criminal complaint
- EU LIFE funding for loggerhead conservation, 2002-2029 European Union · 2002–2029
- MEDASSET (NGO) — here: Co-complainant; there: Source of the LIFE MareNatura figures
- Kyparissia Bay (Thines Kyparissias), Greece: construction, roads and beach use at a loggerhead nesting site, CJEU C-504/14 (2016) Greece · 2010–2025
- MEDASSET (NGO) — here: Co-complainant; there: Bern Convention complainant (2010); intervener before the Council of State (MEDASSET Hellas)
- Laganas Bay, Zakynthos, Greece: National Marine Park, Bern file 1986/8 and CJEU C-103/00 (2002) Greece · 1986–2025
- MEDASSET (NGO) — here: Co-complainant; there: Bern Convention complainant (1986)
- Libya: Qubeiba Beach nesting site demolished for a power plant near Sirte; turtle programme interrupted Libya · 1995–2023
- MEDASSET (NGO) — here: Co-complainant; there: Published nest counts from Libyan coast surveys
- Plastic waste imports into Türkiye (Adana) Türkiye · 2016–2026
- Government of Türkiye (Government) — here: Party to the Convention; the Turkish Ministry is named among the parties; there: Sets import rules and licenses recycling facilities