Locals, environmentalists protest Turkey's third nuclear plant in ??neada

Locals and environmentalists have reacted to Turkey?s decision to construct a third nuclear plant in the country?s northwestern region of ??neada, which is famous for its floodplain forests. 

Turkish Energy Minister Ali R?za Alaboyun said on Oct. 14 that a third nuclear power plant was slated to be built in the ??neada region in the province of K?rklareli, which borders Bulgaria to the north. 

Ya?ar Mersin from the ??neada Nature Representatives Group said not only would the natural life in the region be threatened by the power plant construction, but that Istanbul would also face a great threat as ??neada was just 100 kilometers from the metropolis. 

?The distance between a village of ours and the border to Bulgaria is 500 meters. Therefore, the neighboring country also needs to approve,? Mersin said.

Stating that there was a great habitat and floodplain forests in the region, Mersin said the floodplain forests were the world?s biggest, at 3,515 hectares, after the Amazon, adding that there are only three floodplain forests in the entire world. 

Some 258 bird varieties of the total of 453 that are found in Turkey are in ??neada, said Mersin, adding that there were 670 different plants and 668 kinds of special animals in the area. 

Baran Bozo?lu, the head of the Environment Problems? Research Center, said new species were being discovered in ??neada. 

Moreover, just as rainforests are very crucial for their regions, floodplain forests are also very crucial for Turkey and the region, Bozo?lu said.

An international NGO to save the environment, Greenpeace, has initiated a petition against the construction of the third nuclear power plant, stating that it would be ?an attempted suicide? due to safety...