Council of State sued for opening vast area in north to construction

Turkey's top engineers and architects union has filed a case against the Turkish Council of State in order to revoke the latter's ruling, which opened a spacious natural area in the western province of Bolu to construction, daily Hürriyet has reported.

The Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) filed the case into the Council of State's Aug. 22 ruling that opened a 510-million-square-meter (about 128 million acres) forested area covering four districts in Bolu to construction, stating in its case petition that opening the area to construction violated the Turkish constitution and six international agreements Turkey has signed promising to "protect its natural heritage."

The area was opened to construction as it was listed as an initiative for tourism and nature sports investments, the TMMOB stated, adding that it "lies through the Dörtdivan, K?br?sc?k, Seben and central districts of Bolu, and encompasses the Kartalkaya Ski Complex, the Karacasu Thermal Center, Lake Seben Ta?l?kaya and the Alada? pond."

Filing the case to revoke and annul the execution of the ruling, the TMMOB stated in the case petition that the area contained by the Köro?lu Forests was a "seed transfer zone" and bore "critical importance for ecology and biological stability" and that opening it to construction "violates" the United Nations' Convention Concerning the Protection of the World's Cultural and Natural Heritage, the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity, the European Landscape Convention, the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe and the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.

"Forests are the main component for...