Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum attended the Mapa Buoy System and Fethiye Bottom Mud Cleaning promotion held in Fethiye district of Muğla. In the program held in Martyr Fethi Bey Park, Minister Kurum was joined by Muğla Governor İdris Akbıyık, AK Party Deputy Chairman Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, Muğla Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Aras, AK Party Muğla Deputies Yakup Otgöz and Kadem Mete, Fethiye District Governor Fatih Akkaya, AK Party Muğla Provincial Chairman Cengizhan Güngör, MHP Muğla Provincial Chairman Emrah. Oltulu was accompanied by AK Party Fethiye District Chairman Kadir Sarıhan and district mayors.
Speaking at the event, Minister Kurum said, "Our Gulf of Fethiye is one of the most valuable treasures of Muğla and even the entire Mediterranean. However, decades of intense use, uncontrolled anchor movements and mud accumulating at the bottom have both brought our rich underwater ecosystem to the point of drowning and cast a shadow over the clear blue of our gulf. From our sailors who have been earning their living on these shores for years to our fishermen, from our local tradesmen to our brothers from Fethiye and our guests who step here, everyone is affected by this situation." "Today is a really important day for us; it gives us indescribable excitement to meet our nation's expectations for years, and we are also proud to keep another promise we made," he said.
'WE ARE INSTALLING OUR DERIA SYSTEM'
Minister Kurum stated that they secured the Göcek and Dalaman bays with the anchor-buoy system and brought order to the seas and said, "On the other hand, we are revitalizing the sea by initiating a huge cleaning campaign on the seabed. While preserving such a unique natural beauty, we directly breathe into our tourism, employment and nature. It takes a few seconds for an anchor to descend into the water. However, the dragging of its chain on the seabed can destroy the sea meadows that have formed over the years. To prevent this, We are starting a brand new system in the Fethiye-Göcek Special Environmental Protection Area, on a huge coastline of approximately 90 kilometers, covering the bays of Göcek and Dalaman. We have installed 926 fixed mooring anchors and 906 vaults, instead of the heavy anchors that were randomly thrown into our bays and destroyed the sea floor. With DERİA, we are now establishing the 'DERIA' system, which brings together everything from inspection to instant monitoring of water cleanliness. "We will be able to see the bays, vacant mooring points and availability on the map, and make reservations easily. Our sailors will not have to search for a place, and our deep blue bays and the rich life underneath will be preserved," he said.
'WE WILL WORK IN THE FIELD WITH OUR TWO BOTTOM DRAWING SHIPS'
Minister Kurum said that every uncontrolled anchor that does not land on the sea floor is a success and continued his speech as follows:
"Every sea meadow that is protected, every bay that remains clean is a success. We are not just setting up anchors or buoys here. We are establishing order. We are spreading this understanding to the entire Gulf of Fethiye. While securing the sea meadows in our bays, we are launching a major environmental mobilization to clean the bottom mud that has accumulated over the years in our inner bay. We will work in the field with our two dredging ships. We will remove 16 million cubic meters of bottom mud accumulated in an area of approximately 600 hectares. We will remove it from our Fethiye Bay within the year. When our work is completed, we will reach an average water depth of 3.4 meters. This is our 'Zero Waste Blue' approach. We have never been a so-called environmentalist. This is our Zero Waste Blue understanding, which we carry out under the auspices of First Lady Emine Erdoğan. We protect the unique seas, coasts and natural heritage of Fethiye today and carry them to the future in a much stronger way. "It is the reflection of the environmental mobilization we carry out on one side of the sea."
'OUR DUTY IS TO HEAR THE VOICE OF EVERY GEOGRAPHY'
Emphasizing that they have not forgotten the mucilage scourge that has captured the Sea of Marmara and Istanbul, Minister Kurum said, "We sat down with the World Bank and provided our country with a huge foreign financing of 400 million euros, namely the 'Marmara Sea Action Plan Loan', to transform the wastewater treatment facilities of the Sea of Marmara and purify our sea from pollution. This is not a small amount of money; it is an enormous resource in today's conditions. We are carrying out a major bottom mud cleaning in the Gulf of Izmit. Izmir." "We are implementing our 15-item Urgent and Short-Term Action Plan for Lake Eğirdir. We are working in Beyşehir, Salda, Mogan and Meke. We know that Marmara's needs are different, Eğirdir's, Meke's and Göcek's are different. Our duty is to hear the voice of each geography, determine its needs with science and produce solutions on site."
'Türkiye WILL HOST COP31'
Stating that the bigger issue where all these come together is climate change, Minister Kurum said:
