Ecology

A 19th century olive oil and soap factory in the northwestern Turkish resort town of Ayvalık will be restored and converted into a wellness center by the local municipality.

The Kırlangıç Olive Oil and Soap factory, a property of the municipality stopped production in 2001.

The world is experiencing a “biological annihilation” of its animal species because of humans’ effect on the Earth, a new study has found.
Researchers mapped 27,600 species of birds, amphibians, mammals and reptiles — nearly half of known terrestrial vertebrate species — and concluded the planet’s sixth mass extinction even was much worse than previously thought.

I grew old while constantly writing on this topic for many long years and signing one campaign after another, but somehow, the enthusiasm of those who revive and submit the bill to cut down olive trees has not petered out. 

Representatives from Turkey's olive industry met two top officials on June 7 in a bid to halt a contentious draft law, which will make it possible for the building of industrial facilities on olive groves if "public interest" can be imputed under the supervision of a preservation board. 

One of the most favorite hashtags on social media nowadays is "#zeytinimedokunma," meaning "don't touch my olive." This is a hashtag used by everyone who is opposing a bill that will jeopardize the future of olive trees in Anatolia, which is considered the homeland of olives. 

Science, Industry and Technology Minister Faruk Özlü has vowed that he would withdraw a controversial draft on olive trees if it "harmed even one olive tree." 

"If I know that even one olive tree is going to be cut down because of this law, I will withdraw it," he said in the northwestern province of Düzce on June 4. 

Turkey witnessed a heated debate over the fate of its olive trees this week during voting on a production reform draft in parliament. Although some provisions were left out by the government amid severe opposition from various parts of the society, a number of key provisions remained the same the extent that "olive trees will no longer being subject to legal protection," according to opposition

A parliament commission, founded to discuss the contentious "Production Reform Draft Law," has decided to establish an "Olive Grove Preservation Board" following the removal of a controversial article that would ease the path to industrial activities on protected olive groves. 

The Turkish government has withdrawn a motion that threatened thousands of olives trees in the country following severe criticism from opposition parties and environmentalists.

Thousands of olive trees in our country are at risk of being cut down because of a draft law submitted to parliament on May 17.