Page 42 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 3

ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORLD AND IN TÜRKİYE

Prof. Dr. Ruşen KELEŞ

It is not possible to date back the actions taken and organisations initiated
for the solutions of environmental problems being encountered in the
world and in Türkiye to the earlier times. This is because the imbalances in
the relations between the man and nature gained relevance following the
industrial revolution, in particular, after the capitalism put the principle of
placing all kinds of values under the control and command of the capital at
the very focal point of the world. Humankind gained awareness in parallel to
this development so that it became necessary to see the middle, and even the
end of 19th century to allow the actions, attempts for organising and policy-
making efforts in this area to gain remarkable dimensions.
The whole world watched with great interest the emergence of building
national parks in the United States, and the middle class making landscape
arrangements to make use of their leisure times, Audoban Society becoming
a non-governmental organisation having more than one million members
which aims at the protection of green and open spaces. Increasing number
and diversification of such activities and organisations in this regard as well
as having dressed up with ideological content can be assumed that they left
their mark on the third quarter of 20 century.
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Until recently, when it comes to “environmental problems”, the
relationship between man and nature has been dealt with a human-centered
(anthropocentric) approach at individual, local, regional and national levels,
however, at the present times, it has started to be questioned as a result of the
future of ecosystem, the effect of capitalist lifestyles, liberal and neo-liberal
world order, and the relations between the classes on the environmental
beings.

Year 2 / Issue 3 / January 2023 27