Page 165 - 7. State Of Environment Report Of Türkiye

institutions, organizations and non-governmental organizations in the provinces. The provincial
action plans include the identification of risky areas in terms of marine litter by taking into ac-
count the geographical scope of the province and the general situation of the province, research,
monitoring and evaluation studies, creating region-specific solutions, determining the source
and current situation, cleaning the litter, planning for the prevention of its formation and public
awareness raising activities. Provincial Action Plans prepared for 28 coastal provinces under the-
se headings have been published on the web pages of Provincial Directorates of Environment,
Urbanization and Climate Change.
With the implementation of the Zero Waste Blue Movement and Marine Litter Provincial Action
Plans, approximately 220,000 tonnes of marine litter was collected and disposed of by the end
of 2023.

In addition, the G20 countries, consisting of 19 countries among the world’s largest economies,
including Türkiye, and the European Union Commission, have been following the “G20 Marine
Litter Action Plan” since 2017 and have been carrying out their activities in this direction. Within
the scope of the G20 activities carried out by the Indian Presidency, a coastal cleaning activity
was held simultaneously in G20 countries on 21 May 2023. In Türkiye, under the leadership of
the MoEUCC, a coastal cleaning activity was carried out at Ala Beach in Şile district of Istanbul
province with the participation of the Consuls General of Australia, Indonesia and India, as well
as citizens of G20 countries and environmental volunteers. The event was hosted by Şile Muni-
cipality with the participation of consulates of G20 countries, local administrations, civil society
organizations and environmental volunteers. The event was organised under the leadership of
the MoEU, which holds the G20 Presidency, and was also supported by the Embassy of India,
Şile Municipality and Turkish Marine Environment Protection Association/TURMEPA. The coastal
clean-up in Şile was organised with the motto “A Small Step has a Big Impact”. During the event,
the G20 coastal clean-up pledge board was signed.

C.1.3.1.3. Seabed Dredging Activities

In Türkiye, dredging and the discharge of dredged material, especially in the marine area, are
carried out within the scope of the Additional Protocols of the Barcelona and Bucharest Con-
ventions. The “By-law on Environmental Management of Dredging Material” entered into force
after being published in the Official Gazette dated 14/01 /2020 and numbered 31008 in order
to ensure the necessary compliance with the said conventions, environmental management of
dredging activities carried out in sea and coastal areas and river mouths, beneficial use of dred-
ging materials resulting from these activities, and determination of the procedures and princip-
les regarding the discharge or disposal of dredging materials into the marine environment in a
way that does not harm the environment and human health.

The legislation covers the determination of the characteristics of discharge areas in our territori-
al waters, quality standards for pollutant parameters of discharge materials, the issuance of the
necessary permit for dumping in discharge areas, and the monitoring and inspection of dischar-
ge areas in terms of pollution load.

In addition, the Circular on the Implementation and Delegation of Authority for Dredging and
Discharge Activities No. 2020/4, which includes the methods of discharge into the sea within

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