Green to Grey

Between 2018 and 2024, Turkey lost around 1,820 square kilometres of nature and crop land —an area larger than the municipal boundaries of Istanbul. Fields and pastures. Forests and scrublands. Wetlands and lakesides. These places, some formerly protected by law, have now been permanently destroyed to serve Turkey’s rapacious appetite for construction.

The reasons for this artificialisation – the transformation of natural, agricultural, or forest land into artificial surfaces – vary. While housing is a major factor in the nature loss, accounting for around 40%, other less public-interest cases emerge: hotel complexes, airports, new roads, power plants and even a port to produce luxury yachts for the mega-rich. Lakesides once safeguarded for nature, nutrient-rich soil on which farmers grew food, were handed over to holiday bungalows and industrial zones.

Turkey’s nature is being traded, piece by piece, at an alarming rate.

Green to Grey is a new cross-border investigation by The Black Sea, initiated by Arena for Journalism in Europe and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK. In total, 41 journalists and scientists from 11 countries collaborated with the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) to refine its novel methodology for measuring nature loss. Using satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and on-the-ground reporting, the investigation reveals a widespread and accelerating disappearance of Europe’s natural and agricultural land.

The project was supported by Journalismfund Europe and the Investigative Journalism for Europe (IJ4EU) fund.

Team: Cemre Demircoğlu, Craig Shaw, Vedat Oruç. With Zeynep Şentek.
Visuals: Özge Sebzeci, Cemre Demircioğlu, Vedat Oruç.