'Turkey handles mucilage issue in transparent, participatory way'

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Reminding the sea-cleaning campaign, launched by Turkey to save the Sea of Marmara, the head of the Marmara Municipalities Union said the country deals with mucilage issue in a transparent and participatory way.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the occasion of the efforts towards cleaning mucilage, or sea snot problem, Tahir Buyukakin, the head of the Marmara Municipalities Union, said coastal municipalities and central administrations are working in cooperation and coordination.

Mucilage is an overgrowth of microscopic algae called phytoplankton caused by rising seawater temperatures due to global warming, stagnant water, and pollution.

To deal with the issue under the union's scientific unit, they first held a webinar on May 18, Buyukakin noted, adding that on June 4, they also organized a workshop on the mucilage problem in the Sea of ​​Marmara for solution proposals in partnership with the Environment Ministry.

"More than 700 scientists, public officials, professional chambers, and representatives of non-governmental organizations participated in this workshop where we discussed the urban wastewater issue, agricultural pollution, and pollution caused by ships.

"We noted everyone's opinion under the moderation of academics," he added.

He went on to say that, following these meetings and final evaluations, the 22-point action plan to clear a surge of mucilage was announced by the Environment Ministry on June 6.

This year, mucilage or “sea snot” was detected in January and then intensified and expanded in April, resulting in a serious problem contrary to previous cases, which usually disappeared in a month or 45 days.

As it continued to increase in its intensity in May and June, the Turkish authorities announced a comprehensive action plan to clean up the Sea of Marmara.

Referring to the reasons behind the mucilage formation, including the rising temperature, disturbances in the stability of the sea, and high amount of nitrogen and phosphorus contents, Buyukakin pointed out that all these factors are currently observed in the Sea of ​​Marmara.

"As will be noted in the action plan items, we need to focus on land-based pollutants and marine-based pollutants to prevent this pollution from reaching the sea through effective treatment and inspection operations," he noted.

- Relieving dissolved oxygen value

Classifying the items of the action plan, Buyukakin mentioned institutional structure, inspection, wastewater management, legal regulation, planning, agricultural activity and fishing, education and awareness, and cleaning services.

"While the construction of advanced biological wastewater treatment plants is scheduled gradually, both due to time and financial constraints, there are also items to be acted on urgently, such as cleaning the existing surface mucilage," he added.

He also said that at the initial phase, they plan to control the pollution load from urban and industrial wastewater by 50%, and agricultural activities-related pollution by 40%.

"In line with this goal, we are planning to relieve the dissolved oxygen value in our sea to some extent in the marine ecosystem within three years," said Buyukakin.

As of Wednesday, Turkish sea cleaning teams have collected a total of 5,738 cubic meters (202,636 cubic feet) of mucilage from the Sea of Marmara.

"The most important characteristic feature of this process (of handling the mucilage issue) is that it works in a transparent, participatory (way) and (through) strong cooperation (...) of the government, local administrations, and academia," he stressed.

Giving an example on the participation of parties during the process, Buyukakin mentioned the establishment of the Scientific and Technical Board under the Marmara Municipalities Union, a development welcomed by all stakeholders on the issue.

"Our common value, the Sea of ​​Marmara, comes first among the topics that we need to rethink and act together," he added, recalling the Marmara Urban Forum to be held on Oct. 1-3 to focus on the Sea of ​​Marmara with the theme of "rethink, act together."