On September 7^th Env.Net Team Turkey organized a seminar on coal investments in Turkey and related human rights infringements for TEMA’s employees. The presented study was conducted by the Earth Association, which works on issues like climate change, ecological production and eco-villages on a voluntary basis and is formed by academicians and ecological activists. For further information please check out their website from the link.

The results of the ethnography which was pursued in 2015 were presented during the seminar and they indicated that coal investments violate most of the human rights that are protected by international law and the UN Charter (UDHR). Dr. Akif Pamuk, who is the coordinator of this study, explained how local people show signs of learned helplessness and tried to explain their lack of resistance to coal investments in frames of this phenomenon. In this sense, he emphasized that approaches that are designed for local people’s needs are required to encourage resistance and build capacity for understanding the impact of coal investments to issues of health, human rights, climate change and others.