Upon being informed about the DOSAB application to establish a coal-fired power plant at the city, many local and professional organizations including  “DOĞADER” (Nature Association, NGO) long active in environment-related activities, Bursa Bar Association,  TMMOB (Union of Chambers of Architects and Engineers), Bursa Chamber of Medicine, Burs Chamber of Pharmacists and other NGOs got together to set up a platform of solidarity. Shortly after, the "Platform against Thermal Plant in DOSAB" was established in October 2014 and opened up social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter. The platform soon had over 100 member organisations.  The platform immediately started with an action plan to raise awareness at local scale through reaching out to local associations, headmen of the local neighbourhoods, and managers of the residential sites. The platform has the major lines of arguments against the power plant. First, the plant, being very close to the city centre, will have negative health effects and will cause respiratory and cardio-vascular diseases due to airborne pollutants; second, it will contribute to the climate change; and third, it will pollute surface and ground water, which will then be used in irrigation of crops, and hence cause both a degradation in the soil quality and health risks.  The platform started its legal struggle on August 2015, after the approval of the first EIA report in July 2015 by the Ministry of Environment. Among the 27 plaintiffs, there were TMMOB, Bursa Bar Association, Bursa Chamber of Pharmacists, DOĞADER, Ekoloji Kolektifi (Ecology Collective). The group appealed for stay of execution first and then the cancellation of the Ministerial decision considering the EIA report as positive.  The Association of Public Health of Turkey and Turkish Thorax Society decided to join the case as interested parties.

Evaluating the report, the court decided unanimously on March 2016, for the stay of execution of the project considering the gaps and breaches found in the EIA report and the possibly irremediable damage for all parties and the city.  Shortly after the court decision, the DOSAB Directorate filed another EIA report for evaluation in July 2016 and the mobilisations are still on going. 

(See less)