Turkey's burned forests now an environmental battleground

MARMARIS, Turkey (AP) — Environmental groups and opposition lawmakers in Turkey are voicing fears that fire-damaged forests could lose their protected status, a claim the government rejected as wildfires burned for an eighth day Wednesday in the country's Mediterranean region.

Environmental groups have pleaded on social media for Turkey to get assistance in containing the fires that have consumed some of the forests they protect. But critics are also warning of another threat to forests after Turkey's parliament passed a law in July that allows the president to change the status of forests into tourism development sites if it's for the “public good.”

Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have firmly rejected the speculation and said the burned forests were protected by the constitution and would be reforested. While the exact acreage burned in the past week remains unclear, officials have promised the affected areas would not be transformed for other purposes.

The government’s assurance, however, has not eased worries.

Critics pointed to pictures of a forest area burned more than a decade ago that was turned into a massive hotel resort. They have also blamed a string of recent environmental disasters in Turkey — including a slimy sea snot outbreak in the Marmara Sea, deadly floods and severe drought — on megaprojects, industrial sites and rampant construction.

While the Turkish Constitution mandates the reforestation of woodlands after wildfires, experts warned the new law that became official with Erdogan's approval last week could further open up healthy forests to tourism and construction.

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Bekir Pakdemirli said last week that development fears arise during wildfire season but that the constitution was...