The aims of environmental policy in Turkey: Are the political approaches realistic or idealistic?

Environmental destruction has caused critical environmental problems for Europe and the world since the 1970s but also it has been providing new improvements regarding the environment. Turkey, as a country which conducts protection of nature and sustainable development based environmental policy, is an arguably country regarding which subjects works primarily, by the protection of nature or only for conformity to the acquis of the EU and by its policies are contradictory to the acquis of EU in the academic and ethical fields. The questions whether environmental policies of Turkey are idealistic or realistic and whether there is a real environmental policy bring up an important debate. In this study, environmental policy and environmental law and their priorities in Turkey were analysed to shed light on the debates. Looking at the subject from the European perspective and researching progress reports composed the most important objective part of the study. The effect of the Environment Chapter which was opened in December 2009 and Turkey?s actions to comply with the acquis of the EU were analysed and assessments were made in accordance with current evolutions.