Agricultural areas in Antalya are being expropriated for the 2026 Climate Conference.
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As part of preparations for the 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) that Turkey will host in Antalya, farmland at the EXPO fair grounds and the Western Mediterranean Agricultural Research Institute is being allocated to infrastructure projects. The areas in question are being converted into parking lots and other facilities. Local residents and farmers are concerned about productive agricultural land being diverted from its original purpose.
Agricultural lands and natural wooded areas are being converted into parking lots and infrastructure facilities to prepare for the COP31 climate conference scheduled to be held in Antalya in 2026. Ironically, preparations for this summit, which is meant to symbolize the search for solutions to the climate crisis, are destroying agricultural areas and natural resources.
Farmers and agricultural workers in the region are directly affected by the permanent loss of fertile lands that have been in use for many years and risk losing their income sources. The limitation of BATEM's functions, which play an important role in Turkey's agricultural research infrastructure, will reduce agricultural productivity in the region in the long term.