At a time when Iran is again in the headlines for war, conflict, and fire, a different story emerges. It is a story about water, truth, and survival. Kaveh Madani, once branded a “water terrorist” in his own country of Iran, has been named the 2026 laureate of the Stockholm Water Prize, often called the Nobel Prize of water.

It is a striking reversal. A scientist exiled for telling inconvenient truths about water scarcity is now being honored on the global stage for the very same work.

Madani, now director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health, has spent his career confronting one of the most uncomfortable realities of our time. The world is not facing a temporary water crisis. It is entering what he calls “water bankruptcy.” This is not semantics. It is a shift in how we understand collapse. In his own country aquifers and water resources are being bled dry. Lakes, like Lake Urmia, have completely vanished from overuse.

Madani’s framing is simple and devastating. Humanity is no longer living off the renewable flow of water. We are draining ancient reserves, aquifers built over millennia, spending down the planet’s savings account with no plan to repay it. For countries like Iran, this is not theoretical.

Born in Tehran, Madani grew up inside a system already under stress. He trained as a civil engineer, studied water systems in Sweden, and earned his doctorate in California (like our beloved architect Nader Kahlili). By his early 30s, he was teaching at Imperial College London, one of the world’s leading institutions. Iran, readers should know, was the inventor of the ancient qanat system. They had water aquaducts figured out before the Romans.

Then he did something unusual. He went back.

In 2017, he returned to Iran to serve as Deputy Vice President and Deputy Head of the Department of Environment. It was a move filled with risk working with the regime there, but also hope. His calls for transparency, reform, and honest accounting of Iran’s water crisis collided with entrenched power in the Islamic regime. He was accused of espionage, labeled a threat, and targeted by security forces. Friends and colleagues were arrested. One of his friends died in custody.

Madani fled and then rebuilt his work, moving through Yale and eventually to the United Nations, where he now leads one of the world’s most influential water think tanks. The voice that was silenced at home now advises governments across the globe.

Today Madani challenged a core assumption in water management. That people cooperate. Using game theory, he showed that in reality, individuals, regions, and nations often act in their own interest, even when it leads to collective failure. Water conflicts are not engineering problems alone. They are human ones.

This insight has reshaped how water systems are modeled, negotiated, and governed, especially in regions where trust is thin and resources are shared across borders.

With nearly a million followers online, he has become one of the most visible environmental scientists in the world. He speaks plainly, often bluntly, translating complex hydrology into something people can understand which is the language of survival.

Water is not just about taps and rivers. It is about food, energy, migration, and peace.

He was also one of the first to push water into the climate conversation at the highest level. At COP23, he criticized the lack of attention to water in the Paris Agreement, a gap that still lingers today. Now, as director of the UN’s water institute, he continues to press that point. Without water, there is no climate solution.

The Stockholm Water Prize citation recognizes not just his research, but his ability to turn science into policy and public understanding, often under personal risk.

In his acceptance remarks, he spoke of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, where water symbolizes light and purity. For him, the prize is not personal. It is shared with those who stood by him, and with those who paid a higher price for protecting nature.

In a press release sent to Green Prophet, Madami says: “In the Persian tradition of Nowruz, water is a symbol of light and purity on our New Year table. To be named the Stockholm Water Prize Laureate at this specific moment is a vindication I share with all Iranians who believed in me when I was labeled a ‘threat’ for simply speaking the truth. I accept this honor with profound humility, and I am deeply grateful to my nominators, the selection committee, and the mentors, colleagues, and students who have been my intellectual family throughout this journey. 

“I share this award with the millions of compatriots who stood by me, with my friends in the conservation community, who were imprisoned and killed for their love of nature, and with the brave and innocent Iranian lives taken from us in January 2026, and those lost before and since.”

“It is a profound coincidence that this news arrives as my country and the region whose sustainability I have fought for have been burning in the fires of conflicts and a war being conducted in defiance of international law.

“I hope that in the midst of this fragmented world, this Prize and World Water Day serve as a reminder that water does not wait for politics. Water bankruptcy is a common threat that transcends every military line. We must recognize our shared vulnerability if we are ever to find our shared peace.”

The post From “Water Terrorist” to Global Laureate: Iran’s Kaveh Madani Wins the Nobel of Water appeared first on Green Prophet.

Robert Redford — Oscar-winning director, founder of the Sundance Institute, and one of America’s most loved actors and influential environmental advocates — died on September 16, 2025, at his home in Utah. He was 89. News of his death was confirmed by multiple outlets.  Redford leveraged his worldwide fame to protect wild lands, accelerate climate action, and fund storytelling that moves people to care about the planet. In short, a true Green Prophet.

Below are five of his biggest environmental causes and achievements—each documented by reliable sources.

Longtime NRDC trustee and voice for climate action

Redford served for decades as a trustee of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), using that platform to press for clean energy, clean air, and conservation. He opened NRDC’s groundbreaking “green” headquarters in 2003 and addressed UN climate ministers in 2015, urging faster action. He received multiple conservation honors, including the Audubon Medal (1989). The film above was produced and screened for the UN event.

Co-founding The Redford Center to fund impact storytelling

In 2005, Redford and his son James co-founded The Redford Center, a nonprofit that produces and funds films and campaigns to drive environmental progress. The Center’s short “Robert Redford’s Environmental Legacy” premiered during the Paris COP21 events, highlighting his belief that art and nature together can change the world.

Good film has the power to change the world. See Woody Harrelson on regenerative agriculture.

Protecting Utah’s public lands and sacred places (Bears Ears)

Redford was a fierce defender of the American West, partnering with Tribes and local communities to safeguard Bears Ears and other landscapes. He publicly urged federal leaders to designate and then protect Bears Ears National Monument.

Early, effective opposition to a Utah coal plant

In the 1970s to 80s, Redford helped lead opposition to a coal-fired power plant proposal near his Sundance home and in the Kaiparowits region. The fight became a defining early win for conservationists—so prominent that some locals burned him in effigy.

Elevating independent voices through Sundance

By founding the Sundance Institute and Festival (1981), Redford created the world’s most influential incubator for independent film—amplifying environmental narratives and careers that changed culture. His broader public service was recognized with the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

Across five decades, Redford fused art, advocacy, and institution-building: NRDC trustee and national climate voice; co-founder of an environmental media nonprofit; steadfast defender of public lands; an early, successful opponent of local coal development; and creator of Sundance, which gave countless environmental stories a stage. These contributions sit alongside his film achievements (Ordinary People, A River Runs Through It, All the President’s Men) and national honors. May more people be inspired by legends like Redford and may his family be comforted in this difficult time.

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Greta Thunberg, climate and humanitarian activist

On June 1, 2025, the Madleen, a ship organized by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, departed from Catania, Italy. It carries supplies such as water bottles, medical equipment, and other essential items. The goal of the mission is to break through Israel’s naval blockade and deliver aid to civilians in Gaza. The flotilla includes 12 participants from various countries. Some participants include members of the European Parliament, actors, and activists. The most high-profile figure on board may be Greta Thunberg.

Thunberg, a Swedish-born climate activist, describes the mission as aligning with her environmental and humanitarian values. She asserts that the mission reflects her beliefs that environmental justice must include all communities.

Thunberg has recently been an active participant in the youth-led, global “Free Palestine” movement. While the journey has drawn international media attention due to Thunberg’s highly controversial image, it also intersects with a long-standing, complex, and regional conflict—one where humanitarian concerns, national security, and environmental challenges collide.

Israel has enforced a naval blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007 due to concerns related to Hamas. Hamas, a terrorist organization, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians and taking over 250 hostage. The blockade is supported by other nations in the region, such as Egypt. It is utilized to prevent weapons and materials that could be used for military purposes from entering the territory. Israel allows aid to enter Gaza through land crossings, which are coordinated and monitored by international agencies.

Read Related: Freedom Flotilla sets sail toward Gaza with Greta Thunberg on board to liberate Gaza

Those who are critical of the blockade, including Thunberg and her companions, argue that the embargo contributes to deteriorating living and environmental conditions in Gaza. Supporters of the blockade assert that it is essential for the security of Israel and the safety of its civilians. Additionally, they claim internal mismanagement and a lack of cooperation from Hamas limit the support that civilians receive. Gaza is facing significant environmental challenges. There are reports that 90% of the water is undrinkable. This is due to the ongoing war, governance challenges, and the over-extraction and contamination of aquifers.

Wastewater runs rampant due to untreated sewage being discharged directly into the Mediterranean Sea and other water sources. While the Israeli blockade is often cited as the most significant factor contributing to these challenges, many international commentators and agencies have also pointed to Hamas and its recent efforts to disrupt aid distribution as a substantial factor.

In the past, infrastructure projects, including water treatment facilities and solar energy systems, many of which came from Israel, have been disrupted by a lack of cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

Greta Thunberg’s decision to participate in the Madleen voyage highlights the issue of environmental justice in conflict zones. It also reflects the growing trend of climate activism, which involves engaging in politically sensitive regions.

From Israel’s perspective, the debate is distinguishing between humanitarianism and efforts that legitimize terrorist organizations such as Hamas. Despite concerns, Israel has continued to permit and facilitate the transfer of aid, including food, fuel, water, and medical supplies, through its land crossings.

As the Madleen moves closer to Gaza’s waters, the following steps are uncertain. Previous flotillas have been intercepted and redirected to Ashdod Port, where the cargo is examined and transferred to Gaza via official land crossing channels. The IDF, Israel Defense Forces, recently issued a statement to the press. IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin said, “The (Israeli military) is prepared to defend the citizens of the State of Israel on all fronts — in the north, the south, the center and also in the maritime arena.

“The navy operates day and night to protect Israel’s maritime space and borders at sea. For this case as well, we are prepared,” he said in response to a question about the Freedom Flotilla vessel, declining to go into detail.
“We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly.” Spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin speaking to the media

What is clear is that Thunberg’s journey has drawn massive attention to Gaza’s humanitarian and environmental conditions. At the same time, it opens up a broader conversation on the role of ecological activism and justice in a time of war.

For Israel, the situation continues to be consistent with its responsibility to ensure humanitarian access to civilians in Gaza, while maintaining its security.

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A beautiful story to carry one’s legacy and to make Miss Rumphius proud: a man in Turkey has single-handedly restored a forest in his hometown. Sehmus Erginoglu now in his early 70s decided to do something about an area of wasteland in his home city of Mardin in southern Turkey.

According to the Middle East Eye he began by clearing out rubbish from the site about 30 years ago, and then he installed water pipes and eventually started to plant saplings. Today the site is home to a small forest of around 11,000 trees, with thousands more planted in areas nearby.

In a world breeding so much intolerance and hatred for the “other” inside Turkey and the Middle East at large, let’s take Erginoglu’s example and make the world a bit better than the way we found it.

As a teen in French class in Canada we read The Man Who Planted Trees (L’homme qui plantait des arbres). The story of Elzéard Bouffier is an allegorical tale by French author Jean Giono, published in 1953 which tells the story of one shepherd’s long and successful effort to re-forest a desolate valley in the foothills of the Alps, near Provence, throughout the first half of the 20th century.

Erginoglu has taken the cue: “I have built 50 spring water fountains in Mardin. I have only planted 10,000 saplings in Savurkapı, and I keep going further. I come every day to water the saplings,” he told Hurriyet, a Turkish newspaper.

His only request to visitors was not to damage the trees.

Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli has shared showing him as an example in the public eyes. But we do know that forest protectors in Turkey have been murdered. And you can go to jail if you are reporting about toxicity in the soil.

A Turkish scientist was sentenced to 15 months in prison in 2019 for revealing the cancer risks posed by toxic pollution in western Turkey. We interviewed researchers who mentioned similar problems with a cancer risk and pollution, and one was threatened by jail time if he released his research. Read our interview with Onur Hamzaoğlu here.

The story of Erginoglu is an inspiration for ecological regeneration brought about by man. And if you are wondering Miss Alice Rumphius is a children’s story about a woman who sought a way to make the world more beautiful and found it in planting lupines. 

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Civil Rights are in place to protect everyone regardless of their race, gender, whether they have a disability or any other protected characteristic such as age or religion. Laws regarding our rights and treating everyone equally have been developed over centuries. Whilst we have come a long way in our fight for equality, there is still some way to go and developments are happening all the time.  If you believe that your civil rights have been violated then you may need a civil rights attorney. 

Family and Medical Leave Act

The FMLA ensures that employees can take paid leave if they have to have time off for specified family or medical reasons, including having a child or becoming unwell. Recent laws in states across the country are now requiring companies to offer new dads to have paid leave. New York, New Jersey, California, and New Hampshire have all put laws in place. Washington is also in the process of putting laws in place and they should be in force this year. Men, as well as women, should get to spend time with their babies so that they can bond with them and help with the first few weeks. 

The Equality Act: 2017 update

The Equality Act was first passed in 1964, but in May 2017 is was updated to include LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) people from discrimination. This includes discrimination in housing, employment, education, credit, and public services. LGBTQ advocates have been fighting for an update in the act since the 1970s and so this was a big move forward. 

California recognizes a third gender

Many of the recent updates in civil law are to do with the LGBTQ movement, there are a growing understanding and knowledge. One issue for many people has been society’s boxes of either male or female, some people do not feel that they fit into either of these boxes. In October 2017 California becomes the first state in the US to legalize a third gender option if nonbinary on state documents and state-issued IDs. Non-binary includes a spectrum of gender identities that are not exclusively male or female. This will also make it easier for people to correct their gender on legal documents. 

Similarly, in July 2017 Oregon became the first state to allow people to have an option of “not specified” on identification. 

Kentucky restores voting rights to former felons

According to the US, constitution voting is a right. Despite this, many states’ felons cannot vote. This could be understood as when someone commits a crime, many of their rights can be taken away. Such as the right to freedom of movement. In most states, once someone has completed their sentences they are once again allowed to vote. However, in Kentucky up until December 2019, many former felons were still not allowed to vote. This meant that they were never really re-joining society, by being able to vote they can once again be a part of democracy.

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News that Siri Apple engineers are probably listening to your intimate conversations and acts through Siri is alarming. In a way many of us take the “who cares” approach to privacy because if we all share it, what do we have to lose? For most of us average people our lives are boring compared to others.

Our conversations at the doctor’s office or in the bedroom may not at all be that interesting. It’s when you have something to lose, like your career or life that you wonder about the extent of your digital footprint. We’ve had people reach out to us from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt. They have told us about crimes in their local environments that they could never report to the authorities. Nuclear spills. Activists in jail. Activists who have disappeared because they thought they were above the law. They weren’t.

Update in 2022 when no-one in Iran or China can browse the internet freely without being spied on. A trusted VPN is more important than ever. 

Tips for hiding your online identity

If you want to whistleblow to a news site and avoid detection, here are some general tips that might help you avoid getting found out.

1. Buy a burner phone: colleagues from my startup used to laugh at me every time I travelled to the US or Europe because my phone number would change. I didn’t do this to avoid detection. It was just a cheaper solution for me than keeping the same number or buying an international plan on my everyday cell phone. With cash it’s easy to buy a cell phone and a SIM card to communicate with others while avoiding building on your previous personal digital footprint. In some countries, like India for instance you might have to supply ID to buy a SIM. Try to work with locals to figure out a good solution.
2. Turn off location apps. Any way you slice it, if you want to avoid being found you should go to your settings are turn off all location tracking apps like Waze, GPS, photos, etc.
3. Go on “stealth mode” when you search on Google, Yahoo or any other search engine. The browser you use has a privacy mode. It’s also known as incognito mode on some browsers. Make sure you delete all cookies and restrict the browser from sending location details.
4. There is a server that deflects your location. Every day people use this to watch streaming TV in locations that might not let them. You can Google VPN and choose from a site you trust. Reddit has some good threads on what company to work with. Stay up to date on Reddit for the best advice. 
5. Make sure social sites you might use are not tracking you. We have a lot of motivation to provide personal information to Facebook, on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and others, because, hey isn’t that all the fun to say I ate at Nobu when I was in New York City! But use your head. These sites follow and track what we do and where we go even when we have logged out of them. Like something, or share something? You are being tracked.

These steps might help you clear your tracks:

For Facebook – Go to Facebook settings > Advertising to control – this is whether ads are targeted based on your clicks in and out of Facebook. You don’t want this.

For Twitter – Go to your Access settings > Security and Privacy area. Then uncheck the box for “Tailor Ads”. You don’t want this. Tailoring ads means they are tracking you.

For LinkedIn – Go to your Privacy and Settings > Accounts > Managing Advertising Preferences. Uncheck anything that looks like it might be tracing you.

And voila. Enjoy being a dissident. Now start saving the world.

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Sderot’s dusty streets and woeful aspect come naturally after enduring years of rocket attacks from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. In this Western Negev town in Israel, all bus stops are small bomb shelters. A traffic roundabout represents the town center, with a pizzeria, a stationary store, and some tired-looking clothing shops around it.

The young, active population has long ago left, seeking better employment opportunities and quality of life elsewhere. But the periphery town has received an boost of young energy and willpower from a new student village constructed by the students themselves, out of recycled shipping containers.

Five to six million shipping containers are on the seas at any given moment. What can be done with them after they’re no longer considered seaworthy? Ayalim, Israel’s largest youth organization, has an answer: construct sustainable housing out of them, and rent them out cheaply to students in development towns. The Sderot project is one of 12 such student villages constructed in periphery areas through Ayalim. We wrote about one built in Lod, central Israel.

The Sderot student village project launched last June has completed 36 units, each housing two students. Ultimately, the village will boast of 150 apartments constructed of shipping containers stacked three stories high, each two sharing a bomb shelter. 1000 students and pre-army volunteers learned construction skills as they worked. 300 of them will remain in the village to study at the nearby Sapir Academic College. In exchange for the subsidized rent, the students commit to 500 annual hours of social work in the Sderot community.

The hope is that the youngsters will stay in Sderot after their studies, eventually integrating into the larger community and infusing it with a significant socio-economic boost.

Ayalim representative Effie Rubin, also one of the organization’s founders, said:

“If we want to change the reality towards better education and job opportunities, we need to bring young people to the periphery towns.There’s no reason why the majority of  Israelis should squeeze into Tel Aviv. People can live in nice houses like these for NIS600 a month.

“Our hope is that the students have an amazing experience and decide to stay. We did a survey and discovered that students’ greatest obstacle to studying in the Negev and other periphery areas is lack of affordable housing. There are no decent cheap apartments in the Negev or the Galilee. The second discovery was that they tend to stay if they’re given a continuous sense of community; a feeling of being part of a group.”

Cargotecture is good for students and the planet

According to an Ayalim survey conducted last year, the villages so far are providing students satisfaction on both counts.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Energy and Water Minster Silvan Shalom made an appearance at the official inauguration of the Sderot village last week. Both spoke of socio-economic reform in the hands of the coming generation.

The most important attraction for the youngsters is the opportunity to take part in real social activism, but the green aspect also draws them. Only a minimum of concrete is used in the construction, and a layer of insulation is placed between the steel and the drywall. Artificial grass covers the public areas, as it would be unrealistic to lay living grass down in the thirsty climate of the Western Negev. Trees planted in recycled, painted barrels dot the paths. As is customary in Israel, solar heaters will be going up on the rooftops to make sure there’s hot water when needed.

“A grassroots organization like Ayalim can’t deal with thousands of these units,” says Rubin. “Our aim is to be a model, to show Israel and the world that fast, cheap, and good-quality housing can be made out of shipping containers and good will.”

Read more on shipping container architecture:

Shipping Container Cargotecture Office

Affordable Container Housing Hits the Negev

Dubai’s Sustainable City Launches

Photographs by Miriam Kresh.

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World Food Day, commemorated on October 16 is an annual event whose purpose is to find ways to alleviate hunger and malnutrition in various parts of the world. Green Prophet was there.

The event is a forum against environmental damage to both animals and humans by large multinational companies who often try to portray their actions as being beneficial to farmers, when exactly the opposite may be taking place.

One of these companies, Monsanto Agricultural Chemicals Company has often been the subject of numerous allegations that accuses it of creating immense damage to both crops and animals as a result of the pesticides, herbicides and other agricultural products it manufactures. These include genetically modified seeds, otherwise known as GMOs.

During a recent trip to the Netherlands, it was easy to experience first hand how many people in Holland are thinking green; and how adversely they feel about companies like Monsanto and the damage that it is alleged to be causing to both plants and animals in the larger cities in the Netherlands, as well as in the countryside .

Hanging out over the weekend in Dam Square, the central venue location for street shows and similar outdoor eve, we witnessed a large rally against Monsanto during a World Food Day rally and picnic sponsored by  the Netherlands branch of the Millions Against Monsanto NGO and fully covered on their website (in Dutch).

In addition to speeches by local green politicians, the Saturday afternoon event included music by folk singers in both Dutch and English as well as food booths offering organic and vegetarian foods.

A large number of anti-GMO and Monsanto signs and placards were on display by participants, many of whom wore “anonymous” masks to emphasize their fight against the giant chemical consortium which they say is causing much environmental damage to their country and to the world at large.

Talking to one participant, a middle-aged chap who preferred to remain nameless, he said that it is very important for people to get involved in fighting companies like Monsanto, who produced the Agent Orange pesticide during the Vietnam war and has since then tried to improve their ecological profile by using their financial might to “buy into” green projects such as efforts to save honeybee colonies from being destroyed by conditions such as colony collapse disorder (CCD).

“The world must realize that these  “green” efforts by this company is only to cover up the immense damage that it is doing to our environment,” he told us.

Besides the rally, which occurred on October 12, another large march in Amsterdam against Monsanto is planned for Wednesday, October 30. “This is one of the best ways to get people involved in fighting the Monsanto octopus,” another participant said.

Going around this very picturesque city, it is easy to see that the Dutch people are very keen into making their city and country more green. People on bicycles are everywhere; and electric cars and trams are commonplace. Organic foods are readily available in local markets; and a large organic foods market  is located within easy walking distance of both the central train station and Dam Square. Although fossil fuel cars, buses and motorbikes are common, the large number of bicycles and electric trams has made the air in this city cleaner.

It would be great if ME cities like Tel Aviv and Beirut could copy Amsterdam’s example on how to make a large city more ecologically friendly; as  well as display as much passion in fighting chemical and GMO producing giants like Monsanto.

Read more on Monsanto and GMO related issues:

Small American Farmer Sends Monsanto Seed Patents to Supreme Court

Turkey Bans 26 Genetically Modified Organisms

Egypt’s Battle With GM Crops (and Food Poverty)

The post World Food Day Rally Slams Chemical Giant Monsanto in Amsterdam appeared first on Green Prophet.

It began when a convicted domestic abuser was sentenced to parade around town dressed in traditional Kurdish women’s clothing. The ruling by a judge in Marivan, Iran prompted 17 members of parliament to complain to the justice ministry that the action was “humiliating to Muslim women.”

Masoud Fathi reacted differently; he popped on a dress. His friend Dler Kamangar snapped a picture. They posted it to Facebook with the slogan “Being a woman is not a tool to humiliate or punish anyone” and so launched The Kurd Men for Equality campaign. They’ve garnered over 18,000 Facebook “likes” and the improbable endorsement of American actress Rosario Dawson.

(RELATED: Saudi men dress as women)

Since the campaign kicked off last April, other men in drag have taken to the streets, with heavy follow-on posting to Facebook. They hold signs with slogans such as “hoping for the day that sexuality, gender will not be a way of evaluating humanity.”

“Women are part of our personality, our character. If we oppress one part of our character, we oppress ourselves,” Fathi said in an interview with the Kurdistan Tribune, “If one part of us is unfree, our whole cannot be free, either.”

It makes for fascinating dichotomy that a male-led feminist movement would emerge in a region with a dubious  record for women’s rights. Diana Nammi, Executive Director for the Iranian & Kurdish Women’s Rights Organization, told CNN that honor killings, genital mutilation, and child marriages remain a large part of contemporary culture.

“Officials put the number of honor killings at a few hundred each year, but I think that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The realities are far darker,” said Nammi.

In politics, Kurdish women enjoy greater rights than females in neighboring countries: by law, 30% of the Iraqi Kurdistan parliament’s members must be women. The main Kurdish party in the Turkish parliament has instituted a similar quota, requiring 40% of the seats go to women.

“It seems the Kurdish people are trying really hard to fight for the rights that have been taken from them. I guess women’s rights is part of that whole thing,” activist Pedram Penhan told CNN, “I wouldn’t label myself as a feminist, but I would say I’m an activist who does anything possible to make the world a better place for every human.”

Images from the Kurd Men for Equality Facebook page

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Turkey’s Taksim square protest flared up last week when police took drastic measures to clear activists from Gezi Park- slated for destruction to make way for yet another shopping center. But that’s not the only unsustainable project the government is pursuing in the name of economic growth. We list 5 of the major ones. These five put money before the well being of both people and nature.

1. Turkey Opens up Property Laws to Foreigners

Turkey has plans to clear 4.1 million acres of forest and demolish 6.5 million buildings throughout the country in order to make space for more commercial buildings, shopping centers, residential complexes, luxury hotels and other development projects. But outside investment is essential to such rapid growth, which is why the Turkish government reformed their property laws (we report here) to make it easier for foreigners to purchase and develop land. This change has opened Turkey to an explosion of new development projects that put whole communities at risk.

2. Taksim Square to Become Lifeless

It’s impossible to talk about a list of unsustainable development projects in Turkey without taking a quick look at Taksim Square (read our report here)– one of the last remaining green spaces left in Istanbul. Despite great opposition from the local populace, the government established plans to replace this precious urban park with a new shopping mall, roadways and tunnels, a courtyard and a tiny patch of grass.

3. The Ilısu Dam

The Ilısu Dam for hydro-electric power and currently under construction in Turkey is expected to vastly transform life along the Tigris River and not in a good way. Green Prophet writer Julia Harte is currently tracking those impacts as part of a trip funded by a National Geographic Young Explorer Grant. The Ilısu Dam is the biggest hydroelectric dam currently under construction in Turkey, Julia wrote in an earlier post, though it is not the only one — “18 have so far been built under the scope of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), a massive development program approved by the Turkish government in 1982,” she says.

Meanwhile, the UN issued a report condemning Turkey’s Tigris and Euphrates River hydroelectric dams for violating the human rights of downstream countries, including Iraq.

4. Istanbul’s LEED Renaissance Tower

Green Prophet writer Laurie said that the only thing sustainable about the 44 story LEED Renaissance Tower slated for construction in Istanbul is its zip code. Under the guise of LEED certification, the 606 foot tower soars above its surrounding neighborhood, potentially destroying the very fabric of this ancient city.

Not only will it require “a river to clean” due to all the glass, but a lot of interior lighting will create light pollution and consume a great deal of energy. IE. This building is not sustainable at all.

 5. Istanbul Airport to Kill 658,000 Trees

Turkey’s transportation ministry is planning to build “the world’s largest airport,” (as we report here) but in order to do so, they must first clear cut nearly a square kilometer of pristine forest on Lake Terkos near the Black Sea. In other words, 658,000 trees representing ten different species will be sacrificed to build the new airport, is expected to serve up to 1.5 million passengers annually.

These five ongoing projects in Turkey demonstrate a sort of governmental divorce from the people whose lives depend on healthy natural resources.

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