Republic of Türkiye

National Action Plan

Name (Year):
● 12th National Development Plan of the Republic of Türkiye (2024-2028)

Brief Description:
The Twelfth Development Plan, a comprehensive roadmap for achieving Türkiye's sustainable and inclusive growth, was adopted by the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and came into effect following its publication in the Official Gazette. The Plan encompasses ongoing efforts aimed at preventing marine litter at its source and minimizing the damage caused by existing litter to the marine environment.

Name (Year):
● National Action Plan for Land-Based Pollutants (2023-2028)

Brief Description:
The national action plan has been prepared to assess land-based sources against marine pollution, including marine litter, within the scope of the Barcelona Convention's land-based sources protocol. It includes measures to prevent marine litter in all seas.

Legal Framework

Name:
● Circular on the Preparation and Implementation of Marine Litter Provincial Action Plans (2019)
● By-Law on Zero Waste (2019)
● Communiqué No. 6/1 on Regulating Commercial Fishing(2024)
● Fisheries Law No. 1380 and the Regulation on Aquaculture (2004)

Brief Description:
Circular on the Preparation and Implementation of Marine Litter Provincial Action Plans:
Türkiye addresses marine litter through national legislation titled “Circular on the Preparation and Implementation of Marine Litter Provincial Action Plans,” issued in 2019. In coordination with relevant institutions and NGOs at the regional level, "Marine Litter Provincial Action Plans" are developed and implemented by all related stakeholders under the responsibility of the Governors in all coastal provinces of Türkiye, covering five-year periods. Clean up activities are executed by institutions and organizations on a regular basis as determined within the provincial action plans. And NGOs make clean-up activities in order to raise public awareness especially in special days such as world ocean day, world environment day etc. These studies include cleaning of surface and bottom of the sea.
 
The second five-year Provincial Marine Litter Action Plans, covering the years 2025-2029, officially entered into force on January 1, 2025. With the implementation of Provincial Action Plans, region-specific measures will continue to be taken to prevent the formation of marine litter at its source; regular cleaning activities will continue on the coast, sea surface and seabed; and education and awareness-raising activities will continue to be disseminated at the national level. Awareness awareness-raising activities and clean –up campaigns are carried out under the name of Zero Waste Blue Movement to support the prevention of pollution in the sea and coasts.

By Law on Zero Waste:
By Law on Zero Waste was adopted in 2019 with the aim of reducing all wastes, including plastic wastes, collecting them separately at source, reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills and increasing the recovery rate. By Law on Zero Waste includes rules on the establishment and implementation of the zero-waste management system, the requirements for monitoring the system, the conditions of obtaining of the zero-waste certificate and the criteria for the certificate. Within the scope of the Regulation, efforts are carried out to disseminate, develop and monitor the zero-waste management system in local administrations, buildings and settlements (public institutions and organizations, hospitals, educational institutions, accommodation facilities, etc.).

Communiqué No. 6/1 on Regulating Commercial Fishing:
In order to prevent, reduce, and eliminate the abandonment, loss, or other disposal of fishing gear during fishing operations, Türkiye has introduced legal obligations under its updated fisheries legislation.Communiqué No. 6/1 on the Regulation of Commercial Fishing mandates the marking of all fishing gear. To implement this provision, the “Instruction on Marking of Fishing Gear Used in Commercial Fishing” was issued, setting out the procedures and principles for gear marking.
 
Administrative sanctions are applied to any fishing gear that is not properly marked or not registered in the Fisheries Information System (SUBIS), in accordance with Fisheries Law No. 1380.
 
Furthermore, Article 14, paragraph 2, subparagraph ç (item 2) of Communiqué No. 6/1 on the Regulation of Fishing for Commercial Purposes explicitly prohibits the possession and use of monofilament (single-layer) and multi-monofilament (multiple single-layer) fishing nets longer than 500 meters on fishing vessels. The use of such nets is also subject to mesh size restrictions that vary by maritime region. In addition, their use is contingent upon obtaining a specific Fishing Permit, issued by the relevant provincial or district directorates in line with the procedures defined in Annex-2 of the same Communiqué.
 
In cases of non-compliance or illegal use of these nets, the associated fishing permits are revoked, and no new permits are granted for the remainder of the calendar year.
 
These legislative measures form a key component of Türkiye’s broader national strategy to combat marine plastic pollution and to promote environmentally responsible fishing practices, in alignment with its international commitments.

Fisheries Law No. 1380:
Türkiye’s aquaculture sector is regulated by national legislation to ensure sustainability, waste management, and protection of marine ecosystems. Türkiye regulates aquaculture activities under the Fisheries Law No. 1380 and the Regulation on Aquaculture. According to Article 20 of the Law, aquaculture facilities are subject to licensing requirements that include environmental protection and pollution prevention obligations. The Regulation on Aquaculture (published in the Official Gazette dated 29/06/2004) specifies that all aquaculture operations must take necessary measures to protect aquatic environments, ensure proper waste management, and prevent environmental degradation. Article 22 of the Regulation states that aquaculture enterprises are required to collect and dispose of waste in accordance with national environmental legislation and are prohibited from discharging waste into marine ecosystems. These legal provisions aim to reduce plastic pollution and contribute to marine litter prevention efforts.

■ In Preparation
Name: National Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan (Draft)
Brief Description:
The main objective of the National Circular Economy Strategy and Action Plan is to contribute to Turkey's transition to a circular economy, protect our natural resources, combat climate change and reduce international competition and import dependency.
In the Action Plan, seven sectors that use the most raw materials and have high environmental impacts are prioritized: packaging, batteries and vehicles, construction and buildings, electronics and information-communication technologies (ICT), food and biomass, plastics and textiles.
 
Under the Strategic Objective of integrating circular economy into product life cycles in priority sectors, the Action Plan includes the actions of developing legal infrastructures for single-use plastics and microplastics and developing guidance documents for biobased, biodegradable and compostable plastics until the end of 2028 in order to increase circularity at all stages covering production, consumption and waste management in the plastics sector.

Single Use Plastics, Marine Litter and Microplastics Roadmap (Draft)
Brief Description:
There has been a need to prepare a roadmap for single-use plastics, marine litter and microplastics regarding the measures and legislative arrangements that need to be taken due to the need to reduce the negative effects of single-use plastic products on the environment, including plastics and products containing microplastics that cause marine litter. In this context, the Ministry has prepared a draft Road Map for Single Use Plastics, Marine Litter and Microplastics.
In the said road map, the issues planned to be realized in the short, medium and long term have been addressed and responsible institutions and organizations have been determined.

Indicators and/or Targets

■ Plastic Use Reduction:
Indicators:
Prevention of plastic waste generation from plastic bags
Targets (if any):
With the application of charging for plastic bags, the formation of 2,053,992 tons of plastic waste originating from plastic bags was prevented between 2019 and 2024. With this reduction, the import of plastic raw materials required for the production of plastic bags in our country was also prevented.

■ Ghost Fishing Gear recovery:
Indicators:
In order to prevent plastic pollution caused by fishing, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has been carrying out the cleaning activities of abandoned or lost fishing gear from the sea and inland waters with the "Ghost Net Project" since 2014. At a total of 453 million, square meter of area were scanned, 2.6 million square meter net and 65.000 other fishing gear were removed.
 
The work continues regularly every year. Some of the fishing equipment removed were delivered to municipalities and some to regional farmers, so that they could be used in areas that would not harm the environment. Those suitable for reuse are used in the production of products such as dresses, bags, accessories, paintings and pencil holders. Unusable fishing gear was destroyed and its metal parts were recycled. Cooperation between industry sectors and stakeholders is encouraged, and coordination and information exchange is ensured, in order to increase recyclability and recycling rates, including sharing best practices for the disposal and recycling of fishing gear recovered from the sea and inland waters. In order to raise the awareness of our fishermen, citizens, relevant official institutions/organizations and non-governmental organizations about ghost fishing gear, meetings, awareness trainings and exhibitions were organized, and documentaries and public spots were prepared.

■ Others:
Indicators:

• Microplastics (in sediment, water column, surface water), floating litter (surface water), seafloor litter (macro litter), digested litter (microplastics in biota), beach litter indicators
• Microplastic monitoring in waste water treatment plants (as a pilot and research and development component

Targets (if any):
National Marine Monitoring Program involves monitoring activities related to the marine litter component are below:National Marine Monitoring Program involves monitoring activities related to the marine litter component are below:

• To implement marine litter monitoring indicators/parameters in National Marine Monitoring Program of Türkiye according to Regional Marine Conventions, MSFD and national legislation
• To meet the requirements of Regional Marine Conventions (and their monitoring programs) and national legislation
• To achieve continuous, consistent and valid data on marine litter
• To form the basis for management strategies with scientific data and evaluations
• As a long term goal to establish national baseline and threshold values at national level

Brief Description:
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has developed a common monitoring strategy for all marines by adopting an integrated and ecosystem-based monitoring approach for Turkish seas and coasts, and has implemented the "Integrated Marine Pollution Monitoring Program (DEN-İZ)" since 2011, and is coordinated by TÜBITAK-MRC with the cooperation and collaboration of various institutions and organizations and universities operating in the marine field in Türkiye. And it is executed with national budgets and expertise. DEN-İZ Program has been transformed into a three-year monitoring program since 2014, thus ensuring regular monitoring and consistent data production to cover all seasons. With DEN-İZ Program, the chemical and ecological status of our seas is determined, the effectiveness of the measures taken to prevent pollution and their compliance with national and international legislation are evaluated. Monitoring and evaluations in the DEN-İZ Program are carried out in determined coastal water bodies and marine assessment areas and DEN-İZ 2023-2025 period has started. The program involves marine litter monitoring component in all marines and coasts. The indicators and evaluation tools used in the program is in line with IMAP and BSIMAP. In the end of 2025 a thematic report on marine litter status of Türkiye will be published in which evaluations of the gathered data of National Marine Monitoring Program.
 
The Monitoring Guideline on Marine Litter was published in 2019, the revision of the guideline works are going on, the guideline has been revised according to updated and current monitoring strategies and new indicators and will be published at the end of 2025.

Technical Standards, Guidelines and Methodologies

Topics:
■ Others: Marine Litter Monitoring

Brief Description:
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has published Monitoring Guideline on Marine Litter in 2019 with a project called “Project on Standardization in Marine Monitoring”. “Project on Standardization in Marine Monitoring Phase II” has been going on since June 2024 to revise marine monitoring guidelines, at the end of the project; revision of guidelines according to updated and current monitoring strategies and new indicators will be completed, and the new version of the guideline related to marine litter will be published at the end of 2025.

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