Debate Over Turkey's Loc Valley Dam Project Intensifies

    Turkey has embarked¹ on one of the biggest dam-building projects in the world.  It aims to meet the growing energy demands of Turkey's booming economy. But the scale and speed of the project is causing concerns about the country's environment and archeological(考古学的) heritage, as well as the prospects² for tens of thousands of people who will lose their homes to make way for the dam and reservoir. Those concerns might affect the country's bid to join European Union.
    In the Loc Valley in northeastern Turkey, construction is around the clock on the 1,000 dams planned for the region. The high mountains and deep valleys that run to the Black Sea are ideal for hydroelectric power. But the region is also home to much of Turkey's plants and wildlife.  And that means that dams like those under construction in the Loc Valley are at the center of a battle between environmentalists and the government.
    Along the Devrekani River, Zafer Kecin is leading the local campaign against the dam. He says the way of life for people in the region is at stake.
    "We are losing the flowing creek," Kecin says.  "This is where our homes are, our picnic areas, with all their beautiful nature, where we fish, our life is here.  All of this will be flooded and replaced by a stagnant³ lake."Last year, environmentalists in the capital, Ankara, campaigned against the Loc Dam Project. The environmentalist movement known as Doga Dernegi has been in the forefront of opposing the initiative, particularly in Turkish courts. That is because many of the dams are being built in protected nature reserves.
    According to Dicle Tuba Kilic of Doga Dernegi, the government in recent months has made changes to the laws in the wake of losing several court battles.
    "They opened all the legal way to make construction(建设,建筑) easily. And more than 1,700 hydroelectric power plant dams are planned. And if they finalize⁴ all of them, this will affect all the wetland ecosystem⁵ of Turkey and our local cultures living in deep valleys or on top of the mountains because they are now forced to migrate from their villages," said Kilic. "They will destroy archeological sites because they have opened them to make construction without any environmental impact assessment⁶ and social impact assessment. You don't have to do anything."The European Union has strongly criticized the legal reforms in its latest progress report on Turkey's membership bid, even though the changes were introduced to promote Turkey's accession. And the European Green Party is campaigning against the dam projects.
    But Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls the environmental opposition⁷ "alarmist," saying the country needs hydroelectric power to break its dependency on expensive imported oil.
    "They are misleading my people with fabrications," Mr. Erdogan says.  "We are showing utmost sensitivity to nature and for its sustainability.  We are lovers of nature," he says. "We are crazy for nature. We planted millions of trees in the most barren lands."Construction on the dams continues. And for activist⁸ Zafer Kecin, these are difficult times.  He says communities are divided. But, he says, opponents of the dams remain committed to stopping them.
    Turkey's environmentalists have persuaded the main opposition People's Republican Party to refer the reforms to the country's constitutional court.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

2 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

3 stagnant   

adj.不流动的，停滞的，不景气的

参考例句：

• Due to low investment,industrial output has remained stagnant.由于投资少，工业生产一直停滞不前。
• Their national economy is stagnant.他们的国家经济停滞不前。

4 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

5 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

6 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

7 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

8 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。