Solving Pollution in the Marmara Sea with Floating Plant Islands

In order to prevent the mucilage that occurred in the Marmara Sea, the TÜBİTAK-1001 project, led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Akpınar from Uludağ University (BUÜ) in 2021, with Prof. Dr. Asuman Cansel and Prof. Dr. Bülent Barış as advisors, will be implemented in cooperation between the ministry, industry, and university. The collaboration protocol signed between the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, BUÜ, and Demirtaş Organized Industrial Zone (DOSAB) aims to reduce pollution from Nilufer Cross Stream and Nilufer Stream to the Marmara Sea. Speaking at the collaboration protocol ceremony, Fatih Turan, the General Director of Environmental Management at the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, emphasized the importance of ecological practices to prevent pollution from reaching the sea through rivers and streams. BUÜ Deputy Rector Prof. Dr. İrfan Kırıştıoğlu stated that they will conduct scientific evaluations and applications and academically evaluate the results. DOSAB Board Chairman Levent Eski expressed his pride in being a partner in this collaboration. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşegül Akpınar, who leads the project at BUÜ Technical Sciences Vocational School, stated that the project aims to remove the nitrogen and phosphorus load, important factors in pollution and mucilage entering the Marmara Sea. Akpınar emphasized that using floating plant islands with ecological plants could solve this problem, highlighting the importance of selecting the right plants based on pollution potential. The successful project will start with the establishment of around 1000 plantations.