Air pollution - National Responses (Turkey)

The transposition of Ambient Air Quality Framework Directive (96/62/EC) and daughter Directives (99/30/EC, 2000/69/EC, 2002/3/EC, 2004/107/EC) into national legislation was completed on 06 June 2008 by the publication of the By-law on Ambient Air Quality Assessment and Management (Official Gazette: 06 June 2008, no 26898). The new By-law is fully in line with the Directives. The By-law includes the implementation calendar for 13 different pollutants defined in the framework directive and daughter directives. The By-law also covers necessary instruments such as clean air and action plans to improve air quality, while aiming at monitoring, sanctioning and institutional strengthening in the field of air pollution control and air quality.

For the implementation and enforcement of the By-law on Air Quality Assessment and Management in Turkey, the Strategy Document was prepared in the scope of “Support to Turkey in the Field of Air Quality, Chemicals and Waste Management Project” funded under 2004 Pre-accession Financial Assistance Programme. Based on the acquis, this strategy document includes the requirements on air quality in Turkey, and necessary institutional capacity which should be established, and a road map has also been drawn for the assessment and management of air quality. Eight regional monitoring networks including eight regional clean air centres are defined for air quality management, operation of the regional monitoring network, regional analysis, emission modelling, assessment and planning. In addition, the number of monitoring stations in Turkey is planned to be increased to the number which is foreseen in the Directives for the establishment of air quality monitoring stations by 2014.

2014 is envisaged as starting date in the By-law for the implementation in order to accomplish the necessary institutional capacity and technical infrastructure. During this phase, the air quality limit values in the previous By-law on air quality will gradually be decreased so as to protect the human health and environment. 

EU air quality limit values plus margin of tolerance will start to be applied in 2014 and then the limit values will be met by decreasing the values of margin of tolerance, thus, smooth and gradual implementation will be achieved. The final date, which differs according to parameters, for the attainment to the EU limit values, varies between 2014-2024. These dates have been formulated in the By-law considering the dates for the attainments given in the daughter Directives.

MoEF is currently working on the preparation of the Air Quality Action Plan at national level and afterwards, detailed air quality plans at regional / local scale will be developed according to the results of preliminary assessment studies to be performed. The preliminary assessment studies for the whole of Turkey are expected to be finalised until 2014.