Near East University Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering held “International Environment: Life and Sustainability Conference”.The conference was opened with the participation of TRNC Prime Minister Ersin Tatar.

The opening ceremony of the Conference was attended by the Minister of Tourism and Environment, Ünal Üstel; Gönyeli Mayor Ahmet Benli; Representative of Turkish World Engineers and Architects Association, Recep Karamehmetoğlu; Vice Rector of Near East University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt; Dean of Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty, Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş; Nobel Laureate Prof. Dr. Azhari Ahmad, and scientists, faculty members, students and guests from abroad.

According to the information provided by the Directorate of Press and Public Relations of Near East University, the first day of the conference was held at the Pink Hall of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering of Near East University. On the first day and first session of the Conference, Minister of Tourism and Environment Ünal Üstel, the Representative of the Union of Engineers and Architects of the Turkish World Recep Karamehmetoğlu, Gönyeli Mayor Ahmet Benli , Near East University Vice Rector Assoc. Dr. Mustafa Kurt, Chairman of the Conference Organizing Committee and Dean of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş, each made speeches. Additionally, at the beginning of the second session Prime Minister Ersin Tatar also made a speech.

Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş, “As Near East University, we have always been sensitive to water and environmental problems and we have conducted important studies”…
The first opening speech of the conference was made by Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş who said: “As the Near East University, we had held our first International Water Conference 22 years ago, in 1997. The water problem has always been an important part of environmental problems. Today, unfortunately, environmental problems are still critical, especially in developing countries.”

Professor Dr. Gökçekuş further said "Sustainability is a broad discipline that enables human beings to understand many aspects of the world, from business to technology, the environment and social sciences. It pioneers innovation and meets our needs without compromising the needs of future generations.”

In order to place the conference theme in a better perspective, Prof.Dr. Dr. Gökçekuş said: “Before the beginning of the 19th century, water treatment and safe consumption of water supply issues came to the fore. The 20th century will be remembered with the recognition of new concepts in wastewater treatment and reuse of wastewater, micro pollutants and hazardous substances. In this century, there will be a year of climate risks and global warming, which will lead to serious environmental problems and water scarcity, which will require a brand-new sustainable management strategy for vulnerable regions of the world.”

“Climatic Change is the biggest problem of our world”…
Underlining that climate change is the most important problem of the present day Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş gave information about their activities regarding reasons of climatic changes. Prof. Dr. Gökçekuş continued his speech as follows: “Today, if we, as humans, suffer from the impact of climatic change and global warming, this is due to a rapid and uncontrolled industrialization process. The climatic change is increasing day by day due to harmful human activities. It is clear that climatic change is the most urgent issue affecting the entire planet, because climatic change is the root cause of problems in agricultural productivity, increased water stress, rising sea levels, and the high risk to the health of people, especially in undeveloped parts of the world. Therefore, while trying to overcome the consequences of climatic change and global warming, through this conference we aim to address scientists, decision-makers, politicians, environmentalists, students, business representatives, industrial organizations, non-governmental organizations, sustainability managers, experts and researchers aware of this issue. An important conclusion at the end of this conference with valuable contributions made by respected participants of this conference, we aim to create a worldwide perspective.”

Prof. Dr. Gökçekuş thanked everyone who contributed to the organization of the conference and especially extended his thanks to Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Near East University, for his support to the conference.

Prof. Gökçekuş also pointed out that the selected papers presented at the conference will be published in “Journal of Desalination” and Water Treatment which are published by Springer, the world's leading publishing house. Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş ended his speech by thanking Prof. Dr. Jim La Moreauox and Prof. Dr. Süreyya Meriç for providing the opportunity to publish the conference papers in such prestigious journals.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kurt; “We should move away from human centeredness and concentrate on Earth-centred practices”…
In his speech at the opening ceremony, the Vice Rector of Near East University Mustafa Kurt said: “The concepts of survival and sustainability in the title of the conference are very important when it comes to the environment. ‘Survival’ cannot be explained by Darwin's notion of natural selection. There is a selection that people create in spite of nature such as pollution, waste and distorted construction. That is why we need to move away from the eccentric and human-centric approaches. We should also look at life from the East and South American perspective on the axis of human and environmental experience. We need to move away from human centeredness and concentrate on Earth-centred practices. From now on, in every step we take, we must take care of the Earth with all its creatures with the principle of sustainability. Without this, the existence of the globe seems to result in a rapid extinction."

Gönyeli Mayor Ahmet Benli: "I am happy that this kind of scientific work is conducted in my town”…
Ahmet Benli, the Mayor of Gönyeli, said "I am happy to say good morning to you from my town and I am happy that such studies are conducted in the name of science in my town. I would like to thank everyone who contributed. I congratulate the Near East University. When I took over the city of Gönyeli, its population was 9,000. Gönyeli has now reached 30,000 inhabitants. Population is growing. As we live longer, we multiply life. Of course, we try to improve the quality of life while in line with the increase in the population. We are trying to increase life in numerical and educational ways. I think we have made advancements in our town and our country about this. Our country is a small country and our population is rapidly increasing. Therefore, the balances are changing very easily.”

Mayor Ahmet Benli stated that more buildings and more roads should be built as a result of the proliferation of life, which means that more space should be used and more buildings should be heated. Ahmet Benli said, "We are also trying to improve the quality of life of our citizens. We are trying to provide better cooling of the spaces we live in and better heating of winters. We are trying to increase our quality areas. While doing these studies, we do not say that, we have made our asphalt or road life of 10 years. We don't think about how we can extend this to 15 years or we don't think over how we can use the same energy for two days instead of one day. We don't recycle the waste. For example, we increase the waste every year, but we do not get the details of the place where we send it to. We don't produce the energy, we just use it. When we send the waste water away, we do not use that water again and we do not use the sludge in it again. As a result, we are trying to improve the service quality in our country. Moreover, our country is a small country; our population is increasing rapidly, so the balances change very easily. We see that this conference is not only for us, especially for the people who are in the management position and our people, but for everyone interested in making the energy and environment sustainable. I think it will be very useful for us to produce new ideas, to shed light on it. I wish success to everyone involved. ”

Minister of Tourism and Environment Ünal Üstel; “Such international conferences will always guide our work”
In his speech, TRNC Minister of Tourism and Environment Ünal Üstel said: "I am delighted to be at the opening of the International Environment: Life and Sustainability Conference. This is one of the activities carried out in our country in order to make a more liveable environment. I would like to thank those who realized this important activity which I believe will always be a guide in our work."

Minister Üstel: “We are continuing our studies so that environmental courses can be included in school curricula of very early age. Today, when environmental problems are discussed in the world, it is always a fact that the environment is not a problem on its own. Otherwise, the solutions will be temporary and unresolved. Since the day we took over the task of the Ministry, we thought that a process that started especially with training on environment would be the basis of all these studies and we gave priority to environmental awareness and training. In the upcoming period, our studies will continue uninterruptedly so that environmental courses can be included in school curricula of very early ages. As you will recall, the hazardous waste disposal facility, which is a first in our country, has started to serve as a result of the investment of our private entrepreneurs. It is among our targets that these and similar facilities, which are supported by our Ministry, are widespread in our country and the alternative disposal methods to be increased. The environmental problem is a universal problem. The environment is our common heritage we will transfer to our future generations."

Stating that they have made an intensive effort to make audit mechanisms related to environmental problems even more effective, Minister Üstel said that they shared the audits and final reports with the public in a transparent manner. Stating that the diversity and richness of the environment and our country's livelihoods are a common value for all of us, Minister Üstel said that the environmental problem is a universal problem, not only ours. He emphasised the need to look at the environmental problems from this perspective.

Minister Üstel: “We will continue our close cooperation with the universities which are the locomotives of our country like the Near East University. As the Government, our support and determination to protect the environment will continue. We are determined to bring about a more liveable environment, a wealth of natural life and a life where human health is protected as much as possible. We always want to act together with environmental organizations. In this context, we are ready to share the solution proposals together and we think that we can find the best solution methods together considering the conditions of our country. This is an extensive subject including environment, economy, tourism, energy, natural disasters and marine pollution. Therefore, the ideas and thoughts put forward by the academicians during the conference on both our country's environmental policy and our daily environmental problems will provide great benefits to us. I fully believe that the results of the conference will always guide us in our studies. ”

Prime Minister Ersin Tatar: "There is an increase in the amount and type of waste produced!”
In his speech, Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, said: "The environment is one of the most important problems of our country and the world. The sole aim of the science of economics is to achieve sustainable development, which is to meet the needs of today's generation without disturbing the needs and living conditions of future generations."

Prime Minister Ersin Tatar pointed out that there is an increase in the amount and type of waste produced; and that the environment plays an important role in the life of all living things. He underlined that factors such as population growth, urbanization and industrialization are important factors in increasing environmental pollution. Tatar stressed that environmental problems, especially since the second half of the last century, have led to major problems that have occupied the world's agenda, and factors such as population growth, urbanization and the acceleration of industrialization have increased in the amount and types of waste left in the environment.

The environment is not only our problem ...
Prime Minister Tatar stated that environmental pollution is mainly encountered as air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution and noise pollution; and the harmful effects of the environmental pollution took forms as acid rains, regional pollution, global warmth, and global pollution including the defect in the ozone layer.

Sustainable Development is Gaining Importance ...
Emphasizing that rise in the dimensions and harmful effects of environmental pollution increases the sensitivity to the environment in development and growth efforts, Prime Minister Tatar said that these efforts have brought importance to the concept of sustainable development, which is expressed as meeting the needs of today's generation without compromising the needs of future generations.

We must shape our lives in accordance with the limits of our planet...
Minister Ersin Tatar expressed that if the existing production and consumption habits continue until 2050 and if the world population reaches 9.6 billion, it is calculated that 3 planets will be needed for us to survive. Therefore, he said that the best strategy for a healthy future is to shape life within the limitations of the planet.

Environmental Policies must be reviewed ...
Minister Tatar said: “There is a need to implement a sustainable management strategy that will ensure recycling of the high-quality water sent to our country from Turkey. We are aware that sustainability in all areas of life, especially tourism, education and agriculture, is possible only in a healthy environment. Our government is aware that in order to provide a healthy future, there is a need for conscious consumption of the resources that the planet can offer. Our government develops its policies on the basis of these facts and works to take the necessary measures. If we follow the rules of the planet, together we can create a sustainable society within the capacity of the planet to renew itself. By this way, we will be able to live in prosperity by redefining our current consumption culture in this society.

Minister Tatar was presented a Thank You Plaque and a memory photo was taken...
Subsequent to Minister Ersin Tatar’s speech which drew a lot of interest, Chairman of the Conference Organizing Committee and Dean of the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Gökçekuş presented a thank you plaque to Minister Ersin Tatar.

Moreover, thank you plaques and certificates of participation were also presented to other participants. Finally, upon the great interest shown by the audience, Prime Minister Ersin Tatar took a photo with the participants.