SIA Criteria Compliance of Third Bosphorus Bridge(Yavuz Sultan Selim) Social Impact Assistment

Social, economic, cultural conditions and living systematics that differ according to these, deepen the human-environment relationship. This relationship brings along human’s tendency to the environment through positive or negative activities. Therefore; determining the impact of politics, law, planning and the implementation conditions of these on the environment and human’s health has become crucial. When the environmental impact of the activities in point are determined, it brings forth the possibility to prevent potential damage on the environment. Various impact evaluation systems exist around the world. In our country, Environmental Impact Assestment (EIA), Strategic Environmental Impact Assestment(SEA), Cumulative Environmental Impact Assestment(CIA) and Social Impact Evaluation (SIA) systems are implemented. In the process of project permits in our country, there exists legal regulations which enforce EIA, SEA, CIA. However, there is an absence of social impact evaluation enforcement in the project permission process in Turkey. Even though EIA, SEA and CIA are mandatory in legislation and execution, the social impact of these projects are not stressed adequately. Consequently, even in the existence of mandatory EIA, SEA and CIA by Turkish legislation, foreign investors reinforcing credit on politics, programs, plans and projects do not consider these as sufficient and enforce SIA to be included. There is a lack of standard implementation model to evaluate social impact which could be applied to every project. Due to the weakness and non-existing basic criteria in Turkish legislation on SIA in plans and projects, in this study, the SIA reporting has been prepared by benefiting the social approval criteria and comprehensive studies conducted by certain institutions such as UN, OECD and the World Bank. The sample project bridge, which is the widest bridge in the world with its 52 metre width and “Worlds topmost bridge” in the leaning sling bridge classification with its 322 meter tower height, unites the Asian and European continents to each other. The project with such importance, do not hold EIA, SEA, and CIA reports which evaluates environmental and social impact. The project only holds the SIA report which was conducted in 2013 by international finance institutions and the report was evaluated according to the criteria for social approval. Along with the evaluations on the sample field, suggestions has been set forth for the SIA implementations in Turkey.