The Brotherhood of Rivers Platform (DEKAP) is an independent civil society platform in Turkey that fights against hydroelectric power plant (HES) projects and environmental destruction, particularly in the Black Sea Region. It has a federation-like structure consisting of local community initiatives, environmental organizations, and volunteers, and it resists the privatization of water resources, the destruction of valleys, and profit-driven projects through legal, democratic, and mass actions. The platform prioritizes the protection of the ecosystem with the slogan, "Our streams are the valleys where we have built our natural habitats for thousands of years; water is the source of life."

Establishment Process

The platform was formalized in 2010 in response to hydroelectric power plant projects that gained momentum in the early 2000s with the Electricity Market Law and water use agreements. It was formed by the merger of local river protection platforms in the Eastern Black Sea region (Rize, Artvin, Trabzon, Giresun, Ordu). The first coordination meetings were held in Rize and Fındıklı; founding members included lawyer Remzi Kazmaz, Mehmet Gürkan, and Ömer Şan.

Expansion

Initially focused on the Black Sea region, branches (such as the Mediterranean Platform) were established in the Mediterranean and other regions over time. In the 2020s, it made a nationwide impact with statements following floods and the pandemic. It was revived in 2024 by organizing large rallies in Trabzon.

DEKAP's primary goal is to prevent the irreversible damage caused by hydroelectric power plants to valleys, forests, agricultural areas, and drinking water; it opposes the commodification of water. 

Campaigns and Actions

Petition campaigns, rallies, and marches. For example, the November 9 rally in Trabzon in the 2010s, the "We Stand Up for Our Living Spaces" rally in 2024 (in collaboration with the Trabzon Labor and Democracy Platform). Protests against olive grove mining in June 2025.

Legal Battles 

Over 130 lawsuits were filed; volunteer lawyers (such as Remzi Kazmaz) had the EIA reports and licenses revoked. They secured a SİT decision in Fındıklı; they halted the HES project in Taşlıdere Valley.

Business Partnerships 

Partnerships with organizations such as Halkevleri, Eğitim-Sen, KESK, Yeşil Artvin Derneği, and Tüm Köy-Sen. Broad solidarity movements such as the Gezi Resistance (2013) and Chernobyl commemorations. Establishes dialogue with scientists and representatives.

The platform focuses on hydroelectric power plants in the Black Sea valleys; it highlights concretization, flood risk, and ecological destruction:

Hydropower Plant and Stream Rehabilitation: 

Rize Taşlıdere, Artvin Arhavi Saka I-II, Giresun Düzköy-Deregözü, Trabzon valleys. In the 2020 Giresun flood, he blamed hydroelectric power plants, saying, "Nature is taking what is rightfully hers."

Other Threats: 

Green Road, quarries, mines (olive groves and hazelnut fields), nuclear/thermal power plants, forest laws. In 2025, a campaign against the mining law called "Don't tie nature to the palace." Criticism was raised that construction was not halted during the pandemic.

Achievements: 

Not a single shovel was put to work in Fındıklı; in Ardanuç, the hydroelectric power plant was canceled by declaring the area a cultural heritage site.