Objectives:

Programmatic Objective:

The collective members wage an environmental struggle against the capitalist system, which they believe is responsible for the planetary ecological collapse, based on the following lines:

1. Anti-capitalist; as against the capitalist mode of production, based on private property, organized by the reproduction of capital and the profit motive, which exploits the worker’s labor, destroys their body, and eliminates the living conditions of all living beings by destroying nature, which is the inorganic body of human;
2. Anti-fascist; as against the capitalist state and bosses who, with their gendarmerie, police, paramilitary gangs, and all kinds of instruments of coercion, stand against the worker, the toiling peasant, and all the oppressed who are trying to protect their living conditions, livelihood, and culture;
3. Anti-imperialist; as against the ecocidean wars, occupations, and repressive policies waged by competing imperialist blocs within the integrated and hierarchical global market of contemporary capitalism, and the accompanying plunder of natural resources by multinational corporations and global monopolies;
4. Anti-colonialism against the colonial subjugation policies of reactionary regional capitalist states, dominated by the collaborationist and monopolistic capitalist class in countries financially and economically colonized by imperialist states, which seek to decimate the environment and eliminate living beings from the region’s populations;
5. The gender conflict, patriarchy, hierarchy, domineering mentality, and exploitation that emerged as the first class contradiction with the birth of private property and have been socialized in every aspect within the capitalist order, are countered by gender liberationist movements that specifically target women and LGBTQ+ individuals in recent social struggles, as well as the sexist policies of the male-dominated state.
6. Starting from the pre-capitalist era, humanity, as an alienated part of nature, has faced speciesist ideological views that undermine the companionship of life with other living species with whom it shares the planet, and capitalist relations that limit the existence of animals to the status of goods by commodifying them not for their intrinsic value within the integrity of ecosystems, but for their meat, milk, and entire being; therefore, we advocate for a non-speciesist approach.

It runs in a straight line.

Strategic Objective:

The collective members wage a struggle for political freedom against the fascist, colonialist, and patriarchal policies in Turkey and the region, which stem from the Turkish state’s collaboration with imperialism and its status as a financial and economic colony of imperialism.

The collective members wage a political liberation struggle where the demands for peace, equality, freedom, and justice of all oppressed groups—including peoples, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and religious and cultural communities—who are subjected to the same oppression by the ruling class that carries out a policy of limitless destruction—including slaughtered animals, destroyed forests, water resources, and entire rural and urban ecosystems, are united.

The collective members organize self-defense practices against ecological disasters, including emergency response in situations such as floods, fires, earthquakes, and industrial disasters, in line with the needs of the struggle, and establish communes in all areas of life, participating in the construction of these practices.

Ideological Goal:

The collective members work to deepen and disseminate current philosophical, theoretical, and political discussions in Marxist ecology, develop its policies, and implement them practically. To this end, they conduct continuous education, reading, translation, and writing activities to advance Marxist ecological theory.

The collective members defend the Marxist line, which envisions the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism and recognizes the world’s proletarians and oppressed as the historical revolutionary subjects, in opposition to the alarmist discourses of urgency developed within the system in the face of ecological collapse and to lesser-evil plans such as liberal green orders.

The collective members fight for gender equality against male dominance everywhere and in every position.

Political Objective:

Members of the collective;

1. It works to develop a more organic and holistic interaction, rather than an instrumental one, with the ecological struggle in Türkiye.
2. It aims to transcend the limitations of localist, singular, green, liberal, and pro-establishment understandings within the ecological movement, and wages an ideological struggle against these understandings.
3. It works to ensure that the Marxist perspective gains a guiding force in the ecological struggle.

The collective members undertake the task of establishing international links between ecological struggles in Turkey and the Middle East and those in other parts of the world, introducing those struggles and experiences to Türkiye, and building a common struggle.

The collective members combat the organizational shortcomings of the ecological movement wherever they are located—namely, the lack of democratic functioning, failure to embrace women’s representation, male-dominated practices, emphasis on individualism, failure to establish strategic ties with other ecological organizations and resistance movements, and insufficient competence in propaganda activities, including social media—by participating in unified struggle platforms, congresses, associations, and similar structures aimed at increasing their organizational and mobilization capacity. They form alliances with organizations that adhere to these principles. They do not establish joint structures with organizations, associations, or platforms that do not adhere to these principles. They operate with a struggle approach that prioritizes unified, militant, and active struggle.

Collective members ensure that the Collective does not form alliances or alliances with racist, chauvinist, misogynistic, or speciesist organizations, and they fight against their participation in common ecological struggle platforms.

OPERATION

Membership:

Anyone who accepts the theoretical and political approaches contained in the Polen Ecology Manifesto and participates in the activities of the Polen Ecology Collective is considered a member of the Collective.

Defending Polen Ecology’s program, strategic goals, and periodic policies, and participating in its decision-making processes and activities, is a responsibility and duty for every member of the Collective.

Collective members are responsible for: participating in Polen’s working groups; representing Polen by joining local environmental/ecological platforms in their respective provinces/districts (establishing an environmental/ecological organization if one does not exist in their locality); recruiting new members for Polen in their locality; organizing panels, talks, announcements, etc. for this purpose; and contributing to Polen’s website and magazine.

The collective’s members oppose all forms of racist, chauvinist, sexist, and speciesist politics and discourse. The collective does not tolerate these approaches.

Membership of individuals who do not attend sessions regularly or behave responsibly will be suspended or cancelled.

Pollen Friends:

Polen Friends are generally comprised of individuals who want to follow the ecological agenda, and specifically Polen’s activities, and support them within their means, but who do not have a specific role to play. Polen Friends can attend Polen Assembly meetings, offer criticism and suggestions, and participate in the work.

The organizational structure of the Polen Ecology Collective consists of an Assembly, Coordination Groups, and Working Groups. Additionally, City Assemblies can be established in cities with a certain number of members.

Pollen General Assembly:

1. It is the highest decision-making body of the collective. It is authorized to make all kinds of decisions regarding current or periodic developments in line with its objectives, and to oversee activities and bodies.
2. The Polen General Assembly discusses and decides on current ecological policy agendas, organizational development, decision-making oversight, planning, and other specific/proposed agendas.

• The council meets quarterly in a hybrid format, with the participation of all Polen members.

1. The Assembly elects Coordination members who will serve for a six-month term. It forms Working Groups and, if deemed necessary, establishes or dissolves new Working Groups.
2. Members can be recalled from the coordination committee at each meeting, and new members can be included in the coordination committee.
3. It decides on matters of expulsion from membership.

Coordination:

1. The council is responsible for planning and implementing the decisions it makes.
2. Coordination members are selected from among the individuals chosen by the Working Groups and other members, taking into account area and city quotas.

• During the interim period, it monitors and coordinates the activities of the Working Groups in line with the implementation of the Assembly’s decisions, informs the Collective about current developments and determines the tasks to be done, and establishes relations with local platforms.

1. It meets at regular intervals but maintains constant communication.
2. He/She receives regular reports from sub-working groups and local areas. He/She regularly shares the progress of the work with the main communications group and ensures the flow of information.
3. He makes the necessary preparations for the assembly to convene.

• Polen participates in the meetings and groups of joint platforms and campaigns such as the Climate Justice Coalition and the HDK Ecology Assembly, and informs the main Polen group. The decisions made there are incorporated into the planning for the next Coordination and Assembly meeting.
• Where possible, Polen plans and communicates with cities to convene city councils.
• The coordination members distribute the necessary tasks among themselves. Each coordination member is assigned to a working group. The coordination members in the working group monitor the training process of the members participating in the working group.

Working Groups

The Assembly establishes Working Groups, Boards, and Commissions on the following issues, may dissolve them if deemed necessary, and may establish new working groups. Working Groups are formed in accordance with the interests and qualifications of the members of the Assembly.

Before the Assembly meeting, each Working Group prepares a report outlining its problems and proposals and submits it to the Assembly. They also decide who will represent the Working Group in the Coordination Committee in the next term and inform the Assembly accordingly.

• Laborology Study Group:

1. The aim of the Laborology Assembly Initiative is to develop its work, conduct scientific and political research on laborology, produce articles, brochures, organize panels and seminars for various groups, and take initiatives to inform and involve ecology and environmental organizations in these activities.
2. Preparing translations, brochures, and books.

• Translation Working Group:

1. Prioritizing and identifying topics and articles requiring translation through regular meetings.
2. Determining the individuals and the translation schedule for the translations.
3. An open call for translations will be made and a translation pool will be created.

• Media Working Group:

1. Managing Polen’s social media accounts, YouTube page, and website.
2. Creating visual materials related to the activities that Polen or the mixed platforms it is involved in will carry out.
3. Creating informative podcasts, videos, etc., in line with Polen’s objectives.
4. Creating a news pool.

• Climate Working Group:

1. Monitoring, summarizing, and publishing current data and reports on the climate crisis on social media and the website.
2. Research into renewable energy applications in Türkiye and the Middle East, and exposure of corporate dispossession networks.
3. Polen’s role includes planning campaigns, actions, and propaganda proposals for climate policy, and proposing policies to Parliament on this issue.
4. Monitoring the actions, meetings, and developments of the Glasgow Agreement platform, of which Polen is a signatory.

• Animal Liberation Working Group:

1. Combating speciesism, raising awareness within the Collective and the community on this issue, and organizing events for this purpose.
2. Combating violence against animals.

• Food Sovereignty Working Group:

1. Advocating for natural and collective farming against industrial agriculture, which is a primary source of ecological destruction.
2. Fighting to achieve food sovereignty.
3. Organizing activities such as cooperatives and communes, participating in existing organizations and providing information, and representing Polen.

• Law and EIA Monitoring Working Group:

1. Monitoring EIA permits, and informing democratic institutions and the public in the relevant province/district about EIA permits.
2. Filing lawsuits and following up on legal proceedings.
3. Preparation of scientific ecological reports related to EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) files.

• Editorial Board

1. This compilation compiles monthly news reports on significant ecological disasters in Türkiye and its immediate surroundings, covering local advocacy channels, news agencies, and institutional reports.
2. Monthly ecological destruction report and publication of the magazine.

• Education Commission:

1. Organizing seminars, panels, brochures, etc., to improve members’ understanding of Marxism and ecology.
2. Determining the training schedule and contacting the instructors.

Contact us to discuss how you can contribute to Polen Ecology and the ecological struggle, and to stay in touch .

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