Mardin Artuklu University, which carries environmental awareness beyond its borders despite being landlocked, attracts attention with its social responsibility project titled “From Mardin to the Maldives.”

The university's volunteer diving team has been conducting research in the Maldives for five years, focusing on the disappearance of coral reefs and the natural behavioral changes of sharks.
As part of a project led by Artuklu University Diving Instructor Cenk Yılmaz, the team travels to the Maldives annually to conduct scientific observations and collaborate with environmental organizations in the region to raise awareness. These five years of continuous observations clearly demonstrate the rapid deterioration of the ecological balance in the oceans.
Artuklu University Diving Instructor Cenk Yılmaz commented on his social responsibility project:
“The daily disappearance of coral reefs is now visible even to the naked eye. As sharks are fed by humans for tourism, they are losing their natural hunting instincts. This situation is becoming a serious problem that threatens the ecosystem's own balance.”
Yılmaz stated that they aim to make sustainable environmental policies visible at the international level, and that they also make observations on climate change, marine ecosystems, and environmental ethics.
Yılmaz also provided information about coral reefs, stating that they are among the most productive ecosystems in the seas, providing shelter and food sources for thousands of species and protecting island and coastal ecosystems by preventing coastal erosion. He also noted that corals contribute economically to areas such as fishing, tourism, and the pharmaceutical industry, and that their calcium carbonate structure plays a crucial role in combating climate change by trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

In a statement about the university's exemplary project, Mardin Artuklu University Rector Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özcoşar emphasized that they view environmental awareness as a matter of civilization, saying,
"Mardin may be a city far from the sea, but environmental awareness is not limited to geography. We are obligated to carry our values ​​of science, conscience, and civilization to every corner of the world. This work carried out by our students and staff in the Maldives ensures that Mardin is remembered not only for its history but also for its global environmental awareness."
The team, who dived into the Indian Ocean, where the Maldives are located, unfurled the Mardin Artuklu University flag as a symbol of their journey from a landlocked city to the oceans.