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PIMS 3697 STRENGHTHENING PROTECTED AREA NETWORK OF TURKEY : CATALYZING SUSTAINABILITY OF MARINE AND COASTAL PROTECTED AREAS INCEPTION WORKSHOP
Inception Workshop of the project entitled as “PIMS 3697 Strengthening Protected Area Network of Turkey: Catalyzing Sustainability of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas” and aiming to facilitate expansion of the national system of marine and coastal protected areas and improve its management effectiveness, will be held on November 12, 2009, at the Ankara Plaza Hotel.
Global Environment Fund (GEF) funded project is executed by the Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas (EPASA) working in close cooperation with the General Directorate for Nature Conservation and National Parks (GDNCNP), and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The project implementing agency is UNDP and it will be carried out between 2009 and 2013. The detailed information could be found on the websites of UNDP and EPASA.
The objective of the meeting is to inform a broader range of stakeholders about the initiation of the project, their roles in the project, and to allow discussion of important technical issues. This will include introduction of project staff and stakeholders, presentation of the project structure and working group activity to to further develop the project outcomes. Representatives of all related governmental bodies along with the local authorities, universities, relevant national and local NGOs, international agencies, private companies and embassies are expected participating to the workshop.
Project Name: PIMS 3697 Strengthening Protected Area Network of Turkey: Catalyzing Sustainability of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas
Budget: 6,220,000 $ (Total Budget)
Timeline: May 2009 – October 2013
What has been the situation?
The global importance of Turkish biodiversity is exemplified by the fact that three ecoregions, two terrestrial (Caucasus and Mediterranean) and one marine (Mediterranean), are classified as Global 200 Ecoregions - considered by WWF as the most important ecoregions on earth in terms of their conservation values. Turkey’s land area consists almost entirely of two Peninsulas – the Anatolian Peninsula and the Thrace Peninsula. As such, the country has a relatively long coastline (8,500 km - excluding islands) bordering several seas – the Mediterranean, Aegean, Marmara and Black Seas. Within the coastal and marine areas bordering this lengthy coastline is found an abundant, highly diverse and globally significant biodiversity endowment. Overall, some 3,000 plant and animal species have been identified in Turkey’s territorial sea.
Turkey’s national protected area system includes a number of marine and coastal protected areas (MCPAs). In most cases, these combine terrestrial and marine coverage within a single protected area. Special Environmental Protected Areas (SEPAs) are protected under a regulation relating to the Mediterranean Action Plan and focus on sea and coastal regions. Beginning with 1988s, SEPAs were identified and declared along the Mediterranean and Aegean Coasts, combined with terrestrial and marine coverage. The majority of Turkey’s MCPAs are managed by the Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas (EPASA). Remaining MCPAs are also managed by the General Directorate for Nature Conservation and National Parks (GDNCNP), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Eight of the 14 SEPAs established to date, covering 1.211.200 ha, include marine coverage. The total marine coverage by these sites is 176,534 ha, representing 73.5% of total coverage by all MCPA types. These areas are all located within the coastal areas of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.
Turkey’s marine biodiversity has been seriously impacted by anthropogenic pressures. The following are amongst the key types of threats and associated causes of marine biodiversity loss; degradation of marine habitats and ecosystems, overharvesting of marine resources and conversion and/or destruction of coastal habitats. Protected areas have a potentially significant, yet largely unrealized, role to play in eliminating these threats to marine area biodiversity in Turkey. Currently, about 2.8% of Turkey’s territorial water is protected.
Although Turkey has been active in establishing MCPAs to protect its marine biodiversity from the aforementioned threats, the size, shape and ecological representativeness of the MCPA network is inadequate. Therefore, a system of MCPA required to be established. Most of the MCPAs in Turkey are multiple use areas, and have not been specifically designed in terms of management arrangements to protect biodiversity or optimize ecosystem benefits (such as size and shape of biodiversity sensitive zones, temporal management systems).
What is our mission?
The project aims to facilitate expansion of the national system of marine and coastal protected areas and improve its management effectiveness.
How are we doing this?
The Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas (EPASA) as the executing agency working together with its partners in a coordinated manner, the project will achieve the following three outcomes.
Responsible institutions will have the capacities and internal structure needed for prioritizing the establishment of new MCPAs and for more effectively managing existing MCPAs. Under this, management of the marine component of Turkey’s protected area system will be strengthened and total coverage of marine areas will be increased. This will include strengthening and expansion of three essential components of the sub-system—SEPAs, National Parks and Fisheries Restricted Areas. A draft national 10-year plan strategy and action plan will be prepared for MPA expansion and strengthening.
MCPA financial planning and management systems developed and implemented will be facilitating effective business planning, adequate levels of revenue generation and cost-effective management. The project will introduce environmental economic principles into planning and management and support progress towards greater self funding of the EPASA as well as introducing a range of new income-generating measures which have proven to be successful globally and that can be adapted to the situation in Turkey. Awareness and support for protected areas will be increased, e.g. among local resource user groups at SEPAs and decision-makers at local and provincial levels of government, in order to underpin any new arrangements being introduced. The sustainable financing strategies will be used for implementation of 10-year MPA expansion plan.
Inter-agency coordination mechanisms will be in place to regulate and manage economic activities within multiple use areas of the MCPAs. Under this, inter-agency co-ordination will be encouraged at national and site levels. At national level, inter-agency coordinating efforts will focus on co-ordination and harmonization of PA expansion and management efforts. At local level, co-ordination will include the establishment of site-level management boards, together with demonstrations of practical methods of inter-agency co-operation aimed at removing barriers to the protection of marine biodiversity from both marine and land-based threats. On the marine side, these will include developing inter-agency approaches to regulating fishing, tourism, shipping and diving, while on the terrestrial side a planning approach will be utilized to help control multiple land-based threats.
Project Sites
1. Foça SEPA
2. Gökova SEPA
3. Datça-Bozburun SEPA
4. Köyceğiz-Dalyan SEPA
5. Fethiye-Göcek SEPA
6. Ayvalık Adaları Nature Park
Who are our partners?
Project implementing agency is UNDP. The Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas (EPASA) as the executing agency on behalf of MoEF, will implement the project and work in close cooperation with the General Directorate for Nature Conservation and National Parks (GDNCNP), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Department of Foreign Relations, State Planning Organization, the Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs, the Turkish Coast Guard Command, the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement, the Ministry of Transportation, the Culture and Tourism, governors of districts and villages headmen, marine and coastal management faculties and research institutes, national and local NGOs, and representatives of the local people.
How will Turkey benefit?
By the end of the project, efforts to conserve biodiversity within the Turkish territorial waters as implemented. Additionally, related obligations under international conventions will have been fulfilled. The country’s system of MCPAs will have been expanded by approximately 100,000 ha., or 44% compared with baseline levels. In addition to new SEPAs, this expansion will include the first significant example to create fisheries restricted areas, a potentially critical tool in Turkey’s same efforts to conserve marine biodiversity. Management capacities on the part of key MCPA managing authorities will have been strengthened. An agreed proposed national-level plan will be in place to guide further expansion. Systems for sustainable MCPA financing will have been strengthened, further enabling management of existing sites while providing a solid platform for further expansion. New inter-agency coordinating structures will have been established, thereby addressing an important gap in the baseline.
As a result, agencies and other stakeholders will be able to effectively address both land-based and marine-based threats to marine biodiversity. By performing mentioned objectives, the sustainability of the MCPA system will be ensured. The expected stream of positive and long-term impacts on marine biodiversity in particular arising from a shift in current trends is expected to continue well beyond project completion.
Güner Ergün Project Coordinator Evaluation Branch Manager Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas Tel: +90 312 222 12 34/310 Faks: +90 312 222 26 61 E-posta: g.ergun@ockkb.gov.tr
Dr. Harun Güçlüsoy Project Manager Tel: +90 312 222 12 34/342 Faks: +90 312 222 26 61 E-posta: harun.guclusoy@undp.org
Gülden Atkın Gençoğlu Project Assistant Tel: +90 312 222 12 34/341 Faks: +90 312 222 26 61 E-posta: gulden.atkin@undp.org
Evrim Ascı Project Assistant Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas Tel: +90 312 222 12 34/359 Faks: +90 312 222 26 61 E-posta: e.asci@ockkb.gov.tr
Nurhan Şen Project Expert Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas Tel: +90 312 222 12 34/338 Faks: +90 312 222 26 61 E-posta: n.sen@ockkb.gov.tr
Levent Keskin Project Expert Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas Tel: +90 312 222 12 34/ 354 Faks: +90 312 222 26 61 E-posta: l.keskin@ockkb.gov.tr |
