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NATIONAL
PARKS |
The first national park
in Turkey was established in 1958. Since then
their numbers have increased to twenty-one. Some
of these parks, which were initially established
for archeological and historical purposes are at
the same time rich habitats where biological
diversity is being protected. The Olympos-Bey
Mountains National Park in the province of
Antalya in the Mediterranean region, for
example, contains a wealth of flora and fauna,
which are either endemic or relic distributions,
in addition to important archeological ruins.
The Köprülü Canyon National Park in the same
province is the home of Cupressus sempervirens
forests. Natural forests of this tree no longer
occur elsewhere in the world. In addition to its
archeological and geological treasures, this
park also contains a large number of endemic
plants and rare animal species.
The regional distribution of national parks
in Turkey is as follows: |
| Mediterranean |
6 |
| Central Anatolia |
5 |
| Marmara |
3 |
| Black Sea |
3 |
| Aegean |
2 |
| Eastern Anatolia |
2 |
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Their surface areas vary
between 65 hectares (Kuscenneti National Park) and
69 800 hectares (Olympos + Bey reached 40,000
hectares.
Although the majority of the national parks are
found in forest lands, there are also a number which
are established in areas where steppe-type
vegetation predominates. Examples are Munzur Valley
(eastern Anatolia), Baskomutan, Göreme,
Bogazköy-Alacahöyük (all in Central Anatolia), and
Nemrut Mountain (Eastern Anatolia-Adiyaman).
Among the national parks, the famed Kuscenneti
National Park is characterized by a particularly
significant ecological structure. The Kuscenneti
National Park is one of the many prime quality
wetlands in Turkey and is located in the southern
zone of the Marmara region. This area was
established as a national park in 1959, was awarded
"European Diploma" in 1976 by the Council of Europe,
and Diploma was renewed in 1981, 1985 and 1991.
The growing consciousness that Turkey enjoys a
special status from the point of view of biological
diversity has led. between 1987 and 1991, to the
designation of twenty-three areas as mature
preserves. Their scale varies between 86 hectares (Haci
Osman Forest - central Black Sea region) and 17 200
hectares (Sultan Marshes - Central Anatolian
region), and their total area reaches 55 011
hectares.
Most of these nature preserves are smaller in area
than national parks, which allows for their
enclosure and leads to more effective protection.
All the nature preserves have been designated as
such due to various biological characteristics. Some
of these are listed in the table below, which
indicates the reasons for their selection as areas
to be protected.
| Name |
Province |
Surface area |
Protected species
(hectares) and/or habitat |
| Kasnak Mesesi |
Isparta |
1300 |
Quercus vulcanica (endemic)
|
| Sütcüler Sigla |
Isparta |
88 |
Liquadambar orientalis Forest
(endemic) |
| Sülüklü Lake |
Bolu |
810 |
Lake and forest eco-system
|
| Sultan Marshes |
Kayseri |
17200 |
Birds, and wetlands eco-system
|
| Kaz Dagi |
Balikesir |
240 |
Abies equi-trojani (endemic) |
| Vakif Pine |
Kütahya |
293 |
Pinus nigra,var. pyramidalis
Forest |
| Akdogan |
Bolu |
174 |
Pinus nigra, var. pyramidalis
forest |
| Seyfe Lake |
Kirsehir |
10700 |
Birds, and wetlands eco-system |
| Sirtlandag |
Mugla |
784 |
Pinus halepensis |
| Kale-Bolu |
Bolu |
460 |
Coryllus colurna (hazel nut)
forest and some animal species of interest
|
| Ciglikara |
Antalya |
15889 |
Cedrus libani forest |
SPECIAL AREAS OF
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
By means of legislation adopted in 1990 Turkish governments have taken
under protection twelve areas and have granted these
the status of Special Areas of Environmental
Protection. These areas have been selected not so
much for their biological characteristics but in
order to prevent tourism and construction from
encroaching on their natural beauty. Among these
Mugla-Köycegiz-Dalyan area has been brought under
protection because it is the habitat where Caretta
caretta, which has recently become the focus of
world public attention, lay their eggs. Pamukkale is
under protection because of its world famous
calcareous sediment; the Ihlara Valley, due to its
historical significance as one of the earliest
dwelling places of Christians and because of the
presence of chuches and temples containing painting
and frescoes.
OTHER PROTECTION MEASURES
In addition to the areas of environmental protection
cited above, there are also enclosed zones of
smaller scale which are under protection. These
serve to protect some animal species which are
either rare in Turkey or in the world, or face the
danger of extinction. These animals are preserved
and bred under special care and some are released
into nature when their populations reach a certain
level.
There are forty such areas of animal protection and
they are located in all regions of Turkey.
OTHER MEASURES FOR THE PROTECTION OF
PLANT AND ANIMAL GENETIC RESOURCES
Turkey has started taking effective measures
in order to protect certain endangered species
among its rich diversity of flora and fauna. We
can summarize these measures as follows;
1. A red data book was published in 1989
indicating the levels of endangerment faced by
Turkish plants according to international IUCN
classification. A similar study was conducted
for species of birds.
2. Two gene banks have been established.
One is located in Izmir, Menemen and is devoted
especially to preserving the seeds and
reproductive parts (diaspore) of cultivated
plants in Turkey. Recently, they have also
started collecting the seeds of non-agricultural
wild plants for purposes of preservation.
A second gene bank, fonuded in Ankara in 1990,
has as its purpose to collect and preserve the
seeds of native plants which constitute the wild
ancestors of cultivated plants. This bank
started operations by securing the seeds of
plant species in the Gramineae and Leguminosae
families found in the valley which will be left
under water upon completion of the GAP
(South-eastern Anatolian) project. It is
probable that a large number of field crops had
originally evolved in this area.
3. In accordance with the Bern
Convention, to which it is a signatory, Turkey
has added approximately seventy plant species
which are in need of protection, both at the
level of seeds and habitats, to the convention
list in 1990-91, and the necessary measures are
now being taken for their protection.
4. In addition to the Bern Convention,
Turkey is also a signatory to the Barcelona
Convention concerning the pollution of the
Mediterranean and the Paris Agreement on the
protection of Birds.
5. Although Turkey has not yet become a
signatory to the RAMSAR Convention (it is
expected that Turkey will sign this agreemnet in
1992), work is being undertaken to protect
wetlands both by the state and by voluntary
environmental protection organizations and with
the participation of concerned scientist. As a
result of such work, operations and with the
participation of concerned scientist. As a
result of such work, operations which had been
designed to drain the wetlands, and which in
fact resulted in the total drying of some areas,
have stopped. The conversion of wetlands into
agricultural land has also been halted. Serious
measures are now being taken in order to prevent
the pollution and degeneration of such areas.
6. Turkey has applied for membership, in
December 1991, to CITES. The purpose of this
convention was to protect endangered animal and
plant species which are subject to commercial
trading, and to bring under control their export
and import. Turkey has imposed restrictions on
the removal from their natural habitat of
certain bulb plants, plants with rhizome roots,
and tubers (geophlytes) which have been
increasingly endangered since the 1970s. More
importantly, efforts are being made to restrict
their sales abroad. The decree published in 1989
and revised in 1991 allows for the supervision
by the state and by scientists (mostly botanists
and agricultural scientists) over the
cultivation, harvesting, and exporting of these
plants. The export of Galanthus elwesi, which is
the most important of such plants under close
control, has been reduced by stages during the
last three years. While its exports had reached
40 million bulbs during the first half of the
1980s, this trade was restricted to 30 million
in 1990, 20 million in 1991, and 15 million in
1992. Two projects have been initiated in 1991
and 1992, the first with the Netherlands, the
second with Britain, which aim to cultivate G.
elwesi and other species in fields. Restrictions
have also been imposed on the export of Vipera
kaznakowii, and of several species of predatory
birds.
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The Ministry of
Environment was established in 1991, as a
consequence of the careful attention paid to
environmental problems in Turkey. Work on such
problems which have increasingly occupied the
agenda of the world public opinion, was
initially conducted within an under-secretariat,
and a directorate, and was subsequently upgraded
to the level of a ministry of the cabinet. The
focus ofthe work of these environmental agencies
was initially pollution, although in the last
few years, conservation of nature and of living
things has been accorded a greater status. The
new ministry still operrates via a central
organization although work is under way to
institute regional administrations. This will
provide the ministry with more effective means
of opperation and a greater geographical
extension. |
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