Photo: ©FAO

Ankara – The “Sustainable Land Management and Climate Friendly Agriculture” project launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), held its first online technical meeting yesterday with the participation of stakeholders to discuss the biodiversity monitoring concept.

During the meeting, FAO explained the framework for biological diversity monitoring activities to be implemented in Konya and Karaman in cooperation with the Nature Conservation Centre. An integrated biodiversity monitoring system concept will be developed using the Noah’s Ark Biodiversity database of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and training materials will be prepared through regional training and workshops. The monitoring process consists of five strategic goals:

• monitoring biodiversity
• monitoring habitats
• monitoring general land components and environmental parameters
• Monitoring socio-cultural and socio-economic activities
• monitoring management effectiveness.

Within the scope of the project, FAO has prepared a “Biodiversity Management Plan” for the pilot regions of Cihanbeyli-Sarayönü, Yesil Belt and Ereğli Forest Management Department-Ayrancı. In addition, an integrated plan consisting of six sub-plans has been prepared for Ereğli, with biodiversity integrated into the Forest Management Plan of Ereğli Forest Management Department.

As a result of evaluations made by experts within the scope of the study, “sensitive” priority areas containing important species and habitats were identified for nature conservation and sustainable resource management. The plan was created by scanning and monitoring an area of 600 000 hectares in order to determine priority areas for species such as the steppe eagle, bustard, tortoise and Konya liquorice root. The process identified key protected areas as well as areas where activities such as forestry and agriculture will be carried out.

The meeting was opened by Fatma Güngör, FAO Project Coordinator, who highlighted the importance of biodiversity to the Konya basin, and remarked that the biodiversity management plans prepared for the project were the first of their kind in Turkey.

Ali Kılıç Özbek, Head of Agricultural Environment and Natural Resources Protection Department, provided further detail on the project emphasizing the comprehensiveness of the “Biological Diversity Management Plan” and noting that a Toy Bird [DM1] Action Plan was also prepared within the scope of the project.

Kürşat Yıldırım, Head of the Basin Planning and Land Reclamation Department underlined the importance of the work on biodiversity carried out within the scope of the project: “We are trying to create a site management plan specific to Ereğli. We want to show how well we can manage this area with its agriculture, pasture and biodiversity as a whole”. He also emphasized that one of the most important aspects of this process, crucial for its success, is monitoring biodiversity.