Photo: © FAO

Ankara – A two-day workshop took place in Ankara this week as part of the “Integrated Water Resources Management Project in the Gediz River Basin”, financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and conducted by FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF) and the General Directorate of Water Management.

The workshop was a result of collaboration between various directorates under MoAF and FAO’s partnership with King's College London, and was designed with a participatory approach. It was attended by international experts and focused on assessing and managing natural capital, including soil, water and ecosystem services. The objective was to develop a mechanism that better communicates the importance of monitoring water, soil and land degradation, as well as the value of natural resources in our lives.

FAO Soil and Water Technical Specialist, Sara MarjaniZadeh, delivered the opening speech of the workshop, explaining the overall objective: “Our goal is to examine the natural capital methodology of the Gediz River Basin, and to simultaneously adapt the Decision Support System implemented under the Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) project as part of the Upper Sakarya initiative to the Gediz River Basin project.”

She continued: “The Gediz River Basin is not merely a geographical entity; it is a vital, biodiverse ecosystem. It regulates our climate and supports crucial agricultural and economic activities in our region. However, like many basins, its true value is sometimes overlooked. Evaluating the natural capital of this basin is important for various reasons. Notably, it will allow us to understand the real value of ecosystem services, going beyond the apparent economic benefits. Understanding this will form the foundation of sustainable management and conservation efforts going forward. It will also enable us to make informed decisions to balance economic development with ecological conservation.”

MarjaniZadeh emphasized that evaluating the scope of natural capital in a systematic way will provide a comprehensive framework for decision-makers. She also explained that “two further workshops will take place in the Gediz Basin over the next seven to eight months as part of the process to adapt the existing methodology to the project and to collaborate with relevant stakeholders on the Decision Support System, focusing on local data and priorities.”

In her opening speech, Assistant FAO Representative in Türkiye, Ayşegül Selışık, highlighted the value of our natural capital, soil and water, emphasizing our dependence on them for food production.

She elaborated: “The Gediz project will guide our farmers towards environmentally friendly agriculture through pilot applications that contribute to nature as well as their income. Using FAO’s effective communication channels we will ensure the widespread adoption of these practices throughout Türkiye. The integration of the Decision Support System into the Gediz project, originally implemented as part of the LDN project, will contribute to greater interaction between the projects and make the results more sustainable.”

The workshop continued with presentations from project stakeholder representatives, academics, FAO experts and contributions from Mark Mulligan of King’s College London and FAO LDN Specialist Ingrid Teich.