Political ecologies of Turkey's wetlands and Lake Burdur: the case of Demirel and the duck (original) (raw)
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Environmental Politics-Wetland Management in Turkey Case Study: Sultansazligi
2010
This study summarizes the historical development of environmental management concept in Turkey. In this sense, some facts and figures about the wetlands of Turkey are given to describe the types of problems of the wetlands. A set of constructive comments on the water resources management of wetlands with reference to state water management policy are listed. Current laws and regulations related to conservation of wetlands are introduced. Sultansazligi Wetland has been selected as case study area; field data were collected and water pollution analysis was made in order to define the origin of the ecological problems of Sultansazligi. It is concluded that Turkey, being aware of the importance of biological diversity and having a high eco-tourism potential around wetlands, has to make an integrated conservation program to minimize the existing and possible environmental problems.
Wetland management in Turkey: Problems, achievements and perspectives
Due to the extremely variable topography and diverse climate, Turkey has a great biodiversity in the term of flora and fauna. One of the main features that compose the rich biodiversity in Turkey is wetlands. Although the ecological and economical worth of the wetlands have been valued recently and considerable initiatives have been carried out in Turkey for the last decade, there are still significant threats and problems concerning the conservation and management of the wetlands. It is aimed in this paper to inquire into the issues experienced to date about wetlands and to discuss the steps that have been taken for solution of these issues in order to evolve suggestions that will provide guidance over and support to the road maps developed to ensure consistency of the wetlands in Turkey.
Human-Induced Wetland Degradation: A Case Study of Lake Amik (Southern Turkey)
BALWOIS 2008, 2008
.Turkey has more than 250 wetlands covering a total area of approximately 1 million ha. 63 wetlands are of prime importance, among which the former Lake Amik exists. Even though lands of over 1,3 million ha (totally 57%) have been disappeared as a consequence of wetland desiccation, significant efforts were attempted to prevent the decrease in areas of wetlands during the past 15 years. The desiccation of Turkey’s wetlands emerged from various causes such as agricultural activities, growth in industrial and residential areas, road constructions, malaria eradication, flood prevention and etc. Nevertheless, these human interferences have caused crucial environmental degradations. The former Lake Amik’s wetland, which had a total area of 31000 ha in the 1950s prior to desiccation works, is a dramatic example of degraded wetlands in Turkey. The area is located in one of the main routes of migratory birds. In fact, approximately half a million birds follow the Lake Amik migration route. The initial cause of wetland desiccation in the area was the first attempt for cultivation of cotton in the early 1940s. However, despite all high-cost projects carried out to drain this wetland during the last 60 years, desiccation works failed except for the success in the decrease of the number of malaria cases. As a matter of fact, serious unexpected results occurred such as low productivity and salinity in newly obtained farming lands, failure in combating flood, resultant increase in poverty of low-income farmers and disappearance of wetland habitat in the area. In addition, severe deteriorations that took place in water quality and balance of the area have also simultaneously annihilated living wetland organisms. In this study, recent status of wetlands in Turkey and environmental, ecological and economical problems encountered in and around the recently desiccated Lake Amik, one of the most significant wetlands of Turkey, are discussed. Our results reveal that human interference in wetlands may give rise to serious adverse effects on natural life cycle and local welfare. Thus, “the experience of Lake Amik”, which is a remarkable example to degraded wetlands, proves both the non-recyclable damages caused by human interference and the deficiency of technological applications in such environments.
Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 2019
The aim of the study is to determine the Land use/land cover (LULC) changes and conversions in Inciralti İzmir (Turkey), and the fragmentation of these land uses between 1996 and 2018. Aerial photographs and Quickbird satellite imagery were used to obtain data. Aerial photographs were georectified using 1: 25,000 scaled topographic maps. The feature (vector) boundary of the study area was used to subset aerial photographs and Quickbird satellite image. LULC classes were defined according to Coordination of Information on the Environment (CORINE) LULC classes. The defined LULCs were digitized. Between 1996 and 2018, the highest conversion rate among agricultural areas occurred in permanently irrigated land with 41.43%, and the highest conversion among wetlands were in inland marshes with 65.19%. Between 1996 and 2018, the LULC with the highest increase in the number of patches was coastal lagoons with 300%. Research data shows that there has been a great change, conversion and fragmentation process in construction sites, wetlands and agricultural areas in Inciralti between 1996 and 2018. Change, conversion, and fragmentation of LULCs have damaged the natural and cultural structure of Inciralti. In order to stop this damage, filling of wetlands and the construction on agricultural areas in Inciralti should be prevented.
In Winds of Change Environment and Society in Anatolia, edited by C.H. Roosevelt and J. Haldon. Chicago and Koç University Press., 2022
The extreme weather events of the long eighteenth century in the Ottoman world have long been studied as a catalyst for widespread social and political changes. According to Faruk Tabak, the inundation of early-modern Mediterranean waterscapes during this period dramatically transformed settlement and production patterns. Those who moved from valley floors to foothills escaped catastrophic flooding and secured greater protection from rogue bandits, who took advantage of the corresponding social and political upheavals to wreak havoc (Tabak 2008). By the middle of the nineteenth century, climate changes resulted in drier periods, altering yet again local and regional responses. Our focus here is to situate lakes and wetlands into the environmental and political historiographies of western Anatolia from the mid-nineteenth century through the early twentieth century.
Environment and History, 2023
The study of Ottoman lakes and wetlands from the perspective of manage- ment and conservation is an emerging field. Scholars have explored Ottoman strategies for managing agricultural and extractive landscapes, yet detailed investigation of socio-political responses to dynamic wetlands, particularly during periods of drastic climate shifts, requires deeper investigation. Our research on wetlands and lakes moves from the purview of waqfs (pious foun- dations) to the emergence of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA). By examining the shifting perspectives of institutional authority and commu- nity responses to it from the early modern period to the nineteenth century, we discuss the complexities of wetland management in the Marmara Lake Basin within the sancak of Saruhan (contemporary Manisa) in western Anatolia. We argue that intimate knowledge of this specific ecosystem played a critical role in mitigating attempts at reclamation and land grabbing and ultimately in de- veloping legal structures of and policies for Ottoman conservation strategies. We situate our discussion within the paradigm of environing made possible by detailed longue-durée archival narratives; these micro-histories afford a dynamic perspective into non-linear responses to ecological and political changes and provide a local lens into the scalar impacts of human agency. Keywords: Little Ice Age, climate change, Saruhan, Manisa, Gölmarmara, Halime Hatun waqf, OPDA
People’s Perspectives about Seyfe Lake Wetland, Turkey
Turkish Journal of Agricultural and Natural Science, 2014
The aim of this study was to identify individual perspectives about the Seyfe Lake Wetland in Turkey. In the study, local's knowledge and perceptions were studied by means of a questionnaire. In addition, the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents and an economic profile of the sampled villages in the research area were also collected. Agriculture and animal husbandry production are the main occupational activity of the local people in this area. Local people know about the objectives (73.1%), important values (84.7%), and changes of the wetland (81.7%). The locals were knowledgeable about Seyfe Lake wetland ecosystems. In particular, they are aware of ecological changes such as the decline in lake water levels and lake sizes, the decreases in crop yields, decreases in species and populations of waterfowl, and destruction of the natural habitat. However, a low level of awareness was observed regarding the knowledge about the management plan of Seyfe Lake. Managers and planners should inform locals about the objectives of Seyfe Lake management planning. Informative activities such as technical trip, seminar and training to raise awareness should be conducted to protect the wetlands.
Forty-three years of Ramsar and urban wetlands
Global Environmental Change, 2015
The Ramsar Convention is unquestionably the backbone of modern wetland management theory and practice. In the last four decades, it has mainstreamed wetlands in the environmental discourse and fostered the development of a comprehensive institutional framework for wetland governance. However, many of the wetlands that occur in human-dominated landscapes remain acutely threatened. The problem is most alarming in urban areas, especially in the fast expanding cities of the developing world, where unprecedented wetland destruction is leading to recurring environmental disasters. This triggers the question: are these failures in wetland governance purely induced by factors exogenous to Ramsar-based institutions or are they manifestations of conceptual drawbacks within the Ramsar conceptual framework? Here, we investigate the success and failures of the application of the Ramsar framework's policy directives and management guidelines for urban wetlands using two rapidly expanding cities in South Asia as case studies-Colombo (Sri Lanka) and Kolkata (India). We conclude that despite its remarkable achievements over the past four decades, the Ramsar framework has several conceptual drawbacks that weaken its effectiveness in complex urban contexts. An inadequate recognition of the complex dynamics of urban social-ecological systems, an inadequate recognition of the political complexity of policy processes, and a lack of an environmental justice perspective are the main shortcomings contributing to failures in urban wetlands governance. While we acknowledge that some solutions are contingent upon national socio-political processes and reforms, we offer a pragmatic set of technical and strategic modifications to the Ramsar framework that can significantly improve its effectiveness in urban wetlands governance.