57 New Members for Marine And Coastal Protection Team

18 trainers participated in this first training seminar, organized in Muğla Akyaka on 9-15 January 2011.

The project aims at strengthening the marine and coastal areas system and facilitating the effective management of these areas.

One of the main targets of the project is “strengthening the corporate structure and capacity required by responsible institutions to give priority for prioritizing the establishment of new Marine and Coastal Protection Areas (MCPAs) and for more effectively managing existing MCPAs”.

One of the major steps towards this target is to establish area management units in six project sites.

The seminar was organized to improve the knowledge of 57 new employees, who were employed in EPASA’s central and area management units, in the context of biodiversity, MCPAs and their management. 

The first of the training activities 

EPASA President Ahmet Özyanık mentioned in his inaugural speech that the training seminar is important because it is the first one of the training activities to be organized to improve the capacity of the area management units to be established.

During the programme, trainings were provided on general ecology, biodiversity, nature conservation, oceanography, MCPA system and its components and EPASA activities.

Prof. Latif Kurt, Dr. Gül Güneş, Dr. Gülhan Badur Özden, Prof. İlhami Kiziroglu, Dr. Ahsen Yüksek, Dr. Harun Güçlüsoy and EPASA Inspection Branch Manager Güner Ergün participated in the seminar as trainers.

Site visits 

Technical site visits to Gökova Gulf and its bays, Sedir Island, Boncuk Bay, Dalyan Canals, İztuzu Beach, The Sea Turtles Research, Rescue, Rehabilitation and Information Centre (DEKAMER), Köyceğiz-Dalyan Wastewater Treatment Plant, Ortaca Solid Waste Landfill, Ölüdeniz-Kayaköy in Fethiye-Göcek SEPA and Azmaklar /Akyaka in Gökova SEPA were performed at the end of the seminar.

The seminar participants were given extensive information on the activities being implemented in the relevant sites. 

About the Project 

The project is being conducted by The Environmental Protection Agency for Special Areas (EPASA) as the executing agency on behalf of Ministry of Environment and Forestry in association with the General Directorate for Nature Conservation and National Parks (GDNCNP) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs General Directorate of Protection and Control, under the financial support of Global Environment Facility (GEF).

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is the implementing partner of the project.

The Project, which is being conducted from 2009 to 2013 includes Foça, Köyceğiz-Dalyan, Gökova, Fethiye-Göcek, Datça-Bozburun Special Environment Protection Areas (SEPAs) and Ayvalık Islands Nature Park.

The Project aims at strengthening the marine and coastal areas system and facilitating the effective management of these areas.