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Viewing cable 03ANKARA2853, TURKEY: ENVIRONMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS, APRIL 2003

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
03ANKARA2853 2003-05-01 14:43 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Ankara
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 002853 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SE, EUR/PCI, OES/PCI, OES/ETC, OES/SAT 
PLEASE PASS USDA/FOREST SERVICE, EPA/OIA 
ALSO FOR USAID/EE/EEST (CMITCHELL) 
 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV TBIO TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: ENVIRONMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS, APRIL 2003 
 
 
REF: ANKARA 2287 
 
 
(U) This is one of a series of cables providing updates on 
environmental issues in Turkey.  Below are topics covered in 
this cable: 
 
 
1.  Update on merger of Environment and Forest ministries 
2.  Turkish scientists receive satellite data 
3.  Broad-based committee sets S&T priorities 
4.  Water basin management in Turkey 
5.  Lessons learned from water user associations 
6.  The chatter on WWF-Turkey 
7.  Ankara lawyers mark Earth Day 
8.  Turkey updates its flora database 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
1.  THE LATEST ON THE MERGER OF MINISTRIES.  On 5/1, 
Parliament began consideration of a proposal to merge the 
Ministry of Environment (MOE) into the Ministry of Forestry 
(MOF).  The MOE expects Parliament's expeditious approval. 
By one estimate, the merger would take place within two 
weeks.  With a merger expected to displace the current 
Environment Minister Kursad Tuzman, MOE Undersecretary Hasan 
Sarikaya may represent the MOE at the Kiev Environment for 
Europe Ministerial. 
 
 
2.  SCIENTISTS TAPS INTO DATA FROM TWO SATELLITES. Following 
an agreement between the Scientific and Technical Research 
Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and the European Space Agency 
(ESA), ESA satellite data became available to Turkish 
scientists in April.  The data from two satellites -- ERS 
and ENVISAT -- will be used for geological, seismological 
and archeological studies; monitoring pollution, environment 
and land use; and scientific preparation for the Global 
Monitoring of Environment and Security. 
 
 
3. BROAD-BASED COMMITTEE SETS S&T PRIORITIES.  The 65-person 
Steering Committee of TUBITAK's "Vision 2023," the strategic 
document that will define S&T goals and priorities for the 
country's second hundred years, recently determined that 
priority S&T polices and practices will focus on increasing 
Turkey's competitiveness in the global market, developing 
S&T and innovation talent, promoting environmental 
sensitivity and energy efficiency, and improving quality of 
life. 
 
 
4.  TURKEY CRITIQUES ITS OWN WATER BASIN MANAGEMENT. At a 
workshop organized by the UN Food and Agriculture 
Organization on land and water resource management, 
representatives from government, international and NGO 
organizations took a hard look at Turkey's water basin 
management. Ismail Kucukkaya from the Ministry of Forestry 
said that Turkey lacks effective strategies for following a 
water basin approach to management. Water basins have 
insufficient infrastructure and poor income generation 
options for basin villagers, he said. Nermin Egeli from the 
General Directorate of Rural Services urged Turkey to update 
its basin land utilization plans and to establish protective 
zones, technical protection teams, disaster assistance 
teams, and monitoring plans. 
 
 
5. LESSONS LEARNED FROM GAP WATER USER ASSOCIATIONS. In 
1991, the State Hydraulics Works (DSI) transferred 1,270,000 
ha of irrigated land (75 percent of Turkey's total irrigated 
land) to irrigation associations, water user groups and 
municipalities in the Southeastern Turkey Development 
Project (GAP) region in order to develop a model irrigation 
system.  According to the GAP's Gonca Karaca, the project 
met with success in terms of providing modern irrigation 
techniques but lacked landowner involvement in project 
design, appropriately based water pricing (which she says 
should be based on volume, not acreage) and sufficient 
training for irrigation managers.  Ferayi Aslan, mayor of 
Adala in the GAP region, noted that the biggest problem of 
the 340 irrigation associations is inappropriate water 
pricing which discourages conservation. 
 
 
6.  WWF-TURKEY: CLOSER TO MERGER WITH LOCAL AFFILIATE. Since 
WWF-Turkey began its affiliation with DHKD (Foundation for 
the Protection of Nature) in 1975, the two have tested the 
waters of their relationship. In 2001, DHKD officially 
became the national arm of WWF International but it 
continued to use its highly recognizable DHKD logo as well 
as that of WWF-Turkey.  Recently, DHKD members voiced 
concern that the merger would foster a negative public 
reaction to what will appear to be a non-Turkish 
organization using an unfamiliar name ("WWF"). However, DHKD 
board support for the merger remains firm.  About 90 percent 
of WWF-Turkey/DHKD's projects are already administered under 
the WWF-Turkey name. 
 
 
Meanwhile, WWF recently began discussing its 2003-2008 plan. 
New items on the agenda included a decision to press the GOT 
to designate additional "specially protected areas" and 
develop a strategy to protect those lands. WWF-Turkey also 
discussed the possibility of proposing that Ramsar establish 
a six-country Black Sea wetlands initiative, "BlackWet." 
 
 
7. ANKARA LAWYERS NOTE EARTH DAY. In a seminar on 
"Environment, Man and War," several speakers noted that 35 
percent of the world's environmental problems come from 
weapons testing and military exercises and operations.  The 
program was sponsored by the Ankara Bar Association, the 
Chamber of Environmental Engineers, the Turkish Human Rights 
Protection Association (TIHAK), and the Turkish Foundation 
for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and for the 
Protection of Natural Habitats (TEMA). 
 
 
8.  TURKEY UPDATES ITS FLORA DATABASE. TUBITAK is updating 
TUBIVES, its database of national flora and vegetation.  The 
project is part of a biodiversity project aimed at 
accounting for all living organisms in the country. TUBITAK, 
the State Planning Office and Izzet Baysal University are 
sponsoring the project. 
 
 
PEARSON