Issue: 83
Every aspect of the sustainability agenda overlaps with the core business and vital industries: energy, agriculture, water, mining, manufacturing, packaging, transport as well as the patterns of consumption.
Sustainable practices thus hold the power to transform lives and fate of the poor communities.
How could then women who represent 50 percent of humanity’s talent, potential, intellect and energy could be ignored or left out?
There is thus a need to drive gender equality and sustainability throughout the business, from the board to factory floor, throughout the supply chain and in the communities where business is run and done.
Addressing the barriers to women’s empowerment can unleash huge reservoir of women’s potential, reduce productivity gap up to 50 percent, increase output per worker up to 25 percent and contribute to social stability, economic growth and sustainable development.
Women are generally more environmentally aware than men, however in many countries around the world they are underrepresented in green jobs.
Business can take steps to ensure women and girls have equal opportunities for company-supported education, training and access and encouragement to take up green jobs especially in non-traditional job fields.
Women entrepreneurs can make transitions to low emission economies, climate-resilient communities happen.
Women Empowerment Principles
The Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) which enshrine guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community are the result of collaboration between the UN Women and the UN Global Compact.
Turkey has a unique distinction of being one of the largest Global Compact Local Networks in the world.
In May 2011, Ms. Guler Sabanci, Chairman of Sabanci Holding was the first to sign the WEPs during a panel organized by TUSIAD, UN Women, the UN Global Compact and the International Trade Center.
Lately, the WEPs are gaining increasing attention in Turkey.
New tools and resources are being translated to Turkish with the support of organizations like the Sustainability Academy and BPW Turkey and companies like Alvimedica, Turkcell and Boyner Holding.
Innovative programmes such as Kagider’s Equal Opportunity Model in partnership with the World Bank Group offer a roadmap of implementation for companies.
The Turkish Business and Industry Association’s Gender Equality Working Group is endeavouring to contribute to the development of public policy.
In this endeavour, UNDP is committed to ensuring that women are full and equal partners with men in public dialogue and decision-making and influence the decisions that will determine the destiny their families, countries and the world.
We have to traverse a long road and continue working together not only to achieve Gender Equality but also Sustainability Human Development.
* Shahid Najam, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator in Turkey
This year, the 67th anniversary of the foundation of United Nations was celebrated. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the UN Day that “This is the day for raising the bar on our common targets.”
He underlined that “with the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals which is the year of 2015 is fast approaching, we must have intensified our efforts to reach all of these lifesaving targets.”
Ban Ki-moon also added that “we must prepare a bold and practical post-2015 development agenda and we must continue to combat intolerance, save people caught in conflicts and establish lasting peace.”
UN Day Concerts All Around Turkey
As a part of UN Day activities, symphony orchestras from all around Turkey dedicated one of their concerts to this day. 67th anniversary of the United Nations was celebrated with the concerts of Çukurova, Antalya, Bursa, İzmir and İstanbul State Symphony Orchestras as well as two-day long concerts of Presidential Symphony Orchestra.
United Nations marked 11th of October as the International Day of the Girl Child for the first time. On this day, UN called for an end to child marriage and stresses education as one of the best strategies for protecting girls against this harmful practice.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the International Day of the Girl Child that “When they are able to stay in school and avoid being married early, girls can build a foundation for a better life for themselves and their families.”
70 Million Young Women Were Married Before the Age of 18
If current trends continue, the number of girl child marriages will increase dramatically over the next 10 years, according to Marrying too Young: End Child Marriage, a new report released by UNFPA.
The report also finds that, despite laws to prevent its practice, child marriage has remained mostly constant in developing countries in the past decade.
Most recent estimates of UNICEF indicate that about 70 million – or around 1 in 3 – young women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18, with 23 million of them having been married before they turned 15.
Globally, almost 400 million women aged 20-49, or over 40 per cent, were married while they were children.
The recent report of UNFPA calls on governments and leaders to end child marriage by enacting and enforcing national laws that raise the age of marriage to 18 for both girls and boys and addressing the root causes underlying the practice and mitigating the harmful impact of child marriage on girls.
The Girl Child in Turkey
In Turkey, child marriages are very common. One of every three marriages in Turkey is a child marriage, according to the statistics of UNFPA Turkey.
There are 181.036 child brides in Turkey. Last year, 20 thousand families opened a lawsuit to be able to marry their girl children.
It is also important to note down that there is a positive correlation between the frequency of child marriages and the poverty of family.
New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme in Turkey has been giving information to the audience about projects and implementations of UNDP which works for a more productive, greener, healthier and a more educated future.
New Horizons Podcast released the first episode of its new season on 22 October with the contribution of Devrim Erol, President of Business Women Entrepreneurs and Enhancement Association (ANGİKAD) and Neşe Çakır, Fostering an Enabling Environment for Gender Equality in Turkey, UN Joint Programme Manager.
The topic was the women’s representation in senior management positions of private sector and public institutions.
The challenges faced on the field by women in having senior management positions and what kind of difference women in senior management positions could make had been discussed.
How to follow New Horizons Podcast?
You can reach our Podcast programmes which are in Turkish on iTunes Store. These programmes are prepared by the UNDP Turkey Communications Office with contributions of Radyo İlef and Açık Radyo.
Turkish versions of the New Horizons podcast are aired on Açık Radyo in Istanbul and on radios of universities in our network.
You can also find the English and Turkish transcripts of programmes on the web page of New Horizons Podcast. (http://bit.ly/yeniufuklar)
New Horizons Podcasts will continue to be published on every Monday.
The meeting is intended to support increasing the existence of women in senior management of private sector and public enterprises and contributing to empowering the women’s position in the society and improving human resources.
The meeting started with the opening speeches of Business Women Entrepreneurs and Enhancement Association Chair Ms. Devrim Erol, Deputy Resident Representative of United Nations Development Programme Ms. Matilda Dimovska and President of Committee of Equal Opportunities for Women and Men Ms. Azize Sibel Gönül.
The main theme of the meeting resumed with the speeches of Demos Distinguished Senior Fellow Ms. Linda Tarr-Whelan, Chairman of the Bank and Insurance Employees Union Mr. Yaşar Seyman, Canada Parliament Women Commission Representative Ms. Maria Minna and Deputy President of Centre for European Public Enterprises and Employers Dr. Milena Angelova. The conference is organized as two panels and roundtables in two days.
In the first panel, Representation of Women in Senior Management of Public Enterprises is discussed by Vice-President of Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKİ) Ms. Ayşe Çalkan, Board Member of Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation Ms. Berrin Bingöl and Board Member of Türkiye Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. Ms. Nilüfer Yücel along with CNN Türk Senior Editor Ahu Özyurt as the moderator.
In the second panel, Representation of Women in Top Management of Private Sector is discussed by Coca-Cola Human Resources Director Ms. Rengin Onay, Deputy Director General of ABank Information Systems Ms. Işıl Funda Öney Babacan, Deputy Director General of Turkcell Institutional Marketing and Sales Ms. Selen Kocabaş.
At the end of first day, following the closing speech and evaluation of Ms. Fatma Şahin, Minister of Family and Social Policies, the program continued with the roundtable on the second day to form a policy. In the roundtable, policy draft is prepared with the participation of academic members and experts.
During the policy discussions, it is determined that a monitoring commission shall be established and studies on gender equality and representation of women in the senior management shall be monitored.
Moreover, negotiations shall be made in related ministries at the minister level, especially with the Ministry of National Education and Ministry of Health, gender mainstreaming shall be represented in the course books, coaching and mentorship studies shall be initiated, management trainings shall be provided in universities, cooperation with the media shall be ensured and severance pay in the marriage shall be discussed further.
The new strategy was entitled “The Future We Want: Biodiversity and Ecosystems – Driving Sustainable Development”.
It was adopted during the Eleventh Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, India.
The new strategy calls for a significant scaling up of investments in 100 countries by 2020.
“Human survival depends heavily on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, yet in recent decades, the world has experienced unprecedented biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, undermining the very foundations of life on earth,” said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator Rebeca Grynspan.
She added that “As 1.2 billion people living in severe poverty depend directly on nature for their basic needs and livelihoods, this needs urgent international attention.”
Under this new strategy, UNDP will work with governments to find new ways to finance biodiversity management through domestic revenue, innovative financial mechanisms, and donor funding from a range of sources.
This includes the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which serves as the financial mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity and has been a major driver for conservation in the past two decades.
The objective of the Market Transformation of Energy Efficient Project is to demonstrate and enable companies in the industrial sector to adopt and use energy conservation measures and energy efficient technologies, so that energy efficiency in Turkish industry is improved.
The project is financially supported by GEF (Global Environment Facility) and executed by General Directorate of Renewable Energy and implemented by UNDP in cooperation with Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, Turkish White Goods Manufacturers (TURKBESD) and Arçelik A.Ş.
If you want to learn more about frequently asked questions please watch the short videos in Turkish.
What is energy efficiency?
What is energy labeling?
In which product group energy efficiency is aimed?
The annual economic value of the area was determined as about USD 210 million in the report. It is underlined that USD 200 million of this amount is provided by tourism and recreation services.
Tourism Incomes Take the Lead
In the report, in which the annual generated value of the area was defined as USD 210 million, it is underlined that about USD 200 million of this amount is provided by tourism and recreation services, about USD 8,3 millon by waste treatment, about USD 945,000 is provided by carbon sequestration, about USD 460,000 by erosion protection and about USD 380,000 by fishing.
“Blue Card System Should Be Improved”
In the report, it is suggested that the Blue Card system, which was realized to prevent sea pollution in the region, should be improved through better monitoring and enforcement, awareness raising and application to foreign boats.
The annual USD 11,5 million valued “blue carbon” of Turkey’s Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) amazed the attendees of the conference.
“Blue carbon” Value of USD 11,5
It is underlined that total blue carbon value of Turkey’s whole MPAs is USD 11,5 million and USD 5,3 million of it is from the six locations in the context of the project.
It attracted attention that the locations containing “Posidonia oceanica” are remarkably taken under protection with the project, which is being conducted in Gökova, Foça, Datça-Bozburun, Köyceğiz-Dalyan and Fethiye-Göcek Special Environment Protection Areas (SEPAs) and Ayvalık Island Nature Park.
Project-Supported “Win-Win” Approach in “Global Strategy”
After the discussions made in the GEF Support to Marine Protected Area Management session, GEF 6th Term Global Strategy was evaluated with the international officials.
The importance of finding allies in the private sector and ensuring long term financing; keeping a holistic approach and supporting enabling framework to better articulate MPAs with fisheries management and tourism development and looking beyond the MPAs borders and developing a win-win situation with related stakeholders were among the topics discussed on.
The seminars was held with high level participation from the Ministry of Justice as well as 120 judges specialized in family, commercial and civil courts around Turkey.
The seminars also hosted the participation of leading experts and practitioners in the field of mediation in civil disputes mainly Austria, United Kingdom, Denmark and Australia.
Specifically, the training seminars aimed to increase the knowledge of mediation process, to understand of mediation skills, to increase the familiarity with international and domestic Developments and to develop the ability to share knowledge with colleagues, parties and lawyers.
The seminars were held in an environment where Act on Mediation in Civil Disputes was recently endorsed in June 2012 and the preparations for the development of secondary legislation for its fruitful implementation are ongoing.
Therefore, it provided an important opportunity for the Ministry of Justice and the Scientific Board for the Development of the Secondary Legislation to exchange experiences for the establishment of a well-functioning mediation system in Turkey and contribute to the secondary legislation making process.
Moreover, the seminars are considered to be first of its kind which is designed in a way that the civil court judges are provided extensive knowledge and experience on the role of judges on mediation process.
During the seminars, the discussions were enriched with the group discussions, exercises and role plays on vitally significant issues regarding the mediation in civil justice system, including but not limited to adjudication v. mediation.
The 120 judges participated to the referred seminars on mediation were selected based on the selection criteria developed together with the Ministry of Justice.
These include but not limited to the professional experience as being a judges but for those having past experience as a judge in mediation or settlement and past experience as a trainer in legal practice and negotiation / mediation skills.
Therefore, it is agreed that these selected 120 judges will act as resource persons of the Project, advocating the institution of mediation in their respective courthouses and deliver trainings to their peers in first quarter of 2013.
This important step is setting the official background for Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology (MoSIT) as the designated institution to lead cluster development for Turkish Clusters for improving their competitiveness and innovative capacities.
UNDP has been working closely with MoSIT since 2010 in formulation of the support programme within the scope of the project called “Improving institutional capacity of the Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology to design and implement a cluster support programme in the areas of Competitiveness and Innovation”.
Clusters are groups of collaborating and competing independent companies and associated institutions that are geographically concentrated in one or several regions and are specialized in a particular field, linked by common technologies and skills.
In Turkey clustering methodology became one of the most popular tools on regional development from year 2000 with increasing number of implementation projects and case studies for the last couple of years.
With the implementation of the national cluster support programme, a wide range of economic actors will be encouraged and supported to collaborate for improving their respective capacities in terms of innovation, protection of environment, sustainable development, empowerment of women and competitiveness.
Being the first cluster support programme in the world to adopt sustainability as one of the leading evaluation criterion, MoSIT in coordination of all relevant stakeholders and institutions, will be supporting Turkish clusters and eventually Turkish economy, to achieve a more sustainable and more equitable economic development for the upcoming years.
Küre Mountains has been listed as case study in various international publications. Forest conservation, planning and management work in Küre Mountains National Park and its buffer zone under Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded “Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project” is listed among case studies from UNDP supported GEF financed projects in the Europe & the CIS.
The book entitled “Biodiversity: Delivering Results in Europe & the CIS” presents some of the outcomes of GEF-funded work managed by UNDP in Europe and the CIS that aims to conserve biodiversity and sustainable management of natural resources.
You may find more details from this link.
For the website of Küre Mountains National Park: www.kdmp.gov.tr
The future of the Mediterranean marine protected areas will be evaluated at the forum, which is supported by the Strengthening the System of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas of Turkey Project.
Forum Came to Antalya upon Turkey’s Demand
The proposal to hold the second forum, of which the first was held in France in 2008, in Turkey was made by turkey in MedPAN General Assembly in 2010.
The forum is organized in the frame of Mediterranean marine protected areas regional working programme of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and Barcelona convention.
The Forum will be held with the participation of the managers of the protected areas, decision makers, scientists and the institutions working in socio-economic areas at Mediterranean scale.
International Solidarity for 2020
The organization of the forum will be made by MedPAN, Regional Activity center for Specially Protected Areas (RAC/SPA), General Directorate of Nature Assets Protection and UNDP Turkey.
The first phase of the training of sales staff on sales techniques that promote the energy efficiency of products was realized in Ankara on September 25-26 in the context of Market Transformation of Energy Efficient Project.
Through this training it was aimed to reach the staff who directly communicates with customers in the stores of TÜRKBESD member white goods producers and sales companies (department stores) which sale more than one brand.
Staff members of Arçelik, the project partner, as well as other TÜRKBESD members such as BSH, Indesit, and Vestel and sales staff from sales companies (department stores) such as Teknosa, Metro AG, and Real participated in the training.
The training focused on providing the information on energy labeling and responsibilities of the sales personnel according to the legislation on energy labels and sales techniques, which bring the energy efficiency of products into forefront.
In the report, the annual economic value of the area was determined as USD 43 million.
It is also emphasized that the marine pollution, infrastructure and housing development and illegal fishing activities are threatening the ecosystem.
Tourism and waste treatment generates most of the income
In the report, it is stated that the USD 38 million out of annual USD 43 million is provided from tourism and recreation services and USD 3.5 million is from waste treatment.
It is also underlined that about USD 658,000 is provided by carbon sequestration, about USD 339.500 by erosion protection, about USD 216.500 by fishing and about USD 142,500 by Salicornia.
Pollution and illegal fishing threatens the ecosystem
It is also emphasized in the report that the marine pollution, infrastructure and housing development and illegal fishing activities are threatening the ecosystem.
The International Reputation Management Conference, gathered academia and business world to discuss the reputation concept and the related topics within the interdisciplinary scope of politics, public administration, international relations, business management, human resources, communication, new media, public relations, marketing, social responsibility and sustainability research areas.
Hansın Doğan, Deputy Director a.i. of UNDP Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development, also participated to the conference.
Hansın Doğan stressed upon the importance of acceding to Global Compact for the corporations not only for gaining a reputation but also for gaining a reputation before the shareholders of Global Compact by discharging the sustainability commitments transparently within the framework of Global Compact.
Doğan stated the need of responsible, inclusive and green business models for sustainability and he said that reputation of a corporation and the country is integrated.
He also said that it is possible to emerge more global brands from Turkey with increasing reputation of these brands and to have more high international reputation for non-governmental organizations, academia and all other institutions.
However, he stated that strategic approach is needed with establishment of a national platform among all sectors under the leadership of public sector.
PAN Parks process, activities and next steps for Küre Mountains National Park is co-presented by Dr. Sedat Kalem (WWF Turkey Conservation Director) and Ercan Yeni (10th Regional Director of Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs) at the conference.
The presentation was focused on the activities and results of Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded “Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project”.
After this presentation, PAN Parks certificate was awarded by Louis Frankenhuis, who is the Head of Board of PAN Parks Foundation
What the PAN Parks are?
Protected Areas Network (PAN) Parks is a network of Protected Areas to protect Europe’s wilderness, the continent’s most undisturbed areas of nature.
PAN Parks applies a truly integrated approach to mobilize sustainable tourism development for strengthening wilderness conservation.
PAN Parks quality standards have five main principles:
Principle 1 – Rich Natural Heritage: PAN Parks are large protected areas that are representative of Europe’s natural heritage and the international importance for wildlife and ecosystems, having at least 10.000 ha wilderness area.
Principle 2 – Nature Management: Design and management of the PAN Parks aims to maintain and, if necessary, restore the area’s natural ecological process anf its biodiversity with the action listed in a management plan.
Principle 3 – Visitor Management: Visitor management safeguards the natural values of the PAN Parks and aims to provide visitors with a high-quality experience under a visitor management plan.
Principle 4 – Sustainable Tourism Strategy: The protected area authority and its relevant partners in the PAN Parks region aim at achieving and synergy between nature conservation and Sustainable Tourism by developing and jointly implementing a Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy.
Principle 5 – Partnerships: The local business partners aim at offering high-quality tourism packages based on the appreciation of nature.
The representatives observed the developments in FOÇA SEPA and they found opportunity to improve their technical know-how about the project.
The fishermen from different locations seized the opportunity to meet each other and exchange experiences in the activity which took place in Foça between 3 and 5 October.
Besides, the activities such as lunch in fishing shelter, the briefing on the fishing shelter and meeting with the scientists in fishermen’s café were also realized.
The existence of the sandbar sharks, which have unique importance and are harmless for human, is under threat by many factors.
Interesting results were reached in the study, which was conducted by Muğla University Faculty of Fisheries team. 50 free diving were made in monitoring activities in June and July 2012 at Boncuk Cove.
43 observations were realized towards small groups or individual sandbar sharks and 80 individual sandbar sharks were observed in these dives.
They Reproduce in Boncuk Cove
The Boncuk Cove in Gökova Bay is an important area for the Carcharhinus plumbeus species, namely sandbar sharks. The researches show that the sharks use this cove as a place for mating and reproduction especially in May and June.
The Project Aims at Eliminating the Threats
The existence of the sandbar sharks in Boncuk Cove, which are harmless for human, is under threat by many factors such as speargun hunting, illegal fishing, solid waste and bilge water from the ships.
These threats are being worked on to be eliminated by the Strengthening the System of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas of Turkey Project to protect the ecosystem.
The project bore considerable outputs such as PAN Parks certification of the Küre Mountains National Park and serving as a model for many protected areas.
Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs Veysel Eroğlu, UNDP Resident Representative Shahid Najam, parliamentarians, regional directorates of forestry and state hydraulic works, local municipalities, various public institutions, NGOs, academicians and local people from Bartın and Kastamonu participated in the meeting.
Küre Mountains National Park, one of the 40 national parks in Turkey, has received the PAN Parks (Protected Area Network Parks) certificate which is granted to well-managed protected areas where successful sustainable tourism activities are implemented conducted.
The Pan Parks certificate was presented by Zoltan Kun, the Executive Director of Pan Parks Foundation, to Ahmet Özyanık, Director of Nature Conservation and National Parks General Directorate.
Thus, the Küre Mountains National Park has been the 13th in Europe and 1st PAN Parks certified protected area in Turkey.
In his speech Minister of Forestry and Water Affairs Prof. Dr. Veysel Eroğlu stated that Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project is just the beginning and projects regarding to Küre Mountains National Park will continue.
UNDP Resident Represantative Shahid Najam said that “All the team members deserve special gratitude and commendation for enhancing the synergy between nature conservation, forestry and sustainable development - a green pathway for sustainable human development.”
After the representatives from media awarded due to their support for promoting the projects activities and the Küre Mountains National Park, the meeting was followed by the “Importance of Forest Ecosystems in Conservation: Küre Mountains National Park Symposium” and sharing of experiences and lessons learned.
The “Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey” Project was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by the General Directorate for Nature Conversation and National Parks and the General Directorate of Forestry under the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, in cooperation with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Turkey Office and WWF Turkey.
The project aimed to enhance nature conservation and sustainable resource management in Küre Mountains National Park and its buffer zone and to establish an effective and participatory management model.
In this part we talk about the women’s representation in senior management positions of private sector and public institutions. We discuss the challenges faced on the field by women in having senior management positions and what kind of difference women in senior management positions could make.
UNDP Turkey: This is the New Horizons Podcast of the United Nations Development Programme Turkey. After a long summer holiday, we are here for our 51th programme. In this episode we will discuss women’s representation in senior management positions of private sector and public institutions. What could women in senior management positions change? What are the obstacles for women in getting senior management positions? We will ask these questions to our contributors. Our contributors are Devrim Erol, President of Business Women Entrepreneurs and Enhancement Association (ANGİKAD) and Neşe Çakır, Fostering and Enabling Environment for Gender Equality in Turkey Joint Programme Manager. Welcome.
Devrim Erol (D.E.) and Neşe Çakır (N.Ç.): Hello
UNDP Turkey: Firstly, I would like to start with a question to Devrim Erol. What are the biggest obstacles for women’s being in senior management positions in Turkey?
D.E.: The biggest obstacles are themselves. Of course, someone must be enthusiastic if she would like to be a manager. It is about breaking the routine. In Turkey, both in public and private sector, even if in the sectors in which mostly women work, women in senior management positions even in these sectors are still very few.
UNDP Turkey: Is there any difference between private and public sector?
D.E.: Of course, there is an important difference. From all above, their dynamics are different. In public sector, there is a selection and appointment. First of all, I’d like to take your attention to a point: we are not talking about entrepreneur business women who already set up their own business. When a woman set up her own business, she automatically becomes the owner of her business.
UNDP Turkey: We talk about the women who reached the senior management positions in a particular business.
D.E.: Yes, we talk about the professional women who work both in private and public sector. For instance, in Turkey, there are more women employed in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health by the nature of the sector in which there are nurses and teachers. When we look at the statistics in the Ministry of Education, we see that 50 percent of teachers are women. But, when we consider the school principals, unfortunately the percent of women school principals is just a digit. Now, is this a selection or is this a choice that women made? In their childhood, many girls are leaded by their parents to be a teacher indicating that they would have long holiday session. Women, who became teachers by this lead coming from their family, recall these precepts when it comes to become a school principal; because, they have concerns to work on a full time basis.
UNDP Turkey: All problems you said are not just valid for Turkey. I suppose, many other similar countries face these kinds of problems, too. Have you look at Turkey’s position with global perspective?
D.E.: Both me and the world looks at Turkey’s position with global perspective. If you look at Davos outputs, Turkey is in the first ten countries which are in the danger zone for the categorization on equality of men and women. It is on 125th position among 136 countries. If we review social development in terms of this value, any 125th development, I’m talking about general development and quality of development and an economical development don’t represent anything by themselves. The economical development must be supported by a social development.
UNDP Turkey: We should highlight that we are not looking at the rate of women in total employment. We consider the women who managed to reach senior positions. I would like to give some numbers: by the terms of last decree, %40 of all ambassadors is women and there are 27 district governors while there is only one governor of province. When we look at women employment, excluding managers, the rate is %20 -%24. Our goal is to raise this rate up to %38. We are not even talking about %50. There are 113 woman deans and 10 rectors. We can see that only ten rectors are women among almost 200 universities. When we look at senior academicians, the rate of woman professors to total professors is %27. What are the difficulties in private and public sector? Do you think that there are essential differences between private and public sector?
D.E.: There is a breeding as a natural fact, for healthy development of nations. But somehow, women’s pregnancy and delivery are getting punishment in both private and public sector. Anyway, this is woman’s most nature function. There is a perception that to raise child is only woman’s responsibility. This is one of the most important obstacles. There are both social problems and problems in business. Employer sees woman as a breakaway person who could stop working for one or two years and he doesn’t tolerate it and doesn’t want to tolerate it. This is also one of the most important factors. Also, there is still a memorized prejudice that there is distinction as a woman job and man job. Therefore, there is a habit as taking women up to some upper positions but keeping them there. Please also think that way: there is such less women in senior positions with power of decision who could empathize with women and work for woman rights. I’d like to give a concentrate example: if Nimet Çubukcu weren’t the Minister of Education as a woman in the last government; there wouldn’t be a woman who is the undersecretary of Ministry of Education in history of Turkish Republic. For this reason, the minister assignment has ended and the undersecretary quit the job ethically. Since her undersecretary makes her more visible, now she is the governor of Yalova city. There is a domino effect on these actions.
UNDP Turkey: Before the programme, we have asked to our followers on Twitter if they had any questions for you. A follower named Ahsen Saçlı said: “I have never seen a woman manager who doesn’t bring her emotions and whims in business and torture to people around her by using them.” So, is a miracle expected from women when they are on senior positions?
D.E.: I’m an engineer that is why I’ll speak with numbers. First of all, if there is just one thing is expected from man; it is ten from woman. Also, this is both sociologic and psychological topic. Therefore, as a matter of his nature, it is expectable from a man to work as a disciplined, follower and rule maker manager while a woman who works same, is named as a competitive, whimsy and aggressive manager. The common perception in society about woman is being maternal, soft, saver, concessive and mediator. When we look at from this point of view, this is the situation. On the other way, if a woman is a soft, lovely and mediator manager, she becomes clumsy in the eyes of these people. If a man uses the same management methods, he becomes such a cooperative and successful manager!
UNDP Turkey: At this point, I would like to ask a question to Mrs. Neşe, who is the joint program manager of Fostering and Enabling Environment for Gender Equality in Turkey. You are trying to run this project by including many other non-governmental organizations also with the help of United Nations organizations. I would like to talk about these organizations and the aim of the project.
N.Ç.: Fostering and Enabling Environment for Gender Equality in Turkey Joint Program Manager is going on since the middle of last year. The partners of the program are United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Woman Agency and Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Equal Opportunities Commission for Man and Woman. As Mrs. Devrim mentioned specifically, this project will focus on creating a gender equality mechanism which will be run efficiently. The gender mainstreaming has Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Equal Opportunities Commission for Man and Woman as the legislator and Ministry of Social and Family Policies as the executive.
According to International Agreement of Preventing All Discrimination on Woman which is an agreement only Consistent Education and Solidarity Center (CEDAW) recognized, in terms of legislative and executive points; other ministries have responsibilities in local level, non-governmental organizations have organic connection and governors have equality and city councils in national level. The representatives of private sector are also included in this structure.
UNDP Turkey: We are talking about a structure which has a large extension with many partners. You and ANGIKAD have just organized a meeting which was focused on Women Representation in Public and Private Sector’s Senior Management in the middle of October. I would like to end the programme after you underline the results of this meeting.
N.Ç.: Here, the important point is the representation of woman in all decision mechanism. Namely, woman takes place in all senior managements, which we called as decision mechanisms, in public, private, academy and non-governmental organizations.
UNDP Turkey: This was a very comprehensive conference which you organized with ANGIKAD. There is a very long to-do list which consists of forty five clauses. Is there a whole heap more work to be done for Turkey in terms of these clauses or the situation is not that bad?
D.E.: Of course, there is a long way to go. But these are the things which keep us alive. Therefore, if these issues don’t exist, there is no need for us. We decided to establish a follow-up committee. This is a very important step. We established this committee as UNDP, General Directorate on Status of Women and our organization. With this committee, we will form a strategic action plan in order to put the taken decisions into practice and follow them in the relevant authorities. Especially, we will perform a special implementation in woman intense ministries. For instance, in Education Ministry and Health Ministry, even the deputy secretary is not a woman. At least on this topic, we will make a lobbying work. There will be more specific works that we will do. We will organize coaching and education programmes for women to improve themselves to be able to be a candidate for being woman manager. First of all, woman needs to come out of her shell and gain self-confidence. There is also a woman perception in society. That perception needs to be changed. We already talked about this; there are a lot of women who became so successful managers in public and private sector. There is a need to cooperate with media to make these successful women visible. Women who say:” I’m a woman, I run a million dollar budget but I also have family and kids.” should meet with public. But there is a very wrong belief in society: a woman should be an iron lady, without kids and unmarried or divorced, in order to be successful in business life. Of course there is this kind of woman but there is also very successful women who match the values of our society. We need to carry them out and show them to people. It is not either freedom or death; it could be both and there is a way out.
UNDP Turkey: When we look at the advices as a result of meeting, there are forty five clauses such as job rotations, flexible working, and woman tariffs, to encourage women and so on. You can follow them on the web site: yarimdanbirolmaz.com. Also, you can reach ANGIKAD via its website: angikad.org.tr. As you know, the web site of UNDP Turkey is undp.org.tr. Our contributors were President of ANGİKAD, Devrim Erol and Fostering and Enabling Environment for Gender Equality in Turkey Joint Program Manager Neşe Çakır. We have come to the end of this episode of the New Horizons Podcast of the United Nations Development Programme Turkey. It was the first episode of this season. This program has been recorded at the studio of Radyo İlef of Ankara University Communications Department. You can follow our program on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, on iTunes under podcasts and on undp.org.tr. Our username for social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you soon, good bye!
In this episode, we talk about the process that led to the certification of Küre Mountains National Park as a member of PAN Parks, and the selection of the project implemented in this national park as an example of best practice to represent Turkey in Rio+20 Conference.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. In this week’s programme we talk about the process that led the certification of Küre Mountains National Park as a member of PAN Parks, and the selection of the project implemented in this national park as a best practice to represent Turkey in Rio+20 Conference. So we will be talking about this project and also why this project has been chosen as one of the 25 best projects in this category. Our contributor today is the Deputy Manager of Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Yıldıray Lise. Welcome.
Yıldıray Lise (Y.L.): Hello.
UNDP Turkey: We have spoken with you before on this same subject twice before. So we are now at the stage of applying best practice from before the Rio 20+ conference, and the Küre Mountains National Park was a candidate to join the important network of PAN Parks. They were accepted into the network in April 2012. Let’s talk about Rio 20+. It takes place in June and out of the best practice projects from Turkey that are going, yours is one of them. Why was it chosen?
Y.L.: Our project began in 2008 with the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and it is carried out by the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks and General Directorate of Forestry which are part of the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, United Nations Development Programme Turkey and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Turkey. As you mentioned, this project has many sections including environmental issues, social and economic issues. So we were working in a protected area, a national park but we also worked on many areas such as the local population’s development including sustainable tourism and the sustainable use of resources. And we felt that we have been successful in doing this, so with the support of the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, we applied for Rio 20+ and it was accepted. As I mentioned, the different areas we cover such as social, environmental and economic areas also got a prize for being a good example project.
UNDP Turkey: This project has been running since 2008, it covers many different areas as you mentioned and it gained a place among the other 25 chosen projects in Rio, as well as joining the PAN Parks network. Lets talk about the PAN Parks network, then we will return to Rio. There were some criteria that had to met in order to join PAN Parks, I have them here in front of me but we can summarize them. They may give an idea of how far this project has come to our listeners.
Y.L.: Actually they both have overlapping criteria and they both have similarities. PAN Parks network means a network of protected areas. It is a certificate system given to the elite protected areas in Europe and if we include Küre Mountains National Park, there are currently 13 protected areas in Europe. This network has 5 basic criteria to be met. The first, the area must have a rich natural heritage, of course Küre Mountains National Park is both locally and nationally important. The second, the area must be managed in accordance with well set out plans. Third, there must be provisions made for future visitors, we made plans to erect a visitor centre and put these plans into action. The fourth, there must be a sustainable tourism strategy in place, not just within the park but also the local area and this is one of strongest features of the PAN Parks network. As nature has to be protected, there must be a plan for sustainable tourism in place. We worked for many years on this area and we designed plans. Our actions have particularly focused on these social and economic areas, and this is what made us stand out at Rio 20+. The fifth is making local connections. So after the park has received its certificate, the businesses around the park may also receive a certificate within a certain amount of time if they reach certain standards, for example accommodation, restaurants, transport or guided tour businesses. We have started running in this period of time a general participation group of PAN Parks and we have put into practice some local standards that need to be met. So we can see that the PAN Parks project has environmental, social and economic benefits.
UNDP Turkey: The Küre Mountains National Park is the only national park in Turkey that is currently part of the PAN Parks network isn’t it?
Y.L.: Yes.
UNDP Turkey: You told us the criteria; it must have a rich natural heritage, it must have a plan for nature preservation, there must be plan in place for visitors, you must emphasise sustainable tourism and make local connections if you want to be part of the PAN Parks network.
Y.L.: Yes.
UNDP Turkey: This is a relevant question; Küre Mountains National Park now has a PAN Parks certificate but what does this bring to Turkey? We would like an answer to this question.
Y.L.: Of course. We need to think about it like this, this is a matter for national pride, because we have been accepted into a network that has very few members even in Europe and it’s a chance to showcase our principles there as well. It’s also important to be following international standards for management and to be seen to be following these, and also to establish sustainable tourism there. As we mentioned earlier, we can say that this project will have great effect on the local and regional economy because of tourism, starting from guesthouses up to the whole tourism sector. And as the area becomes more well known, we also expect a rise in tourist numbers in the long term.
UNDP Turkey: How many national parks are there in Turkey?
Y.L.: There are 41 national parks in Turkey at the moment.
UNDP Turkey: So these pillars of your project, could they be applied to all of the national parks in Turkey and achieve the same results?
Y.L.: Some of these parks are small, some are larger, but of course we now have some experience. We have already started working towards applying our work to other national parks in association with the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks. Of course it may not be possible to apply all our techniques to the smaller parks. One of the PAN Parks criteria is a minimum of 10,000 hectars and it must be untouched nature, with minimal human intervention, and only about 5 to 10 of the national parks in Turkey come under these criteria. But we are still working towards applying some of the other principles in these places too.
UNDP Turkey: So you would only be able to apply all of these plans in about 5 or 6 of the national parks here. And you say that work has already begun in these parks. Which ones for example?
Y.L.: We have started working on a plan for Kaçkarlar, we may be able to start work there soon. There is also Aladağlar. These two areas are places that are close to the standard needed to achieve the PAN Parks certificate, with a little bit of work they can achieve this.
UNDP Turkey: You are reaching the end of your project and you have achieved your important aims. Will you continue to have the support of UNDP for this project or do you have any more new projects on the horizon at the moment?
Y.L.: Our project was funded by Global Environment Facility and they do not give funds to the same project more than once. But we must also mention that in 2000 the National Park was announced, and the Small Grants Program of the Global Environment Facility has continued to support the civil society organisations in the area, and I’m sure they will continue to do in the future. The WWF in Turkey is also working with the National Parks Organisation and non-governmental organisations in the area. Recently, there have been newly started regional development agencies in the regions of Bartın and Kastamonu. There are two different agencies working there. They have some priorities for themselves, and we have promoted our projects results and they are helping us in applying for other grants and supporting us in this, and they continue to support our work by following the mechanisms that we have put into place.
UNDP Turkey: So by following your plans, by learning from your experiences and by seeing the results of your project, this is a very good example for others. And this should be noted that it is not just an example for Turkey, but also for many other countries that can follow this same program, and as we mentioned that the beginning, it has been chosen as one of the 25 best projects at the Rio 20+ United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. You received an award on the 20th of April, the vice president of the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks Mr. Mustafa Akıncıoğlu received this award on the behalf of the Ministry of Forests and Water Affairs. There are 24 other projects as well. These are all examples for the private sector, public agencies, universities and civil society organisations. So you received this award but what does this mean for you? Are you going to present this project in Rio? What kind of plan do you have for the future?
Y.L.: There will be national presentations on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Turkey. We are preparing ourselves to present our project there if we get the time and the chance to do so, as we are quite busy at the last stages of our project. We want to present our project ourselves, but they will be presented in Turkish and in English by the representatives and it has received great interest from everyone so it will have a great audience.
UNDP Turkey: OK, so do you have any other activities aside from Rio20+ where you are promoting your project?
Y.L.: Yes we do. So we are in constant correspondence with UNDP regional offices, for example in Bratislava or wherever, and we have promotions of our project in the literature that they produce and so on. But I think one of the most important points here is that the Küre Mountains National Park is the only national park that has its own website. We share all of our projects and our publications here in English and Turkish as well. We use social media available to us here such as Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr and Facebook, and spread our project effectively using these. Sometimes people find our project through one of these sites and write to us saying ‘We are producing a book. Could you contribute your project in this section of our book?’ and we work on this too.
UNDP Turkey: Anyone who wants to see can go to kdmp.gov.tr, Küre Mountains National Park and can find information on this project. What is the best time to visit the Küre Mountains National Park that has been chosen to represent Turkey at Rio20+ and has achieved a place in the PAN Parks network?
Y.L.: Let’s say May and September-October time.
UNDP Turkey: So from the beginning of summer to autumn Küre Mountains are waiting for visitors to come and see the park. Thank you very much for joining us. Our contributor today was Yıldıray Lise, the Deputy Manager of Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey. We have come to the end of this episode of the New Horizons Podcast of the United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This program has been recorded at the studio of Radyo İlef of Ankara University Communications Department. You can follow our program on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, on iTunes under podcasts and on undp.org.tr. Our username for social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you soon, good bye!
In this episode, we talk about a project aiming at reducing the energy consumption of buildings in Turkey and by this means reducing the GHG emissions.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. In this episode, we will talk about a project aiming to reduce the energy consumption together with greenhouse gas emissions of buildings in Turkey. My guest is Tolga Yakar, the coordinator of the mentioned project.
Tolga Yakar (T.Y.): Hello.
UNDP Turkey: This is a project named ‘increasing the energy efficiency in buildings in Turkey’. Firstly, we can start by talking about the situation in Turkey, if you wish. What is the situation in Turkey, that it requires this kind of a project, let us begin with this.
T.Y.: In Turkey, the building sector is the second biggest sector after industry in terms of energy usage. Statistics show that 36% of the energy used is consumed by the building sector in Turkey. We can infer from some indicators that there is a great potential for savings regarding energy usage in buildings in Turkey. This potential varies between 30-50%, proven by various analyses. And gaining back this great potential is going to be our primary aim in the field of energy efficiency.
UNDP Turkey: There is a considerable potential, saving potential. By buildings, what exactly do you mean? Do we mean all the buildings besides industrial ones? If not, do we mean only our residences?
T.Y.: Sure, the building sector does not consist only of residences. Apart from this; malls, hospitals or service buildings, offices and similar buildings can be counted in the building sector and the energy consumption datas I have just given above.
UNDP Turkey: What is the case in Turkey? Is Turkey bad at energy saving? What is the saving potential in Turkey?
T.Y.: Actually concerning the energy efficiency, activities devoted to ‘gaining back the saving potential’ have been going on for many years. However, all these activities were limited to the industrial sector. In the building sector, the only implementation was about having power saving home appliances such as A+, A++ rated washing machines; lamps and so forth. Therefore, this is what we can say; there have not been any activities until now intending to achieve energy saving on the issues of heat exhaustion, cooling needs and air conditioning.
UNDP Turkey: This is not only electricity, isn't it? We are referring to savings from fuel, to gas, coal and every single energy resource for heating. But buildings’ own potential for energy saving is what you focus on here, in this project. So, do we mean all the processes from the first phase of design to the last one, when it is open to usage, instead of talking about having A++ rated washing machines and dishwashers?
T.Y.: Yes, actually we are talking about both phases, design of buildings as well as the efficient ways of energy consumption during the use of these buildings. Approximately 85% of the energy used in the buildings is used for the purpose of heating, cooling and other conditioning activities. The energy used by home appliances is negligible. Therefore; heating, cooling, conditioning and lightening constitute the building’s main energy consumption. We are saying that there is a chance of having a 30-50% energy saving rate within this main energy consumption rate and we target this section with our project. If we calculate the whole energy consumption starting from the phase of design, to the production and supply of construction materials, constructing the building and finally to the last phase, demolition of the building, we can say that 80% of the consumption is done during the use of a building, which is about 100 years. 80-85% of this 80% portion is devoted to heating and cooling. In other words, our target is this 85% within 80%.
UNDP Turkey: What is this remaining 15-20% for?
T.Y.: For the construction and demolishment of buildings and the production of tools and materials to be used during the demolishment process.
UNDP Turkey: So they are all taken into account, but 80% is related to our usage in this case. What can we do then? We are talking about the design but I have had a look at the statistics and they show that urbanization in 1990 was 52%, as it is 74-75% in 2008. Turkey already has a stock of buildings. Is there any activity for houses or buildings already in place? If not, will you be doing this only for new residences? Can you tell about this in the frame of your project?
T.Y.: Sure. You touched upon a significant point. Indeed, by saying ‘energy saving in buildings’, we address two different groups. The first one is new buildings. The other is for pre-existing buildings. The things that we can do for new buildings are much easier. Byintervening in the buildings' construction and design process, we may design energy-efficient buildings by using some new techniques called ‘integrated building construction’ and this is what we are trying to universalize. So, the energy need of the buildings, for heating and cooling in particular, is minimized from the beginning.
UNDP Turkey: Is this what you call ‘integrated construction design’?
T.Y.: We can describe this method of design like so during the designing of a building, the traditional approach was to firstly let the architect design the building , and then allow the staticician, the mechanics and the electricians to do their work. But in the integrated approach, all these actors and disciplines work at the same time. Moreover, the employees and residents who are going to live there should be taken into account and using the energy efficiently should be the first aim from the beginning.
UNDP Turkey: Seventeen million US Dollars… That’s the budget for the project. The ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, the Ministry of National Education, GEF, and UNDP with its implementation support. you are already representing UNDP in this project. We have understood what the project is and what logic behind it . Let us talk about the aims of this project. What are your aims? What is the final outcome?
T.Y.: We are aiming for three things with this project. At the end of the project, we would like to reach a main goal: the first one is to empower the legislation concerning the energy efficiency in buildings. We would Also like toencourage the ministry of Environment and Urbanization, the Ministry of Energy and its officials to take part in energy saving more actively.
UNDP Turkey: So the first one is ‘legislation’.
T.Y.: Yes. Apart from this, we would like to set an example with this new approach, this integrated building design for new buildings and we would like to show that by adopting this approach we can spend the same amount of money during the design phase . Currently, three buildings are going to be designed using our method. The first two buildings belong to the Ministry of National Education, one school and one office next to it.
UNDP Turkey: And these are located in Ankara, arent they? They are Model buildings… So, you are constructing model buildings with the highest energy saving rate in Ankara.
T.Y.: Sure, we aim to construct not only energy efficient, but also cost efficient buildings in comparison to the other Ministry of National Education’s buildings.
UNDP Turkey: Do you mean the construction costs?
T.Y.: Yes, construction costs.
UNDP Turkey: And it is not yet certain where you will construct the third one. Let us have a look at the next goals.
T.Y.: Next, our third aim is to promote and spread the integrated building design approach. There is a system called the energy identity document in Turkey. This system, as in the case of home appliances, aims to rate buildings according to their energy consumption rate. Beginning from 2017, this new identity document is expected to be adopted by all pre-existing buildings as well.
UNDP Turkey: Are we able to see how much our new building consumes energy?
T.Y.: For every single building constructed after 2011 that first obtained the building license and then the occupancy permit , there should be an energy identity document. Today there are 8,000 buildings registered to this energy identity system and 90% of them are new buildings. These buildings were given an energy identity document, in other words, an energy label. So when you would like to purchase real estate, or rent a flat or an office, you will be able to see the energy performance of these buildings, and this information will be provided to you.
UNDP Turkey: This is a quite good aim, the third one. Let us finish by mentioning your last aim.
T.Y.: The energy efficiency is, indeed, the first phase of this work. The aim is not only to make buildings energy efficient. Afterwards, having sustainable cities will be depend on having sustainable buildings. And our last aim is to prepare the project for the last phase, examine the results of the former phases and bring these results to the new phases.
UNDP Turkey: So let me summarize. You target legislation of the building industry, you are going to construct three buildings, the model buildings , and you aim to spread the integrated building design approach and its applications. Finally, you want to share the experiences that you will have during this process, at the end of the project, which is expected to last 4 years. Thank you very much Tolga Yakar, the coordinator of ‘increasing the energy efficiency in buildings in Turkey’. we talked about a project aiming to reduce consumed energy together with Greenhouse gases, thereby, a project aiming to contribute to sustainable development. We have come to the end of this episode of the New Horizons Podcast of the United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This program has been recorded at the studio of Radyo İlef of Ankara University Communications Department. You can follow our program on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, on iTunes under podcasts and on undp.org.tr. Our username for social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you next week, good-bye!
In this episode, we will talk about protected areas.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. In this episode, we will talk about protected areas. We will discuss with our contributors the meaning of protected areas, how areas can be protected and exemplary practices of protected areas from Turkey. Our contributors are Ms. Başak Avcıoğlu, WWF-Turkey Nature Protection Director, and Mr. Yıldıray Lise, biologist and Deputy Manager of Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project. Hello and welcome to our program.
Başak Avcıoğlu (B.A.), Yıldıray Lise (Y.L.): Hello.
UNDP Turkey: Let me start with you Mr. Lise, what does a protected area mean?
Y.L.: In fact, "protected area" has many different definitions around the globe. But the important one is that of World Wildlife Fund, which is "land or marine area, managed through legal or other means, that serves to the protection and sustainability of biodiversity and its resources." There two important points here: one is that these areas serve to protect and sustain, and the other is that they are managed.
UNDP Turkey: Also, a protected are serves to the usage of cultural resources related to biodiversity. So we shouldn't regard it solely as protection of the nature but of everything related to nature.
Y.L.: In Turkey, when we say protected area, the first thing that we think of is national parks. There are many protected areas having different statuses in Turkey. But generally when we ask people, they mostly think of national parks. More than around 5% of Turkey's land is protected under different statuses.
UNDP Turkey: But of course not all of these areas are national parks.
Y.L.: No, there belong to different categories.
UNDP Turkey: How many national parks are there in Turkey?
Y.L.: We have 41 national parks.
UNDP Turkey: Can you name a few of them?
Y.L.: There is Küre Mountains where we work and Aladağlar, which is one of the first to pop into our minds. There is also Mount Ağrı, Mount Kaçkar, Bey Mountains in Antalya and Dilek Peninsula.
UNDP Turkey: So let's underline that there are national parks all around Turkey within one and a half hours' reach. We'll come back to this but now let's turn to Ms. Avcıoğlu. Your project is born out of a partnership between WWF-Turkey and UNDP. What is your perspective and reason for taking part in this project? Actually, your title answers this question but we would like to hear your contributions to the project.
B.A.: I can say that this project is ten years old. At the beginning there were our cooperative activities, which today have intensified. We are working in cooperation with many institutions and organizations at every step of the project from improving how Küre Mountains are managed, supporting the NGOs there, to capacity building and awareness raising activities. Of course, we should talk about the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs along with UNDP. We formed a triple partnership and I would like to stress that this project is one of the most notable ones in Turkey where NGOs and institutions come together with institutions like the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs or the UN. So that is how we are contributing as much as possible to the protection of nature in the local level.
UNDP Turkey: World Wildlife Fund is a strong natural protection organization.
B.A.: Yes, it is one of the oldest ones.
UNDP Turkey: You are conducting this project with the United Nations Development Programme and, as you said, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs. You receive financial support from Global Environment Facility and you have countless local partners. If you'd like, let's continue with Küre. Your project is a GEF-financed one on the protection of forests. What do you do on the local level?
Y.L.: Our main objective is to turn Küre Mountains into an exemplary model. We are trying to come up with a model to set an example for the remaining 40 national parks in Turkey. We are planning on strengthening its managerial infrastructure because there is the sustainable communication strategy and planning management dimension among the management of visitors and many others. Our second objective is putting up signs on the roads and pathways to better serve our visitors. Our third objective concerns a buffer zone, the only one around the national park. We are working together with the Ministry on achieving sustainable forestry there.
UNDP Turkey: Isn't there a buffer outside of the national park?
Y.L.: No, there isn't. There is one inside but none on the outside.
UNDP Turkey: It seems that you have created a model by looking at some examples around the world.
Y.L.: Yes, when it was declared a national park back in 2000, we had an exemplary practice program we built on this model for civil society projects. Also, we have different protection and sustainability practices in the local level. And in our third phase, we are trying to think of how we can contribute in a general manner to the system of protected areas in Turkey. Especially, after the project has started, it had an ever-growing financial and also technical contribution. What we are looking at is how to improve this system of protected areas, how to come up with a system of monitoring and evaluation and how to outline certain strategies.
B.A.: Perhaps, at this point we can talk about Pan Parks, which is a network of Europe's best protected areas.
UNDP Turkey: When we spoke last year, there was still a long way to go, but now I see that that distance is covered. Küre Mountains is one step closer to the network of protected areas.
B.A.: Yes, currently we are very close and hopefully we will witness its inclusion and obtain our certificate.
UNDP Turkey: According to your estimations, when will Küre Mountains be included in the Pan Parks network? Can you make out a date?
Y.L.: Based on our correspondence today, we will go through an international monitoring in the beginning of April. And by June, the process will have finalized.
UNDP Turkey: Taking part in such a prestigious network may have an effect on the number of visitors from Turkey and abroad. I would like to ask you now, Ms. Avcıoğlu, how dos this process take place in the world? In recent times, the importance of protected areas in the struggle against climate change has been gaining in importance. Why is that so and can you name some examples from Turkey?
B.A.: Improving and developing a system of protected areas is highly significant. One of the most notable conventions is the Convention on Biological Diversity. Under its protection programme on protected areas, all member states are obliged to improve their system of protected areas. Our foundation is working to align our system with this convention. One of its most important components manifested itself in climate change. We started to feel the effects due to changing climate in protected areas. For instance, we witnessed the destructive effects of floods and tsunami in Asia. Precipitation is increasing and landslides occur in the Black Sea region. Climate change is observable in America and in Europe too. Protected areas decrease such effects of climate change.
UNDP Turkey: Because it adopts a multidimensional approach. It also has a cultural aspect along with those you mentioned. You have translated a book called Natural Solutions, which is a very good publication. It can be downloaded on undp.org. Turkey's national strategy on climate change and protected areas was prepared, with the contributions of your expertise, to be the first one in Turkey and perhaps in the world. I would like to ask one final question because there might be those among our listeners who would like to make a contribution. How can they reach you?
Y.L.: As you mentioned, everyone can reach us on undp.org. They can also reach all the information we provided here and the digital versions of the documents we talked about on www.kdmp.gov.tr, the official website of Küre Mountains National Park, which is the only national park in Turkey to have a website.
B.A.: World Wildlife Fund also has a website. All our activities and information regarding climate change is available on wwf.org.tr. We work a lot with volunteers on protected areas and protection activities and anybody can support us as a volunteer.
UNDP Turkey: I can see that your project has good relations with institutions and has a strong presence on social media. Therefore it is possible to follow your activities on Facebook and Twitter to get information. Thank you very much for your contributions, biologist and Deputy Manager of Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project, Mr. Lise, and WWF-Turkey Nature Protection Director, Ms. Avcıoğlu. We have come to the end of this episode of the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This program has been recorded at the studio of Radyo İlef of Ankara University Communications Department. You can follow our program on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, on iTunes under podcasts and on undp.org.tr . Our username for social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you next week, good-bye!
Editor: Faik Uyanık
Assistant: Nazife Ece
Intern: Irmak İnan
Contributors to this issue: Deniz Tapan, Leyla Şen, Neşe Çakır, Yıldıray Lise
© 2012 UNDP Turkey
All rights of New Horizons are reserved to UNDP Turkey. Any use of information should be accompanied by an acknowledgment of New Horizons as the source citing the URL of the article.