Issue: 70
The situation in Somalia reminds us once again that millions of people in the world live in dire conditions of extreme poverty and hunger.
Children died along long journeys lasting days for a single morsel of food.
The situation in Somalia is also a reminder of the inter-connectedness of various issues.
While climate change seems to be the main trigger of the situation, the baseline situation of human rights issues and lack of basic needs already existed.
And while the basic needs must be met as soon as possible, the solution of each problem does not entirely lie in its sole band-aid solution – but in the complex interconnection.
One is also reminded of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Self-actualization cannot take place without these basic needs being met. These basic needs must be met within the rights-based approach and empowerment as much as possible.
'Turkey's commitment is commendable'
Unfortunately, the drought and extreme starvation in Somalia was predicted years ago, however, while the world was quick to respond to the crisis, the world was not so convinced at the time of its impeding imminent disaster.
Crisis prevention and response, which UNDP also works on, remains an issue that needs to be further examined and adopted.
The government, private sector, individuals and civil society’s support from Turkey to Somalia shows South-South cooperation is being realized. Turkey’s commitment in this respect is commendable.
The theme of the United Nations Day, October 24th, in Turkey this year will be hunger in Somalia. October 16th is World Food Day, followed by October 17th, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
Alleviating humanity from the scourges of poverty is the first of eight of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
In hopes that the situation in Somalia will improve as soon as possible, and in a call to help alleviate the situation together.
* Shahid Najam, UNDP Resident Representative in Turkey and UN Resident Coordinator in Turkey
The designs made from natural fabrics are carrying the most beautiful colours of summer in the 2012 Spring Summer Fashion Collection of the brand.
The most elegant shades of white, blue and pink are coming to life by combining with handwovens such as Kutnu fabric produced in special ateliers.
“Innovations for Women’s Empowerment in the GAP Region Project” supports women’s participation in labour markets, re-branding of Southeast Anatolia, and creation of innovative sales and marketing opportunities.
The project gathers its products under the Argande brand to empower women socially and economically.
With the spirit of social responsibility, several other renowned professionals offered to provide their support to the brand and sales revenues fully transferred to the women producers of the Argande brand in Southeast Anatolia.
Under coordination of Hatice Gökçe with leading fashion designers such as Berna Canok, Gamze Saraçoğlu, Gül Ağış, Mehtap Elaidi, Özgür Masur, Rana Canok and Rojin Aslı Polat created the clothes and assessories for the brand.
Through the visibility of the local cultural heritage, the project helps create a more positive perception of the region that is based on local cultural wealth, diversity and the productivity of women, serving for a re-branding of the region.
For details: gonul.sulargil@undp.org
Almost 120 birdwatchers and bird photographers coming from all over Turkey and from abroad had the chance to watch migrating raptors during the festival.
The festival has been organized under the scope of Tourism Development in Eastern Anatolia Region Project* (TDEAP) for the fourth time this year.
Participation to the festival is growing among the relevant interest groups when compared to the previous years.
On the 24th of September the participants left Erzurum-Uzundere-Pehlivanlı Camping Site with the guidance of experts from “Nature Research Society”.
The group reached Kılıçkaya (2500 meters high above sea level) and then climbed up to Karadağ.
More than 20 bird species were identified by the bird watchers among the thousands of migrating raptors above the magnificient view of the Çoruh Valley.
For the first time this year 15 hearing-impared students coming from Erzurum Vocational High School and 30 elementary school children coming from Uzundere were among the participants of the festival.
On the 25th of September the children experienced bird watching activities and educational games to raise awareness about the biological diersity and nature with the guidance of experts of Nature Research Society at Uzundere Zugar picnic area.
*TDEAP, jointly executed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Efes Company since April 2007, aims to contribute to the living standard of local people by improving tourism activities in the Çoruh Valley.
[BAGLANTILAR]
As PAN Parks candidate national park, Küre Mountains National Park experience and progress in PAN Parks verification process were shared with the conference participants.
Protected area management, visitor management, sustainable tourism strategy implementations and local companies’ experience were observed in PAN Parks certified Soomaa National Park.
In the conference, a Lithuania’s one of protected area has been awarded with PAN Parks certificate. Project management unit of “Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project” funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) was actively participated in this protected area’s PAN Parks verification process.
Lithuania’s PAN Park certificated protected area complex covers Dzukija National Park and Cepkeliai Strict Nature Reserve.
Küre Mountains National Park PAN Parks verification process, started in 2006, has reached its final stage as a result of “Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project” actions.
Final actions are being carried out for PAN Parks verification process, which will be done by independent experts at the end of 2011.
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 mobilise 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 ae 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 ans its relavant 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.
[BAGLANTILAR]
At the end of the trainings 40 participants celebrated their accomplishments with a local festival accompanied with various master chefs from İstanbul and Erzurum and achieved their certificates.
The main reason for implementing such a training program is the fact that Uzundere has a great potential in gastronomy with its inherited traditional cuisine based on local fruit and vegetables.
To build that potential as a market niche in local tourism, a capacity enhancement training was needed to serve a better local cuisine with proper recipes.
The objective of the trainings were threefold:
1. Enhancing capacities of the owners and employees of the present bed and breakfast and daily tourist businesses in the field of gastronomy and local food preparation.
2. Building capacity among local women in the field of gastronomy and local food preparation and thus encouraging them to start their own businesses.
3. Improving local cuisine with proper recipes and establishing all necessary standards for their preparation.
With the completion of the trainings, desserts and vegetable dishes unique to the region have begun to be served in all home pansions and daily tourism businesses thus created the chance for every tourist to enjoy the special tastes of local cuisine.
*TDEAP jointly executed by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Efes Company since April 2007, aims to contribute to the living standard of local people by improving tourism activities in the Çoruh Valley.
[BAGLANTILAR]
Natural disasters such as floods result in the loss of lives and properties.
Extreme precipitation results in disasters if they are not properly discharged.
The establishment of early warning systems is inevitable in order to avoid disasters caused by changing weather conditions and extreme precipitation as a result of the impacts of climate change.
The İskenderun-Aşkarbeyli Creek Flood-Inundation Early Warning System Project is one of the good examples implemented in the context of similar efforts.
A majority of the floods in Turkey occur in dry creek basins; therefore implementation of such a project in a dry creek basin carries great importance.
The creek bed of the Aşkarbeyli Creek that is nurtured with the water flowing from the Amanos Mountains reach the sea once it is full; however, also causes flash floods during severe precipitation destructing the district of İskenderun and its surroundings.
Early warning
Setting out from this point, the İskenderun-Aşkarbeyli Creek Flood-Inundation Early Warning System Project implemented by the Adana Regional Directorate of State Meteorological Service and supported by the United Nations Joint Programme on “Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change” has been completed.
With the early warning system established within the project it was aimed to reduce flood risks.
Prior to the identification of the creek in which the early warning system would be established, risky locations in terms of floods were assessed and face-to-face consultations were made with local communities.
In addition, meteorological, hydrological and hydraulic modellings were realized and the findings of these models were integrated into geographical information systems.
The geographical location where the early warning system equipment would be installed was evaluated and these equipments were installed in locations where flood risks were identified.
With this early warning system, extreme meteorological events that may cause floods in the İskenderun-Aşkarbeyli Creek will be anticipated in advance and the loss of lives and properties will be avoided through necessary warnings.
Thus floods that rank second among disasters for local communities will cease to be a fate.
As a refugee status determination associate her tasks involve interviewing asylum seekers and drafting assessment as to who qualifies as a refugee.
She and her over 30 other UN Volunteer colleagues are an integral part of the UNHCR’s daily work.
“Making a right decision regarding applicants’ status is a big responsibility. At times you have to give a negative decision to someone and it is hard; people can be traumatized, they are away from their loved ones and might see you as their last hope”, she tells.
The collaboration between UNV and UNHCR has been fruitful.
8000 UN Volunteers participate in diversity of assignment contributing to peace and development around the world at the moment.
Over thousand of these assignments are with UNHCR, making it one of the key partners to UN Volunteers.
'Can be stressful'
A typical UN Volunteer is 37 years old with 5-10 years of relevant work experience and has been posted to a country other than their own.
“In our office most of us are Turkish, but we have a few international volunteers among us. We are mainly under 30 years of age, and many of us have attended the same universities”, Aslı describes.
UN Volunteers with UNHCR also share a passion towards their work, and the objective of giving the best service they can to their customers, which at times comes with a stress. To counter balance it, Aslı and her colleagues vent their feelings by sharing thoughts and information and by having a weekly get together.
“I began my assignment in a small Van office, far away and as a first UN Volunteer over there. Learning the work and meeting a refugee face to face was all an experience. In almost three years as a UN Volunteer for UNHCR I have learned to be patient, not to lose enthusiasm and my commitment, and to believe that we are making a difference”, tells Aslı whose commitment is now being recognized with an offer of a staff position with UNHCR.
*Writers: Ulla Gronlund, UNV programme officer, Aslı Velieceoğlu, UN Volunteer for UNHCR
More than forty national institutions including public institutions, universities and NGOs attended the “National Workshop on Scoping and Planning National Disaster Risk Assessment” that was organized in the context of the Regional Project on Disaster Risk Reduction in Southeast Europe funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Country Offices in 8 IPA countries(*).
The main purpose of the national workshop is to improve coherence and consistency among the risk assessments undertaken in EU’s Member States and Candidate countries at the national level in the prevention, preparedness and planning stages and to make these risk assessments more comparable between Member States and Candidate countries(**).
In this way, a common understanding of the risks faced will be supported and cooperation efforts for preventing and mitigating shared risks such as cross-border risks will be facilitated.
The specific objectives of the workshop are:
order to facilitate the National Risk Assessment process in the 8 IPA countries in the Southeast Europe region UNDP’s Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR), through its Global Risk Identification Programme (GRIP), has developed a comprehensive solution package for implementing disaster risk assessment in disaster-prone countries, which consists of Country Situation Analysis of Risk Assessment (CSA), National Disaster Observatory (NDO)(***), National Risk Assessment (NRA), Urban Risk Assessment (URA), and Capacity Development for Risk Assessment (CRA) and has supported the national workshops that are being realized in the context of the Regional Project by sending international experts.
In this sense, in the working groups that were realized in the context of the “National Workshop on Scoping and Planning National Disaster Risk Assessment”; a preliminary situation analysis of the disaster risk assessment and management in Turkey has been made, the concept and scope of country natural disaster risk assessment has been defined, responsible institutions for implementing country situation analysis as well as how this would be implemented has been identified and the National Disaster Observatory that is planned to be established has been discussed.
Studies Conducted in Turkey
The National Risk Assessment that will be prepared for Turkey will serve as a detailed evaluation of the country’s current situation and will present the issues, challenges and needs that need to be addressed as well as the country’s strengths and weaknesses.
The National Risk Assessment will also measure the country’s implementation capacity, the work that has been undertaken up-to the current situation and the existence of data and knowledge.
The Assessment will contain disaster risk policies, natural and man-made hazards, health threats, epidemics, industrial risks, nuclear risks and agricultural risks with a multi-disaster and multi-risk approach and in this sense will be a multi-disciplinary and long-term process that will include multi-stakeholders and close cooperation and coordination of different institutions.
Once completed, the National Risk Assessment will provide a risk management tool for all relevant policy-makers and public interest groups and will contribute to the development of disaster prevention policies at different levels of the Government since it will include integrated risk information from different sources, will facilitate the prioritization of disaster prevention, preparedness and restructuring and how investments will be allocated and will be an important step on the way to EU harmonization.
The Regional Project on Disaster Risk Reduction in Southeast Europe aims to reduce the risk of disasters associated with natural hazards in the southeast Europe in line with the Hyogo Framework for Action through increasing the capacities and cooperation of countries in the region on disaster risk management/reduction.
(*)The eight IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance) where the Regional Project is implemented are Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo and Turkey.
(**)It has become mandatory for the member states of the European Commission to conduct National Risk Assessment (NRA) to create comparable National Risk Profiles. In this context, On 23 February 2009, the European Commission adopted a Communication on a Community approach on the prevention of natural and man-made disasters setting out an overall Disaster Prevention Framework.
(***)ANDO is a sustainable arrangement in a relevant institution for the systematic collection, documentation and analysis of data about losses caused by natural hazards, with focus on quantification of disaster losses plotted in geo-referenced points and production of different impact maps. As the first step towards overall implementing DRAs, GRIP strongly recommends disaster-prone countries to start with comprehensive Country Situation Analysis (CSA) and establishing of National Disaster Observatory (NDO).
“Development of Ecotourism Based Home Pension Network Project”, which is implemented by DrahnaDer, aims to improve eco tourism activities and home pension network in Bartın villages, located in Küre Mountains National Park buffer zone.
Drahna Environment Development Education Culture and Solidarity Society (abbreviated as DrahnaDer) works in Ulus district of Bartın province.
At the end of this project, by providing the necessary trainings and equipments will be provided for 15 houses to be in use as home pensions.
In leadership of DrahnaDer, project stakeholders visited home pension example in Devrek district of Zonguldak province, established with the support of General Directorate of Forest-Village Relations (ORKÖY) support, and ecotourism based tourism applications around Balıkesir Kaz Mountains National Park.
This site visit aimed to experience on-site applications on home pension network case studies in Turkey. 23 people, living in Küre Mountains National Park buffer zone villages, participated in this visit.
Participants, accompanied by Kaz Mountains National Park ex chief Hasan Basri Avcı, visited boutique hotels, gift shops, cafes and restaurants in the region, and met with these entrepreneurs.
Participants also visited home pensions in the villages and shared their experiences with house owners.
Site visit participants are chosen among the ones graduated from “Ecotourism Based Home Pension Training”, which was organized by Bartın Provincial Directorate of Environment and Forestry in 2010. They will set up a home pension by decorating one room in their houses with the support of “Pilot Applications Programme”..
Home pension candidate entrepreneurs for Küre Mountains National Park are ready to implement what they experienced in Kaz Mountains National Park.
The second round of ‘White Paper for Local Administration Reform’ study has started with Erzurum workshop that took place in Erzurum on September 15, 2011. The meeting was opened up with the speeches of a representative from Ministry of Interior and Erzurum Governor.
Within the concept of Support to Further Implementation of Local Administration Reform in Turkey Project, that is being implemented by the Ministry of Interior with the technical assistance of the United Nations Development Programme and funded by the European Union in the scope of the EU-Turkey Pre-Accession Financial Co-Operation Programme; a number of project studies were carried out after 2003 in order to measure the effect of reforms on real life.
A paper work is being carried out today in order to point out and emphasize the principles, policies, approaches and methods to guide further reform studies. The stakeholders, who were specified by the Ministry of Interior, came together to discuss about present situation and what needs to be done after now, in order to complete the study called ‘White Paper for Local Administration Reform’.
Regional workshops were convened for the second round of the study, in order to present the current conclusions to stakeholders. The experts(2) on the topics were also able to discuss these conclusions in a wide frame.
After the opening speeches, the meetings continued with the briefs given about preparatory works.
The informative presentations about White Paper preparatory stage are followed by the group works about primary subjects in Local Administration Reform. Then the workshops were finished by closing speeches and general evaluations on discussion documents.
Regional Consultation Events
City and Date: Erzurum 15.09.2011, İstanbul 19.09 2011, İzmir 22.09.2011, Gaziantep 26.09.2011, Konya 29.09.2011,
Ordu 3.10.2011, Ankara 27.10.2011* *tentative
Experts
1. Governors 2. Metropolitan Municipality Mayors 3. Heads of Provencial Assemblies 4. Secretary Generals of Special Provencial Administrations 5. To be determined Members of Provencial Assemblies 6. To be determined City Councilors 7. Heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry 8. General Secretaries of Development Agencies 9. Heads or General Secretaries of City Councils 10.Related Academicians from Universities 11.General Secretaries of Local Administration Unions
This aim is pursued through a multi-dimensional approach focusing on enhancing institutional capacities and women’s labour market participation, branding of the Southeast Anatolia, and developing new sales and marketing opportunities.
The project, which was launched in 2008 in cooperation with GAP Regional Development Administration and UNDP, has a branding externality as well whereby project activities emphasize the strength of the region.
Activities of the project were presented in September by two papers at international and national conferences.
The first paper titled “Partnering with Men in Women’s Empowerment in Turkey” was presented at 10th Conference of the European Sociological Association organized in Geneva, Switzerland in early September.
Information on, as one of the project activities, reproductive health trainings given to a total of 384 men living in the GAP Region was shared with the academics and the importance of men’s involvement in women’s empowerment was emphasized during the presentation.
The second paper titled “A Local Model in Regional Development: Innovations For Women’s Empowerment Project” was presented at 1st Regional Development Conference by Fırat Development Agency in Malatya in late September.
Activities and achievements of the project within the framework of regional development approach were emphasized during the presentation.
For more information: S. Elçin Korkut: elcin.korkut@undp.org
Directorate established as a result of the gazetted regulation on local organization scheme of General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks under Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs.
Küre Mountains National Park Directorate’s establishment process is supported by Actions aiming to Küre Mountains National Park management under Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded “Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey Project”
Establishing Küre Mountains National Park Directorate is an important step for better management of the national park. This is a highly supportive action in PAN Parks verification process of Küre Mountains National Park, which is the first candidate national park in Turkey.
Preparation of Küre Mountains National Park Directorate’s local organization scheme and staff’s terms of references are still under process.
The workshop that aimed to inform all stakeholders of the UN Joint Programme – including public institutions, NGOs, academicis and relevant experts – on the judicial basis of climate change adaptation as well as to develop recommendations for the future steps to be taken have been organized as a participatory process with the contribution of representatives from different sectors.
During the workshop, the judicial framework of climate change in the international arena was shared, the structure, principles and liabilities of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol, the outcomes of the Climate Change Conferences of Parties and other international conventions were addressed, examples from different countries were provided on the place of climate change adaptation in international legislation.
The legal infrastructure that can influence Turkey’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy as well as relevant legislation were also discussed.
Following the presentations, the lacking issues and needs in the Turkish legislation regarding climate change adaptation were identified with participants.
The United Nations Joint Programme on “Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change” implemented by the United Nations under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization aims to develop capacity for managing climate change risks that threaten Turkey’s rural and coastal area development.
In this context, ensuring and strengthening knowledge on the legal framework of climate change adaptation is one of the main objectives of the Joint Programme.
During the preparation for the dissemination meetings in which knowledge and experiences gained would be shared, provinces were chosen according to the important river basins they are located in. To this respect, regional meetings were held in Samsun, İzmir and Şanlıurfa which are located in the Yeşilırmak-Kızılırmak, Gediz and Dicle-Fırat River Basins respectively.
During the community-based Grants Programme on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Seyhan River Basin which was established with a scaling approach and a spatial viewpoint, the Participatory Vulnerability Analyses realized in 11 provinces as well as the road to National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy were the top themes that were shared with the participants in the regional meetings.
Kadir Demirbolat from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, General Directorate of Environmental Management, Climate Change Adaptation Department underlined that climate change is a complex issue which has environmental, social and economic dimensions, related to all sectors, and that it has long term effects.
After talking about the legal and structural framework in Turkey on climate change and Turkey’s position in international climate change negotiations, Demirbolat added that Turkey has prepared its National Climate Change Strategy and National Climate Change Action Plan.
Atila Uras, manager of the UN Joint Programme on Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change, emphasized that climate change will effect Turkey in terms of water resources and agricultural production, will have a direct impact on industry sector which has intensive water use.
He added that in these three provinces - İzmir, Samsun and Şanlıurfa- it is inevitable for agriculture and industry sectors not to be affected by climate change. In addition Uras shared the experiences gained during the UN Joint Programme, the results of pilot projects on water efficiency in industry and the Grants Programme on Adaptation to Climate Change in the Seyhan River Basin which is a model demonstrating the climate change adaptation approach at the basin scale.
Atila Uras added that in the context of the Grants Programme 18 pioneer pilot projects were supported under the headings of water and natural resources management, increasing agricultural productivity, food security, identifying disaster risks, forestry, use of alternative irrigation techniques, fisheries, animal husbandry, conservation of ecosystem services, sea level rise, public health and awareness raising.
The regional meetings in which 150 people attended, aimed to share the experiences gained on adaptation to climate change at the basin scale and to disseminate the results of the activities.
The topic of this episode is a beautiful goddess which left her mark in ancient history of Southeastern Anatolia: Argande.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. The topic of this episode is a beautiful goddess which left her mark in ancient history of Southeastern Anatolia: Argande. More precisely, a project using the name of Argande: Innovations for Women's Empowerment in Southeast Anatolia… How is the name of the Goddess Argande used, and more importantly what relation does it have with women’s empowerment? We will discuss these with our contributor. Ms. Gönül Sulargil, welcome.
Gönül Sulargil (G.S.): Thank you.
UNDP Turkey: You are the manager of Innovations for Women's Empowerment in Southeast Anatolia Project. If you would like, before talking about the project, let us discuss Argande a little bit. Who is Argande, what is the relationship between her and eastern Anatolia? Could you tell us a little bit?
G.S.: Actually, you have already said it, Argande is the goddess of beauty of the Kingdom of Commagene, and she symbolizes power and prosperity in the southeast. More precisely Nemrut... Commagene is a civilization in Nemrut.
UNDP Turkey: Somewhere around modern day Adıyaman and the surrounding area...
G.S.: Yes, let me explain for those who do not know. Argande is one of the sculptures on Mount Nemrut.
UNDP Turkey: Is it?
G.S.: Yes, if you go there, please have a look at them. One of those is Argande.
UNDP Turkey: Mount Nemrut is one of the highest mountains of the southeast and it overlooks the entire region. Thus choosing her name is very meaningful for such a project, since it is a women's project.
G.S.: Of course. Research was done while looking for a name for the project. This name, Argande, was discovered by one of our volunteers, Ms. Yeşim Demir, who works at Demir Tasarım (Demir Design), who created our corporate identity. She did all the designs.
UNDP Turkey: There is a trademark established under this name. I think we have aroused interest about the trademark. Let us clarify what we have been talking about. What is the Argande that you are representing?
G.S.: Our Argande is a fashion trademark, established by voluntary support of the most important designers of Turkey.
UNDP Turkey: We all know that Turkey has some deficiencies regarding women’s empowerment in southeastern regions and women there are unemployed. You aim to empower women there with your project. How did you start your project and how did the idea of Argande come out?
G.S.: While starting this project, Argande became a sub outcome of our project; it is a sub-project of Innovations for Women's Empowerment in Southeast Anatolia Region Project. We decided that we needed to create a brand for the things that the women of this area were producing, establish a corporate identity and develop of marketing strategies.
UNDP Turkey: Actually a garment trademark was created, composed of what southeastern women produce.
G.S.: Yes, at first we did not think of having a fashion trademark, we actually wanted a trademark; but when we got deeper and deeper we realized other dimensions. We wanted the support of fashion designers. We should mention the names of the designers who we work with.
UNDP Turkey: Turkey’s important fashion designers...
G.S.: The most important fashion designers. They are very active.
UNDP Turkey: Shall we name some of them?
G.S.: We work with the coordination of Ms. Hatice Gökçe who is our designing coordinator. We have eight other names. Mehtap Elaidi, Deniz Yeğin, Gamze Saraçoğlu, Simay Bülbül, Alex Akimoğlu, Günseli Türkay, Rojin Aslı Polat –who designed most of the last collection – Hakan Yıldırım...
UNDP Turkey: There are many famous names. If you enter argande.com, you can see them all. This is designing dimension. You gathered many parties. You enabled volunteers to meet women in that region. Of course there is Southeastern Anatolia Project Administration involved, and the other one is United Nations Development Programme Turkey. Could you tell us about how you finance the project?
G.S.: SIDA supports us financially. SIDA is Swedish International Development Agency.
UNDP Turkey: Products produced became reachable for buyers and consumers in Turkey in cooperation with a fashion trademark. Talking about the background might be beneficial. The reason of why this project was created can be understood when the rate of participation of women in the labor force in Turkey and rate of unemployment in the region are analyzed. What is the situation in that region?
G.S.: Turkey is far behind the European Union countries when the rate of participation of women in the labor force in Turkey is analyzed. We all know this. The rate is 19.9 percent, if I am not mistaken. This rate decreases to four percent when we go towards the east.
UNDP Turkey: Only four women out of 100 work and earn money.
G.S.: Our project aims for social and economic development in the Southeastern Anatolia Project region; yet we give importance to the economic dimension of it; because these are the needs of the region. Of course there is a social dimension; yet if you correct the economic dimension, the social dimension will automatically be corrected. These trigger each other.
UNDP Turkey: You formed a trademark, inspired from the cultural heritage of that county and accomplished many things. It would be good to talk about what you have done. In which cities, counties did this production process begin? It started with ateliers and now?
G.S.: There are so many things that it is hard to explain. At first the idea was “designers design, we will have them manufactured by women”. This was the core. We talked to designers, and they said “we will do this voluntarily”. They are all members of the Association of Fashion Designers. We had the approval; but we had to find somewhere to sell. MUDO was the first place that came into our minds and met with MUDO. Why? Because MUDO is an important trademark, a firm with a large network and good quality; that is why we went to MUDO first. We shared this project with its executives and they said “why not; but we still need to see the collection”. The task became serious at that point.
UNDP Turkey: You gave the responsibility to designers in a sense.
G.S.: Yes, we told them and they designed clothes. Prototypes were made. It was a perfect collection…and we shared it with the sales officers of MUDO and they gave the first order for clothes. The scale of the order could not be underestimated and we started to understand the gravity of the task. We were really thrown by this actually.
UNDP Turkey: Women started producing and manufacturing.
G.S.: No; we questioned how to we were going to produce them all; because to keep a certain standard and a certain level of quality is not very easy. We knew about the existing conditions of ateliers and the women's skill levels there. Reaching that quality was very difficult. That is why we requested İTKİB’s support.
UNDP Turkey: İTKİB is the General Secretariat of Istanbul Textile and Apparel Exporters’ Association...
G.S.: We requested İTKİB to send its container to Batman; we chose Batmen because it is one of the cities where women intensively have problems and there is intensive poverty. Our project covers nine cities in Southeastern Anatolia Project. We do not need to list them, I guess everybody know them.
UNDP Turkey: It is a project containing poor cities of southeast – the poorest cities of Turkey.
G.S.: Actually not all of it is poor; you can easily exclude Antep. There is a container of İTKİB here too. They are very good at sewing training. That is a huge truck; they brought it to Batman and deployed it in the garden of ÇATOM in Batman. Everything started there. Everybody said “a business will be started up here”, although we did not tell anybody. We had interviews and chose 40 girls. They had training and then started to work at the atelier.
UNDP Turkey: You worked with many women and girls who earned money for the first time in their lives.
G.S.: I can tell their stories which are very sorrowful...
UNDP Turkey: We actually have limited time; we need to wrap up. You came to the factory phase from a simple atelier phase. Let us skip over this part and discuss what Argande is doing now?
G.S.: As of today, there is a trademark identity called Argande. If you search argande, you will find many results of our work.
UNDP Turkey: You will find hundreds of results. I would like to give a few examples; for instance, it is possible to find Argande on websites such as Markafoni, Trandyol.
G.S.: Products are sold at 15 MUDO branches.
UNDP Turkey: This is a project constituting an example and involving many innovations. There is the voluntary dimension. In the meantime, when you search on Google, you said Istanbul Fashion Week…
G.S.: We had a fashion show twice there. Let me tell you about these. The first was in February 2010 at Istanbul Fashion Week. the team of Istanbul Fashion Week supported Argande and there was a professional fashion show with the support of volunteers involving music, lights, models, and agencies. We need to thank each of them separately; but we do not have enough time.
UNDP Turkey: This is a project which reflects the hope and efforts of women from southeast. You can find Argande products at MUDO shops, everywhere in Turkey and on argande.com; and I know you have a wide spring-summer collection. Let us end our programme by highlighting this. Thank you very much for joining us Ms. Gönül Sulargil. Manager of Innovations for Women's Empowerment in Southeast Anatolia Region Project, Ms. Gönül Sulargil was our contributor. We have come to the end of the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This podcast has been recorded at studio of Radyo İlef of University of Ankara. You can follow our podcasts on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency, on university radios in our broadcasting network, or on the internet on undp.org.tr, on iTunes as podcast format, as well as on YouTube in video format. Our username on social media is undpturkiye. Hope to see you next week, good bye!
In this part, our topic is UN’s work in the field of enhancement of capacity of Turkey to adapt to climate change.
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. UNDP, which works for a more productive, healthier, more educated and greener future, has stories to tell you. In every part of the podcasts, we share selected stories of these activities of UNDP. In this part, our topic is UN’s work in the field of enhancement of capacity of Turkey to adapt to climate change. You may not have heard of UN Joint Programme, entitled Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change. This joint programme is aimed at integrating climate change adaptation capacity to Turkey’s policies, agendas and targets. Well, with regards to this, what has been done? Where does the money come from? We will discuss these with Mr. Atila Uras, Joint Programme Manager. Welcome!
Atila Uras (A.U.): Thank you!
UNDP Turkey: If you like, we shall discuss the joint project, entitled Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change and we know that this is financed by Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund. Let us start with talking about this dimension and the background of this project.
A.U.: Yes, actually, this is beyond being a project; is a joint programme. Here, we can say that this is a globally implemented programme, which tests the UN to see if it is moving as a unitary organization. In our programme, there are 4 UN agencies working on the same path.
UNDP Turkey: Which UN Agencies?
A.U.: First and foremost UNDP, as well as UNEP, UNIDO and FAO all work together.
UNDP Turkey: Country offices of these agencies meet and contribute to the programme. Meanwhile, you have different partners while running this programme, don’t you?
A.U.: Of course; because UN always works with public agencies. They work to actualize commitments to meet international agreements and a country’s needs, and to extend assistance in that direction. Thus, we should include not only the UN; but also ministries to this executive partners’ group. Especially the Ministry of Environment and Forestry is the focal point of climate change issues in Turkey; yet it is not possible to complete the frame without the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Ministry of Industry and Commerce. Certainly, beyond the entire group, the State Planning Organization is one of the important partners of our programme.
UNDP Turkey: You have been carrying out this programme with government agencies, NGOs, universities and other partners. We will touch upon this; but for now you can tell us if there is climate change in Turkey, as we have mentioned in the name of the programme; Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change. Can we proceed talking about this?
A.U.: Yes, we face the question of “is there actually climate change?”. We can describe climate change as follows; the climate always changes, it has always changed and will always change; but now, there is a human factor. That is, humans have accelerated recent climate cycles. When analyzed globally, we live in a fragile, small shell and while human beings consume it, the climate change issue is added as an extra difficulty. In this process, starting with use of fossil fuels by human beings since the industrial revolution, sunlight, which turns the Earth into a habitable place, cannot leave of the atmosphere. When it remains inside the atmosphere, the Earth becomes warmer just like a humid and warm greenhouse. This is why there is climate change. We all know this; drought in 2007-2008, floods in unexpected areas, extreme warmth, excessive rainfall and a decrease in the amount of snow are indicators of changes.
UNDP Turkey: These are outcomes of the situation. It is not only factors in Turkey that affect climate change here. What changes happened recently and which factors triggered climate change in Turkey?
A.U.: We are a developing country and there are prices of development. It is obvious that development efforts bring various environmental problems; but regarding climate change, problems caused by development are not the only cause of environmental problems. This is a process affecting social life, socio-economic life, economies and efforts for development. Turkey, certainly, has a role in it; because we need to improve our industry and agriculture, and produce energy for development. All of these have contributing effects to greenhouse gases; that means, we have a share in it too. When we evaluate the response, the IPSS, which is an international agency publishing technical reports, indicates that Mediterranean Region has a high ranking among the seriously affected regions. This means that a large part of Turkey remains in the mostly-affected regions. The Mediterranean Basin, and so Turkey, is among the seriously affected countries.
UNDP Turkey: Carbon dioxide emissions are assumed to be the primary reason of climate change. Are there any other reasons triggering it?
A.U.: Certainly there are other greenhouse gases. There are emissions of other gases which do not have the same effect as carbon dioxide. There are also serious emmissons from industrial activities, and also there are natural cycles. The axis of the Earth, proximity to the Sun, concessions in the orbit; but when they all happen together…
UNDP Turkey: Can increase in carbon dioxide emissions in Turkey trigger climate change in another country? Or how can climate change in a different place affect Turkey? Is it possible to see this happening?
A.U.: The wind, the tide, nature is not limited to borders. Things happen beyond borders. There are various ongoing cycles even if human beings did not exist. Climates change, ice ages may begin, masses may disappear; but there is a human factor now. What we do, in a sense, bad behaviors - for example; incorrect use of fossil fuels in the past in today’s developed countries – create global problems. Even though we stop carbon emissions, effects of climate change will continue for tens of years. That is why we talk about adaptation in addition to reduction.
UNDP Turkey: It highlights the necessity of global action and a global partnership rather than territorial partnership. Let us talk about things done in Turkey. I think one side of climate change adaptation is reduction and prevention of climate change. What has been done in Turkey, in this regard?
A.U.: Both reduction and adaptation go parallel to each other; you need to support international efforts with local works. Turkey has been shouldering a very active role in climate change negotiations for the past 2 years. Especially after it adhered to the Kyoto Protocol in 2009, this process accelerated and now it is very active in international processes. On the other hand, whatever we do now, we will still have to live with the effects of climate change for tens of years to come, as I have just mentioned.
UNDP Turkey: Even if carbon dioxide emissions now stop…
A.U.: Of course, even if it stops, we need to do something locally. We need to revise our development plans with regards to climate change. In order to do this, various actions from local ones to national ones are necessary.
UNDP Turkey: In this sense, what kind of common efforts did the UNJP have with the Turkish Government so far? And what are your other recently carried out projects?
A.U.: There are many adaptation projects, carried out within the joint programme. We can group these into 3 different categories. One is works at political level, meaning development of climate change adaptation strategy of Turkey with government agencies. We will have had the draft prepared within 1 month.
UNDP Turkey: Will the draft be prepared in 2011?
A.U.: Of course. We will have achieved this strategy.
UNDP Turkey: What will Turkey gain from this strategy?
A.U.: This strategy will draw our road map. We must have different actions in different places according to that road map; it is not very easy to have a national action plan. Effects of climate change even in the same province or in the same basin differ greatly.
UNDP Turkey: Are we talking about a strategy which touches upon reasons and on the other side outcomes?
A.U.: Of course. The strategy will determine the guidelines, and then there can be dimensions of the strategy for river basins, agriculture basins or territories of provinces. We must actualize the action plan with related financial resources.
UNDP Turkey: You will carry out this type of policy examples or road maps in different places of Turkey. In which basins or districts are you currently active?
A.U.: We worked in Seyhan River Basin as a pilot region; and we have been continuing this work. It predominantly composes 95 percent of Kayseri, Niğde and Adana. We worked towards 18 success stories in the basin as an example of struggle with different effects, in cooperation with various public agencies, universities and NGOs, within the context of the grant programme. We also work in other places in Turkey. Our sample works are related to water efficiency in Ankara and Bursa. We supported initiatives within the scope of communications and accessible analyses, for example, and the establishment of an action plan on climate change in Van. These are a few examples, we have many projects carried out in several places.
UNDP Turkey: You contribute to policy making and carry out sample projects… I should emphasize that this programme is funded by Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund, how do you receive this funding?
A.U.: Yes, Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund was a fund, extended to the UNDP by the Spanish Government at a global level.
UNDP Turkey: Are all of the expenses funded by this?
A.U.: Yes, the whole of the programme is financed by this fund. Of course, there were some ocular contributions from either grant programmes or cooperation with public agencies; because only one source is not enough. This is an over-all struggle, and we want and expect all sources of countries to be included and to sustain these efforts with resources of these countries.
UNDP Turkey: Thank you very much for your participation. Details can be found on www.iklimmdgf-tr.org. Today, Mr. Atila Uras, Manager of Enhancing the Capacity of Turkey to Adapt to Climate Change Joint Programme of the United Nations was our guest speaker. We have come to the end of the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This podcast has been recorded at the studios of Radio İLEF of University of Ankara. You can follow our podcast on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency or on the internet, as well as on YouTube in video format. Our username on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr is UNDP Türkiye. Hope to see you next week, goodbye!
In this episode, we will all discuss before and after of divulgation of these mountain ranges as national park. Why is this process important to Turkey; what does it mean in the international arena; and why is the United Nations Development Programme involved in it?
UNDP Turkey: Hello, this is the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. UNDP, which works for a more productive, healthier, more educated and greener future, has stories to tell you. In every part of the podcast, we share selected stories of these works of UNDP. Our thread is Küre Mountains National Park. We will all discuss before and after of divulgation of these mountain ranges as national park. Why is this process important to Turkey; what does it mean in the international arena; and why is the United Nations Development Programme involved in it? General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, the Department for Monitoring and Assessment of National Parks Branch Manager and Head of Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey, Mr. Mustafa Yılmaz and Mr. Yıldıray Lise, welcome. Mr. Lise is a qualified biologist and deputy manager in the same Management System. Mr. Lise, I would like to ask you my first question. When were Küre Mountains declared as a national park and why were the Küre Mountains chosen?
Yıldıray Lise (Y.L.): The Küre Mountains were announced as a national park as a result of a joint Project of FAO, UNDP and the Ministry of Forestry of that period in 1998, and then officially in 2000. One of the crucial reasons of its announcement as a national park is that it has natural values, with respect to its importance for both species it contains and the forest it nestles. It also has geological properties. There are many caves, canyons and waterfalls. In addition to these, there are cultural characteristics. While mentioning cultural characteristics, we should touch upon folklore, cuisine and architecture. In this framework, Küre Mountains were divulgated as a national park. However, one of the other crucial reasons was that there were international evaluations done all over Europe. 100 hot points in Europe were determined. 9 out of 100 are in Turkey. More specifically, 1 out of 9 is within the Küre Mountians National Park and these are the reasons of its divulgation as a national park.
UNDP Turkey: You represent the UNDP, UN side of the Project, and you represent the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Park, Mr. Yılmaz. I would like to ask you; Küre Mountains were inscribed as a national park; what are the contributions of this to the district and people; and what are your targets for the future?
Mustafa Yılmaz (M.Y.): We aimed for the divulgation of Küre Mountains as a national park, the protection of cultural values and natural resources in the framework of vision of national parks, and introducing usable resources at both local and national levels along with the aim of protection and creation of new income for people. If the locality contains values that have touristic value, then this will contribute to the increase in tourism. In this sense, Küre Mountains both increases our recognition in the international arena and raises the number of people visiting this place.
UNDP Turkey: Hot points were mentioned; what are they?
Y.L.: This was an evaluation done specifically in Europe. Forest protected areas and forests with high natural value, which needed to be urgently protected, were determined. 9 of them are in Turkey. Turkey, following Russia, is an important location regarding forest regions with many hot points. When analyzed, there are 9 hot points in many places from northeastern Turkey to Mediterranean. Protection of these places and implementation of sustainable policies were envisaged. Küre Mountains Range is one of the first protected areas in Turkey.
UNDP Turkey: We use hot point when referring to areas which need to be protected urgently. You have been involved in a process called PAN Park. Before touching upon this process, could you tell us a little bit of what PAN Park means and how Küre Mountains were included in this process?
M.Y.: PAN Park is a network which was created for both protection of natural values and use of these parks with the ideals of sustainable tourism by maintening the values of natural resources in many national parks in Europe. This is a network connecting protected areas and extending assistance in terms of managerial terms and prestige. Turkey was first nominated for this network with Küre Mountains National Park. This is a process starting with signing letters of intent. Within this process, of course there are criteria we need to accomplish and there is target of 2012. In 2012 we would like to accomplish the PAN Park Certificate. What will Küre Mountains gain with a PAN Park Certificate? First of all, we will gain prestige in the international arena to protect values of natural resources, we will also get international recognition and this enables us to easily reach a target audience, and this will support local people in the context of tourism due to the maintenance needs of such a network.
UNDP Turkey: You hope to accomplish this aim by 2012…
M.Y.: Yes, the process has already been going on. In 2010, we determined a road-map with related authorities. We will accomplish the process at national level in September or October in 2011; most probably we will accomplish the process with an international organization in May or September of 2012.
UNDP Turkey: It will be a protected area within P.A.N., PAN Parks, Protected Areas Network. Are there any other parks included in this network?
Y.L.: No, the first is Küre Mountains. Since 2006, the nomination process, we have specifically undertaken our activities for Küre Mountains in the framework of the Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System Project we have been carrying out with Ministry of Environment and Forestry, UNDP and World Wildlife Fund Turkey. The ultimate aim of our project is to enable the Küre Mountains National Park to become more recognized at international level with a PAN Park Certificate along with the criteria Mr. Yılmaz has already mentioned.
UNDP Turkey: There are 2 dimensions; the first is the environmental dimension – protection of that mountain range and areas which should be protected; and the other dimension is human. I think contribution to and development in the local economy are the highlighted aspects. The UNDP gets involved at this point. What was the reason of UNDP to get involved in the project?
Y.L.: Actually UNDP has been involved from the beginning of the formation of this project as I have just said. Divulgation of national parks is a project of FAO, UNDP and Ministry of Forestry of that period. Later on, there was a search for a project supported by GEF and it continued approximately 8-9 years; and finally we initiated the project in 2008. This means the executive is Ministry of Environment and Forestry; yet all procedures are done by UNDP. As you have said, maybe the most important factors of UNDP are that we have 80000 hectares of buffer zone surrounding the cornel area. UNDP has an active role in enabling rural activities and especially allowing women and other groups to get into these processes actively.
UNDP Turkey: We have been talking about one part of an extensive project during this programme. We shall analyze the larger scope of this project and clarify it, Mr. Yılmaz. What do you contribute to those areas by your visits in term of environment, people living in that district?
M.Y.: First of all, in order to use this area in an orderly way, there needs to be a plan specifically for that area. In this sense, a management plan, a management plan for visitors, a tourism strategy… If we cannot form the necessary infrastructure before we open up to the international markets, we face failure. We are now working to accomplish these. After accomplishment of these, local mutual cooperation will be initiated at a local level. Currently there are many people who operates guesthouses, who are interested in tourism and handcraft. However, if we do not have a sufficient system for marketing and supply chain, neither people nor natural resources are satisfied, because it will lead to unconscious use of resources. If you don’t have a specific aim, you start to damage resources after a certain period. Our aim is to prevent this and so we will have 4-5 different projects in the region. These are management of relations between values of natural resources and humans, relations between people and agriculture, and the management of wildlife such as the wild bear. We have projects to turn traditional cloths and the nature that they are inspired from into a trademark.
UNDP Turkey: Actually, the region is a region which is close to Istanbul and Ankara, thus it is in such a place that people can easily get to. What will a visitor find there; when they visit the national park, will they find a well-organized park?
Y.L.: Of course. After the start of our project, we founded visitor centers both on the Bartın side and the Kastamonu side of the park, and we have entrance points to the national park here as well. These are guide points for people visiting there. After completion of the management plan, an area guidance system will be implemented in the national parks in Turkey. Local people accompany visitors and tell them about the environment. In this framework, the first practices were conducted in 2002 in Küre Mountains. We had experience there and after approval and officialization of this plan, visitors will be able to hire hosts and have a detailed tour. Currently there is a well-organized structure both for accommodation and transportation.
UNDP Turkey: … and in the meantime, this place has started to attract interest of travel magazines, hasn’t it? It has been touched upon in many magazines and TV documentaries.
Guests: Yes, that's right.
UNDP Turkey: Can it be sustainable? After completion of this project, what do you think the system will be? Could you tell us a little bit more about this?
M.Y.: Sure. We, as the General Directorate of National Parks, aim to enable these projects to be sustainable. Because the biggest problem is that after completion of the project, envisaged targets and activities, according to local people, your accountability decreases. We, as the General Directorate, initiated a huge project for setting up a monitoring system in order to prevent this. We, as the General Directorate, determined the general methodology implemented in internationally protected areas. This year, we included 41 national parks in Turkey to be able to monitor their managerial activities in our business schedule. As a result of this, we clarify human resources in the national parks, what the conditions of monetary and financial sources are, and what contributions the project has to the region and to nature.
UNDP Turkey: So you are doing your best to make it sustainable. My last question, we have limited time. Which of the Millennium Development Goals do these accomplishments fit in to?
Y.L.: Specifically, it fits in to environmental dimension in the environmental sustainability. Yet, when we look closer, we should also address eradicating poverty; villagers living in the forests are in the poorest segment of Turkey. And we try to support them through sustainable resource practices and activities offering alternative income. Besides this, it is also important to look at water in the area. In the context of access to clean water, these accomplishments serve 3 other dimensions as well. I would like to mention one point for our audience and listeners, there is a web-site of Küre Mountains. They can read about every issue we have discussed related to the project and the area.
UNDP Turkey: You can see all the details on kdmp.gov.tr. I would like to thank you Mr. Mustafa Yılmaz, Forestry Engineer (M.A.), General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, the Department for Monitoring and Assessment of National Parks Branch Manager and Head of Enhancing Forest Protected Areas Management System in Turkey, and Mr. Yıldıray Lise, biologist and deputy manager in the same Management System. We have come to the end of the New Horizons Podcast of United Nations Development Programme Turkey. This podcast has been recorded at the studios of Radio İLEF of University of Ankara. You can follow our podcast on Açık Radyo (Open Radio) on FM frequency or on the internet, besides on YouTube in video format. Our username on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr is UNDP Türkiye. Hope to see you next week, goodbye!