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Turkey coastline and islands. © Akdeniz Koruma Derneği

Turkey coastline and islands. © Akdeniz Koruma Derneği

Boosting climate change resilience by restoring marine ecosystem connectivity in south-west Türkiye

Project
Project lead: Dr Peter Richardson

Fauna & Flora is working with Turkish partner, Akdeniz Koruma Derneği (AKD), to create marine protected areas along Türkiye’s Mediterranean coastline.

Our work in south-west Türkiye

Türkiye’s seas are home to a wealth of wildlife including Mediterranean monk seals, sandbar sharks and dusky groupers. Our partner AKD works with communities and the Turkish government to create and expand marine protected areas (MPAs) along the coastline. To reduce the threat of destructive and illegal fishing in the MPAs and enable protection, AKD coordinates patrols, closely monitors populations of important species such as the endangered Mediterranean monk seal and conducts research assessing the health of key habitats such as seagrass. Additionally, they work to develop nature-positive enterprises to promote the consumption of invasive species as climate-resilient food and support local fishing cooperatives to record fish catch and monitor fish stocks.

Watch: how the work of Fauna & Flora and partners is helping marine species and fishing communities

Project goals

This work involves:

  • Working with fishers to regulate fishing, remove incentives for illegal activity, and ensure that those who operate within the law can benefit from their marine resources.
  • Helping threatened species and marine habitats to recover by increasing the resilience of marine ecosystems.
  • Enabling fish stocks to recover, thus improving small-scale fisher livelihoods and increasing the availability of prey for marine predators.
  • Exploring, evaluating and introducing revenue streams that promote sustainable natural resource use by local stakeholders while diversifying livelihoods.
  • Working with local people and government to expand the network of marine protected areas along approximately 700 km of coastline, including designation and active protection of full no-fishing zones.
© Kieran Murray / Fauna & Flora

© Kieran Murray / Fauna & Flora

Project timeline

    Zafer Kizilkaya © Goldman Environmental Prize

    Zafer Kizilkaya © Goldman Environmental Prize

    2023

    Zafer Kızılkaya, president of AKD, wins Goldman Environmental Prize.

    2022

    Fauna & Flora and AKD’s project in Türkiye showcased as a flagship project of the UN Decade of Habitat Restoration.

    © Michelangelo Pignani / Fauna & Flora

    © Michelangelo Pignani / Fauna & Flora

    2021

    AKD launches nature-positive enterprise promoting invasive species trading to support local livelihoods.

    2020

    Turkish government formally expands its marine protected area network by 350 km2, including new no-fishing zones.

    Mediterranean monk seal. © Zafer Kizilkaya

    Mediterranean monk seal. © Zafer Kizilkaya

    2020

    First use of man-made ledge for pupping by a female monk seal following cave habitat restoration work.

    2019

    Inception of the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, which significantly expanded conservation efforts and monitoring along 700 km of Türkiye’s coastline.

    2013

    Zafer Kızılkaya, president of AKD, wins Whitley Gold Award.

    Surveying Gökova Bay, Türkiye © Zafer Kizilkaya

    Surveying Gökova Bay, Türkiye © Zafer Kizilkaya

    2012

    Fauna & Flora and AKD establish partnership and begin work in Gökova Bay.

Partners

This project is delivered in partnership with Akdeniz Koruma Derneği (AKD) and the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

Donors

We are grateful for financial support from the Endangered Landscapes & Seascapes Programme, managed by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and funded by Arcadia (a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin) for this project.

Safeguarding our seas

With support from Fauna & Flora, our Turkish partners have made great strides in protecting a vital seascape and the wildlife that depends on it.

Help us to restore the Mediterranean’s Turquoise Coast to its former glory, together.

Donate today

Dr Peter Richardson

Senior Technical Specialist (Marine), Eurasia

Peter leads the team currently coordinating Fauna & Flora’s marine protected area work with partners in São Tomé & Príncipe and Türkiye, with ambition to develop more marine conservation initiatives in the Eurasia region. Peter has worked on ocean recovery for over 34 years, with a focus on community-based conservation and management of sea turtles and their habitats in Greece, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean, as well as marine protected area designation and management in the UK. 

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