The General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks (DKMP), affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, treated 11 animals last year in 11 rehabilitation centers established to support wildlife, allowing them to return to their natural habitats.
Turkey has a rich biological diversity as it has 3 different plant geographies: Europe-Siberia, Mediterranean and Iran-Turan.
Turkey, which has 36 of the 3 hot spots in the world, has an endemism rate of 30 percent. The General Directorate of DKMP also works to protect the rich diversity in question and to increase the welfare of all living things in line with the principle of sustainability.
Among the wild animals living in Turkey, mammals, birds and reptiles are determined and listed under the Land Hunting Law. These lists are updated periodically and the animal species to be protected are reviewed during these updates.
Accordingly, there are currently 154 mammal, 490 bird and 140 reptile species living in Turkey. In the biodiversity inventory studies, close to 19 thousand invertebrate animal species and close to 11 thousand plant species were recorded.
Conservation Work on 1,2 Million Hectare Area
For the continuity of the species in question, in-situ conservation studies are carried out scientifically called "in-situ". In this context, the protection and development of endangered species is of great importance for the biodiversity of the country. In order to protect these species, 1 wildlife development areas with an area of 165 million 447 thousand 85 hectares have been declared, and it is aimed to increase the number of target species in these areas.
Species such as wild goat, Anatolian wild sheep, deer, roe deer, fallow deer, bald ibis, black vulture and gazelle are under protection in these areas, which are declared for different species.
The General Directorate establishes breeding stations for some species in order to support wild animals. Species such as red deer, fallow deer, gazelle, Anatolian wild sheep, Hatay mountain gazelle and bald ibis are produced in these areas. There are 12 mammal and 9 poultry breeding stations and 3 trout breeding stations in total. By the end of 2022, there are 165 fallow deer, 624 wild sheep, 145 red deer, 249 gazelle and 288 bald ibis at the breeding stations.
In addition to production activities, wildlife support and rehabilitation activities are also carried out. Studies in 11 wildlife rehabilitation centers established throughout Turkey are carried out in cooperation with the veterinary faculties of universities. As of the end of last year, 17 of the 772 wild animals that were injured for various reasons in nature were treated and rehabilitated, and left to their natural environment.
Species Conservation Action Plan Studies
Species conservation action plans are also being prepared to protect endangered species. This plan provides the link between the current state of an endangered species and the desired future state, and defines the actions to be taken to reach the future state.
In the study initiated in 2013 to prepare these plans, priority species were determined with the participation of all stakeholders, and strategies implemented in 5-year periods were put into practice.
The work on preparing action plans was completed for 2019 species at the end of 100. The action plans prepared since this date are being revised within the framework of a new methodology with a project prepared within the scope of the European Union supported IPA program. While 40 of the action plans prepared as of August this year will continue to be implemented, population monitoring studies will be carried out on 65 species.