Kadir Çokçetin, General Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Nature Conservation and National Parks (DKMP), told the AA correspondent that Türkiye has a significant biodiversity richness on a world scale, thanks to its different geographical regions, climate characteristics and different ecosystems.
Emphasizing that transferring this wealth to future generations requires the protection and effective management of natural assets in the light of scientific data, Çokçetin said, "With this understanding, we started the 'Red List of Living Things of Turkey' study last year in cooperation with our General Directorate and the Nature Conservation Center, in order to protect Türkiye's biological diversity, identify endangered species and base conservation efforts on scientific data." he said.
Çokçetin pointed out that the red list is one of the most comprehensive global conservation assessment systems that reveals the risk of extinction of species worldwide in line with scientific criteria, and stated that with these studies, the distribution of species, their population status and the threats they face are systematically evaluated according to expert opinions.
"It is aimed to be completed by the end of 2028"
Çokçetin informed that one of the important outputs of the red list studies is the "Red List Index", which allows monitoring the status of biological diversity over time by years, and continued as follows:
"In the process of creating Türkiye's national red lists, we take as basis the internationally accepted International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) criteria. In the studies carried out by expert teams, working teams were formed under the headings of endemic and rare plants, birds, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles and mammals, and coordinators, core teams and field experts were determined for each living group. In the first stage, rapid evaluations were carried out based on IUCN criteria in order to create Turkey's national red lists. In the second stage, IUCN criteria were carried out for the species. "The forms were prepared and the results were transferred to the relevant system of IUCN. This stage aims to reveal the conservation status of the species not only in Türkiye but also on a regional and global scale. It is aimed to complete the evaluations of all living groups by the end of 2028."
Kadir Çokçetin stated that during the preparation of the list, existing information about the species, such as scientific literature, field records and data in museum collections, was brought together, and the habitats, distribution, population status and current threats of the species were evaluated with the data.
"We will continue our work for a rich ecosystem"
Stating that the creation of the red list will provide a long-term scientific data infrastructure for the protection and sustainable management of the country's biological diversity, Çokçetin said:
"We aim that the results to be obtained will make significant contributions to determining conservation priorities, developing conservation actions for threatened species, identifying sensitive habitats and ecosystems, planning and management of protected areas, and reporting studies to be carried out within the scope of international agreements. Within the scope of our studies, we have identified a total of 6 thousand species, including 5 thousand 676 species in vascular plants, 387 species in birds, 174 species in mammals, 32 species in amphibians, 146 species in reptiles and 385 species in butterflies." Red list evaluations have been made for 800 species. Approximately 67 percent of the evaluated species are in the threat categories, 22 percent of these endangered species are in the critical category, 14 percent are in the endangered category, and 31 percent are in the sensitive category. By further strengthening our understanding of conservation based on scientific data, we will continue our work with determination to protect Turkey's unique biological diversity and leave a healthy, resilient and rich ecosystem to future generations.
"We think we have completed an important gap"
Uğur Zeydanlı, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Nature Conservation Center, stated that while carrying out the study, they evaluated the species in the country using the methodology developed by IUCN and created danger categories accordingly.
Stating that the information in question can be used for conservation work or use of natural resources in any region, Zeydanlı emphasized that by looking at this guide, the danger category of the species there can be evaluated and precautions can be taken accordingly.
Zeydanlı reminded that red list studies have been carried out for many years and that the most comprehensive initiative was related to plants in 2000 and made the following evaluation:
"The study covering all groups was carried out for the first time. We are talking about 6,800 species, in fact, we think we have completed an important gap. Of course, we are not completing this study here. This was a preliminary assessment. We are continuing a comprehensive study in which we produce almost 10-15 pages of documentation for each species. We reveal the population status of a species, its biological reproductive capacity, its capacity to multiply, spread or contract. We look at the current threats. Where and for which species should we take conservation action as a priority? "In terms of new species, we can come across species that have not been recorded before in our country. The situation with plants is different. New species are constantly being discovered. I hope we can continue to increase them without decreasing them."
Emphasizing that nearly 300 academicians and experts from almost every university in Türkiye supported the study, Zeydanlı stated that the protection of biological diversity is an issue that needs to be addressed collectively.
Zeydanlı pointed out that both citizens and public institutions have responsibilities and said, "Fishing, forestry, agricultural institutions, energy, mining and industrial institutions must all work together on this issue and strive to protect our nature." he said.
