The Gediz Delta in Turkey is one of the pilot sites monitored and coordinated by the Tour du Valat and its local partners (cf. newsletter N°7). In mid November, the Tour du Valat hosted its partners, technicians and local decision makers from the Gediz Delta to work together on the next five-year management plan for this site.
Following their mission in Turkey in April 2011, the Tour du Valat’s experts welcomed to the Camargue stakeholders involved in the Gediz Delta Management Plan: the Vice Governor of Izmir, two representatives from the Ankara and Izmir National Parks Agency (under the authority of the Ministry of the Forest), two representatives from Ege University, two representatives from the NGO Doga Dernegi (Birdlife), two representatives from the Izkus nature reserve, and the Director of the salt works.
This mission aimed to get decision makers involved in the preparation of the 2012 management plan, and to share experiences and put in place a participative work programme. On this occasion, the partners met several stakeholders such as the Camargue Regional Natural Park and the PACA region (elected representatives, international affairs officials, and Biodiversity direction) to exchange information about how they work, and to build new partnerships.
The Tour du Valat provided technical and methodological support and advice for the drafting of the five-year management plan for 2012-2017 for the Gediz Delta, which is comparable in many ways to the Camargue. The priorities listed include the integrated management of water resources, eco-tourism, and the restoration of habitats that have disappeared or are currently disappearing.