Nature protection and biodiversity - Outlook 2020 (Turkey)

Due to the biological diversity value that rural areas possess, their socioeconomic characteristics and needs have a special importance in determining the principles of conservation and sustainable use. In Turkey, about 65 % of the population lives in cities and 35 % in the rural areas. However, it is estimated that another 5 % of the rural population has joined the urban population since 2000. This change in the structure of population is due both to the rapid urbanization and to migration from the village to the city.

Having regard to Turkey’s plant genetic diversity, the In-situ Conservation of Plant Genetic Diversity National Plan was adopted in 1998. The plan establishes legal, institutional and financial requirements for the in-situ conservation of the species that are important for agriculture, food, economy and culture (www.bcs.gov.tr). However, an effective system has not been developed for the in-situ conservation of agricultural genetic diversity due to gaps in the legislation and to insufficient infrastructure. There is a need for strengthening the infrastructure for ex-situ conservation.

Despite having rich agricultural genetic resources and other medical and aromatic plant genetic resources which offer a very important economical potential, Turkey can use the least of its current potential in improvement, cultivation and production due to insufficient financial resources and to gaps in the conservation program. Another aspect of this is the lack of legal and institutional mechanisms that will reexport to Turkey the benefits the other countries gain from the Turkish genetic resources.