Workshop In Turkey on Water Management and Ecosystem Services

The “Water Management and Ecosystem Services” Workshop was organized on 10-11 May 2018 in Ankara. More than 100 participants from nearly 60 institutions including public authorities, the private sector, universities, municipalities and non-governmental organizations attended the workshop. The workshop focused on ecosystem services as a management tool in water management. During the working group session, main water-related problems in the sectors dependent on water as well as possible nature-based solutions that could be implemented in Turkey, potential actors and collaborations were discussed.

The workshop brought together several actors from the agriculture, forestry, industry, energy, nature conservation and drinking and potable water sectors. It was organized under the auspices of the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs General Directorate of Water Management, the coordination of the Nature Conservation Centre (DKM) and the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Business Council for Sustainable Development Turkey and Sustainable Water Future Programme.

Several national stakeholders attended the workshop, including Dr. Bülent Selek (General Director of Water Management), Ms. Hatice Dinç Sarısoy (IDeputy General Director of DKM), Dr. Chris Dickens (Head of the South African Regional Office of the International Water Management Institute).

Along with national stakeholders, the workshop was also attended by high-level representatives of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), New York Metropolitan Municipality Department of Environmental Protection and ICATALIST. Successful case studies of ecosystem and nature based water management practices and projects from countries such as South Africa, Switzerland, the UK, Netherlands, Kenya, Nepal, Colombia and the United States were also shared during the two-day workshop.

Click here for more information on the content of the workshop.