Veysel Eroğl Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9G U

Minister of Environment and Forestry Telephone 020-3353 2000

Republic of Turkey Ministry of Environment and Forestry guardian.co.uk
Söğütözü Cad.
No:14/E Beştepe 06560
Yenimahalle - ANKARA
Turkey

October 5, 2010

Dear Minister of Environment and Forestry,

I am writing on behalf of the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom and our readers
worldwide to ask you to consider a proposal for protecting Turkey’s biodiversity.

The action has been proposed by our online readers and developed by professional scientists. It
is based by scientific evidence.

We believe it will both protect important species and habitat and send a clear signal to the
negotiations at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP10 in Nagoya later this month
that the decisive, concrete actions can and must be taken to halt the alarming decline in global
biodiversity.

Our campaign, Biodiversity 100, has identified 26 achievable actions in a number of countries
and has the support of the international scientific community. We are sharing our proposals with
journalists around the world, who will be able to measure the success of their national and local
governments in implementing the actions we have put forward. For more details of the
campaign please go to guardian.co.uk/biodiversity100.

The specific proposal we request that you consider is to develop a new ecologically based water
policy (more details below).

We kindly request you to react publicly to our recommendation, both through national media
and through your statements to the CBD COP10 plenary. We also urge you to consider
including our proposed action when you revise your National Biodiversity Strategy and Action
Plan after COP10.

As a major international media outlet with a global audience, the Guardian takes seriously its
responsibility to report on the planet’s biodiversity crisis. We would be very keen to hear back
from you about your country’s efforts to protect the natural environment and, especially, to hear
of your reaction to our proposal.
Yours Sincerely,

Alan Rusbridger
Editor-in-Chief
The Guardian
CC: H.E. Mr. Vakur Gökdenizler, Ambassador/Permanent Representative
Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive secretary, CBD

Water Policy
Action: Develop a new, ecologically based water policy for Turkey

Description: Turkey is in the process of more than tripling the number of hydropower dams
it has from 500 to over 2000 by 2023 with 145 currently under construction. Most of these will
remove 90% of the water from river beds. Multiple dams are planned for individual streams and
rivers, including a record 32 for one stream in Solakli. All watersheds will be affected.
Conservationists argue this is happening with little regard to the ecological value of river and
riverbank ecosystems, such as fish and plant species. They say there is an urgent need to
develop a scientifically based water policy based on watershed planning that weighs ecological,
economical, cultural, and socio-political costs and benefits of each dam before construction.

Evidence: A report by the Organisation of Environmental Cooperation and Development on

the environmental performance of Turkey says: “Some parts of Turkey’s rich biodiversity are
threatened ...This is largely due to the effects of tourism, urbanisation, industrial and agricultural
developments, as well as those of major infrastructure projects in rural areas.” Nuray Akbulut’s
book on the Rivers of Europe describes the effects of one previous dam construction project:
“The Yesilırmak river has changed dramatically in recent years as a result of the construction of
hydroelectric power plants. There are currently two major dams in operation, both
commissioned in 1979. The lower dam is 40km from the sea. It is not equipped with a fish
bypass, and therefore limits the upstream migration of sturgeons.”
In 1991, the sediment discharge rate of Turkish rivers to the Black Sea was 28m tonnes per
year, less than half the level before the construction of large dams near the mouths of the Yesil
Irmak and Kizil Irmak Rivers. These sediments are critical for creating wildlife-rich river deltas. The
current building spree will also have a similar dramatic effect.

For the full version of this text with links to scientific papers, please visit the Biodiversity 100 site:
guardian.co.uk/biodiversity100