Keeping things in place

One of the many challenges of working in nature conservation in Turkey is that we still don’t really know what we have where, Hilary highlighted, adding: “Just nine years ago I was part of a team that found a new breeding bird species for Turkey, the Spectacled Warbler. Up until then it was considered a rarely seen migrant. When you consider that birds are probably the best-known wildlife group, it’s hard even to imagine the butterfly surprises awaiting!”

“There’s still a great deal we simply don’t know,” she emphasized. “We can’t be sure how many species there are because taxonomists haven’t yet discovered a way to identify all of them. But we do know that, for a temperate country, Turkey is extremely rich in species, the only comparable country in our part of the world, perhaps anywhere, being Iran. Both countries have around 380 species, that’s about 100 species more than any single country in Europe. Of Turkey’s 380, at least 43 species are endemic; in other words, they occur nowhere else.”

So are any of them threatened? “Since the 1980s, Red Lists -- which identify and categorize threatened species -- have been developed by scientists and managed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature [IUCN],” she explained. “On their global list of threatened butterflies there are nine species which occur in Turkey. Of these nine only one, the Mesopotamian Blue [Polyommatus dama] is endemic to Turkey, and it’s very rare.

“But we know there are around 43 endemic butterflies in Turkey, plus many which are very rare but not endemic,” she highlighted. So how do we know that none of these are threatened? “We don’t. To identify which species might be in trouble what we really need is a Regional Red List which identifies the Turkish priorities. With this aim in mind, the NGO I work with -- the DKM -- supported by funding from the Dutch government’s BBI-Matra program, has been collecting information, seeking international expert advice and assessing Turkey’s butterflies species by species in order to develop a draft Turkish Red List. We plan to launch the list for consultation very soon.”

The case of the Mesopotamian Blue

So why are some butterflies endangered? “The Mesopotamian Blue, for example, was last assessed by the IUCN 10 years ago and classified as endangered because it occurs in very small numbers on uncultivated steppe at only one or two locations in the southeast of Turkey,” she underlined. “The main threat it faces, which is the same for almost every threatened -- or even not yet threatened -- butterfly in Turkey, is loss of habitat. The uncultivated steppe where it occurs is, bit by bit, being converted to gardens and farmland, or lost to road widening and building developments.”

“All over Turkey natural areas are being destroyed, all too often without any consideration given to what we’re losing -- forever -- with each development,” she lamented. “I find mining particularly worrying as it is changing whole landscapes, removing entire mountains, and now there is a proliferation of new developments with low-carbon energy schemes -- for hydroelectric, wind and solar power. Of course, these alternative forms of energy are needed, but we must consider what is best to do where. Destroying valuable natural habitats and unique biodiversity in the process is shooting ourselves in the foot. “

Is there any way to limit that kind of damage done to the environment? “High quality, independent and obligatory environmental impact assessments [EIAs] for every major development would help a lot. EIAs would not and should not stop developments, but they would ensure that the best and most appropriate technology is delivered with least damage to the natural environment and local people’s livelihoods. Without an intact environment, no amount of low-carbon energy schemes will provide us with the resilience we need to survive the effects of climate change.”

Hilary realizes the enormity of the task in hand. “Almost everywhere we’ve now damaged our environment and life support system so extensively that in order to conserve it effectively, we need to understand it first,” she explained. “Gone are the days of putting a fence round the bits we like the most and expecting them to look after themselves. Actually, we could have a long discussion about whether that ever really worked. The smaller and more fragmented the areas of natural habitat and wildlife populations become, the more vital ‘understanding’ is as an essential part of the rescue package and the more expensive nature conservation becomes. The Mesopotamian Blue is now so rare that we could lose it before we even know which plant its caterpillars eat, indeed before we even know what its caterpillars look like. Even if someone gave us the money to conserve it tomorrow, I’m not sure we’d know how best to spend it. “

Nature conservation is all about long-term commitment

Many of us are aware of the need for conservation, but is there a real difference between “conservation” and “protection”? Then, assuming you’ve decided what needs doing, how do you achieve that?

“There is a difference between the two: Protection is passive, and conservation is more active,” Hilary underlined, and went on to explain: “When you have large areas of natural habitat and good populations of the species you are concerned about, protection -- putting a fence round it -- may be enough and is relatively easy. As long as there is ‘enough’ habitat in ‘good’ condition and populations are large ‘enough’ and with ‘enough’ genetic exchange to be self-sustaining, you need do no more than protect. The protected areas network in Turkey was established on this non-intervention protection model. The problem is defining the values of ‘enough’ and ‘good.’ When the day comes that the protected areas have become islands in a man-modified landscape, will they be large enough to be self-sustaining, to survive?”

“Conservation, on the other hand, is more active, more expensive, needs more expertise and is necessary when you no longer have ‘enough’ and what you have is no longer in ‘good’ condition,” she explained. “If you don’t want to lose what is left, you will have to intervene. The problem is that if you didn’t understand the relationships between species and habitats in the first place, how can you know how to help them survive? This may be the point we are at with the Mesopotamian Blue.”

Funding is, of course, crucial to conservation work. “Assuming you do know what needs to be done, you will need the money to do it. Funding is always hard to find, often restricted to specific topics or regions and for a finite period of time. Major funding comes from international bodies like the EU and the UNDP [United Nations Development Programme], governments and embassies [the Dutch government has a particularly good record of supporting conservation in Turkey] and business; for me, Garanti and the BTC [Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan] Pipeline Company stand out in Turkey for their long support. It seems to me that they have either recognized that nature conservation is all about long-term commitment, or they recognize that a good environmental image can be good for business. Either is a small step forward.”

There are many NGOs active in Turkey, internationally, nationally and locally, each doing what they can for nature conservation. “However, what’s missing is a technically sound national strategy based on reliable scientific data and a coordinated approach,” she underlined. “That’s why, in 2004, together with Turkish friends and colleagues, we founded the DKM. The DKM aims to provide the sound science and strategic approach needed to identify conservation priorities in Turkey and to work together with others to implement conservation action.

“Much of our work at present is focused on developing a technically sound basis for conservation action,” she went on, adding: “We take the results of work done by others, add our own new and systematically collected data, analyze it all -- usually by mapping it in layers in GIS [a geographic information system] on the computer -- and identify not simply the most important areas to be conserved, but those areas where conservation can be achieved most cheaply, effectively and will bring the most benefits to local people. This is a very different way of setting priorities from the species-driven approach used in most of the rest of the world. For us, species are one layer in a complex matrix of variables and options. But that doesn’t mean they’re a low priority. Far from it.”

So what’s the next step for the DKM? “Now that we have the butterfly Red List, the DKM is committed to developing a conservation strategy for butterflies. That will consider how we are going to ensure we don’t lose any of our 380 species in the years to come. And that will include the Mesopotamian Blue. We want to keep it where it is.”