The Planning and Management in the Sustainability of Protected Areas: Kayseri Sultan Sazligi

Abstract

The conservation of biodiversity on which the processes of rapid urbanization and industrialisation creating pressure is concerned as an important issue that might be handled with international efforts. The conservation of biodiversity that consists of ecosystems, species diversity and genetic diversity, principally uses the in-situ and ex-situ conservation methods. This paper aims to evaluate the planning and management process of protected areas (natural sites, national parks, wetlands and protected areas) in Turkey through the Sultan Sazligi (Kayseri) case and to argue the opportunities for effective conservation of biodiversity and probability of sustainable targets for Turkish natural heritage. The RAPPAM (Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Area Management) and METT (Management Effectiveness Tracking Tool Method) methods are used in the study to determine the problems related to the aims and the targets in planning and management of protected areas, institutional structure, planning authority, legal framework, sustainable development strategies, participatory planning approaches and conservation practices. At the final evaluation, the main problems are observed as the disruption of natural water cycle in wetland ecosystem, the ecological pollution caused by the unplanned developments and touristic activities, the fragmented and partial institutional structure on the management and planning of the protected areas, the lack of the common sense among the different sectors to achieve the integrated conservation aims, insufficient economic subsidies, the deficiency in experience and technology transfer, inef-ficient personnel and technical opportunity for monitoring and controlling the process and activities.