Doğa Derneği

Description

Doğa Derneği is a Turkish nature conservation association that works to understand and protect the diversity of life. It was founded in 2002 and describes itself as defending the rights of nature, covering both birds and biodiversity generally. Membership is open to anyone regardless of language, religion, ethnicity or political view, drawing students, villagers, researchers, artists, travelers and birdwatchers.

The organization is the Turkish partner of BirdLife International and a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. With an international team of scientists it developed the Important Nature Areas methodology, publishing results in 2004 and a book on Turkey’s priority conservation sites in 2006; the IUCN later adopted the method as an international standard. In 2004 it launched eKuşBank, Turkey’s first systematic online portal for bird and nature observations, which became part of the global eBird database in 2015 through a partnership with Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology.

Doğa Derneği runs conservation projects at priority sites including Lake Burdur, Hasankeyf, Istanbul, the Gediz Delta, the Urfa steppes, Central Anatolia, the Eastern Black Sea Mountains, Seferihisar, Antakya and Beypazarı. Its Target Zero Extinction campaign has worked to prevent the disappearance of species such as the northern bald ibis, gazelles, flamingos, endemic plants, striped hyenas, brown bears and vultures. These efforts combine scientific fieldwork, advocacy and partnerships with local communities.

In 2010 the organization prepared a conservation strategy for the whole Mediterranean Basin and supported indigenous groups in the Amazon and neighboring countries in their environmental struggles. Its international campaign to have Hasankeyf recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site led the governments of Germany, Austria and Switzerland to withdraw support for the Ilısu Dam project, which would have flooded the town. The association also founded the Seferihisar Nature School to pass on traditional knowledge of living in harmony with nature.