The Closing Workshop of the TUBITAK 1007 program supported "DİPTAR" Project on Marine Dredging Applications and Environmental Management of Dredging Material, carried out by TÜBİTAK MAM ÇTÜE, was successfully held on 16-17 November 2016 at the Green Park Hotel in Ankara.
The results of the project were shared with stakeholder institutions and organizations in the 2-day event, which consisted of oral and poster presentations and panel sessions attended by stakeholders consisting of the relevant general directorates of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and public and private sector representatives.
Opening speeches were delivered by Dr. Selma Ayaz, Director of MAM ÇTÜE Institute. Prof. Dr. Selma Ayaz, Director of MAM ÇTÜE Institute and Mr. Recep Akdeniz, Deputy General Manager from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. Recep Akdeniz from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. After the introduction of the project by the project manager Dr. Leyla Tolun (MAM ÇTÜE), project partners Assist. Prof. Dr. Ahsen Yüksek (IU DBIE) and Prof. Dr. Süleyman Tuğrul (METU DBIE), project work package managers Dr. Merve Başar (MAM ÇTÜE), İbrahim Tan (MAM ÇTÜE) and Dr. Sönmez Dağlı (MAM ÇTÜE) and university faculty members supporting the project made detailed presentations about the project for two days.
The speakers informed the participants about the management process of dredging material, determination of suitable discharge and land disposal areas, environmental impact monitoring strategies, model applications, decision support system developed and the results obtained on alternatives for the beneficial use of dredging material, international beneficial use applications and dredging equipment-technologies.
Prior to the panel discussion on the last day of the workshop, the draft regulation on the sustainable management of marine dredging material being prepared by the MoEU was shared with stakeholders. During the panel, stakeholders' questions about the project and the draft regulation were answered and their opinions were evaluated.
DIPTAR Project:
With the increase in maritime activities, the need to dredge the sediment layer accumulated over time in ports, marinas and river mouths in the coastal areas of our country and to deepen these places has increased significantly. "(111G036)(T1007) Marine Dredging Practices and Environmental Management of Dredging Material (DIPTAR)" The project was initiated on 01 October 2013 with the support of TÜBİTAK KAMAG 1007 Program in order to meet the need for the management of dredging activities and dredging material in line with the principles of sustainable use without harming the ecosystem and human health. Within the scope of the DİPTAR project, which was realized with the partnership of TÜBİTAK MAM ÇTÜE, METU DBE and IU DBIE, it was aimed to provide the necessary data and information for the principles that will form the basis of the "National Draft" regulation being prepared by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, taking into account the EU criteria.
For this purpose, protocols and guidelines on dredged material management were reviewed and sediment characteristics (physical, chemical and biological) of 15 pilot sites selected from the Turkish coast under the pressure of different human activities were determined. A "dredged material management process" was designed and tested in these areas, where dredged material disposal/land disposal and beneficial use options were evaluated together.
For the discharge of uncontaminated dredging material into the sea, taking into account the different oceanographic characteristics of our seas, 60 suitable discharge areas were identified, and for the evaluation of disposal alternatives, landfills and abandoned stone/mineral quarries suitable for the storage of dredging material were identified in 15 pilot regions. A web-based decision support system to record dredging and dumping activities and facilitate dredging material management decisions was also designed within the scope of the project.
For the beneficial use of dredging material; the use of this material as filling material in highways, as fine and coarse aggregate in concrete, as improved surface soil in landscaping applications and as daily intermediate cover, impermeable layer, top cover formation in landfills, provided that it is subjected to various pre-treatments, has been examined technically and environmentally with laboratory-scale studies. In addition, laboratory-scale washing-sieving experiments were carried out and a pretreatment plant was theoretically designed to include the management of the resulting wastewater. A cost analysis of the dredging activity and the alternatives of discharge to sea, land disposal and beneficial use of the dredged material was carried out.
We would like to thank TUBITAK Public Research Research Group (KAMAG) for supporting the project and the Beneficiary Institution, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, for their support, believing in the importance of the project for our country.
