The "Identification of Nitrate Sensitive Areas and Preparation of Action Plans" Project workshop and stakeholder meetings for the Mediterranean, Aegean and Marmara Regions will be held on November 8-12, 2021 at Otium Sealight Beach Resort in Kuşadası, Aydın.
The project, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF), General Directorate of Agricultural Reform (GDAR) and implemented by TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (MAM), started in 2018 and will be completed in June 2022. The project aims to identify Nitrate Sensitive Areas, which are defined as areas that are contaminated in terms of nitrate and/or likely to be contaminated in the near future, to implement region-specific measures in these regions according to the "Good Agricultural Practice Code" document given in the annex of the communiqué, and to conduct cost-benefit analyses of the measures to be implemented.
Within the scope of the project, cooperation is being made with many universities across the country. Among these universities, Ege University, Isparta University of Applied Sciences, Uludağ University, Çukurova University expert faculty members will share information about the study topics at the meeting.
The meeting started with opening speeches on November 8, 2021. The opening speeches were made by Dr. Selma Ayaz, TÜBİTAK MAM ÇTÜE Institute Director, Dr. Ali Kılıç Özbek, Head of Department of Agricultural Environment and Natural Resources Protection, Ahmet Ökdem, Aydın Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry, and Dr. Metin Türker, Deputy Director General of TOB GDAR.
The keynote speakers stated that the identification and control of diffuse pollutants, which have a great impact on pollution, is extremely important for the improvement and protection of the quality of water resources, and that the widespread agriculture and animal husbandry activities in our country increases the necessity of taking these pollutants into account. In this context, it was stated that very important studies are carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to protect our water resources against agricultural pollution.
On the first day of the meeting agenda, "Agricultural Pollution Control and Management Studies" was presented by Yusuf Gürbüz, MAF GDAR Working Group Officer; "Determination of Nitrate Sensitive Areas (Method and Results)" was presented by Dr. Mehmet Dilaver on behalf of TÜBİTAK MAM ÇTÜE Project Team and Prof. Dr. İrfan Yolcubal from Kocaeli University; Assoc. Dr. Mehmet Dilaver on behalf of the TÜBİTAK MAMT ÇTÜE Project Team and Prof. Dr. İrfan Yolcubal from Kocaeli University on "Identification of Nitrate Sensitive Areas (Methods and Results)", Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mert Dedeoğlu from Isparta University of Applied Sciences and Prof. Dr. Haydar Şengül from Çukurova University on "Preparation of Nitrate Action Plans and Cost-Benefit Analysis". The meeting will continue with the sections where Nitrate Sensitive Areas, Action Plans and Cost-Benefit Analyses identified for the basins of the Aegean Region, Mediterranean Region and Marmara Region will be evaluated at the village scale together with the TOB Project Team, TÜBİTAK MAM Project Team, expert faculty members of the collaborating universities and meeting participants.
The meeting is being held with the participation of approximately 240 people from the central and provincial organizations of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Universities and Non-Governmental Organizations.
