LECTURE by NIHAT GOKYIGIT, "BIOLOGICAL RICHNESS of TURKEY"

DATE: Sunday, February 18, 2007

   Nihat Gokyigit is one of Turkey's foremost proponents of conservationism and appreciation of national ecological diversity. He co-founded TEMA (the Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion and the Protection of Forests and Natural Habitats). As its chairman, he is responsible for organizing and activating projects directed at the conservation of biological diversity in Turkey. Amongst those projects are the Macahel rural development, which at the world summit of Johannesburg won him a business award, a fifty hectare botanic garden in memoriam of his wife, and involvement in landscaping design for the Istanbul Olympic Park.

   Crucial to the success of these larger projects is awareness and education. Mr. Gokyigit is not shy to take that work into his own hands. On February 18, 2007, he shared a few presentations at Turkish Cultural Center. Subjects included Turkey's biodiversity, the dangers faced by that biodiversity, and action which must be taken to protect the environment.

   Turkey is home to a wide variety of ecosystems. Set in the middle of three continents, under the influence of Mediterranean, Euro-Siberian, and Irano-Turinain plant-geographical regions, and to Mediterranean, Oceanic, and Continental climates. These concomitances provide for a unique and flourishing variegation of combined subclimates. Just to give an idea of this diversity's impressive statistics, consider that England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, though about fifty times larger than Istanbul, has 25 percent less native vascular plant species. The entirety of Europe has approximately 545 bird species, while turkey alone has 386. If Turkey were to join the European Union, the biological diversity of the continent would double.

   Mr. Gokyigit wants people to be aware of this “natural treasure” for another reason: it is in danger.  In order to ensure it isn't jeopardized, he has to make people aware of the troubles that threaten its preservation.  He guides his work with principles of civil and ecological concern, certain that without such principles, we cannot hope to be able to deal with the issues at hand and struggles ahead.

   Mr. Gokyigit is also a man of culture. With the hopes of carrying over those principles of civil union and cooperation to the arts, he founded the Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra in 1992. As many as 23 countries from the Caspian, Mediterranean, and Black sea areas are represented in the orchestra. Complementing their classical repertory is an array of new and traditional music from the region, especially pieces that give soloists the opportunity to perform on instruments from their home countries.

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