Country Landscape/Protection And Planning

Abstract

After the 1990s in our country, the adoption of Master Plans for protected areas gained momentum, importance was attached to the preparation of Long-Term Development Plans (UDGP) for all protected areas, and in July 2000, the Long-Term Development Plan Office Coordinatorship of the General Directorate of National Parks and Hunting and Wildlife was established to complete the planning works and to start implementing. As of this date, tenders have been opened to private sector organizations and universities for the preparation of UDGP for 33 areas. We have a total of 48 National Parks (884,566) and 259 Natural Parks (106,775) by 2022, and the master plan studies of 38 national parks have been completed by 2022.  There are 3 basic stages in the preparation of plans. These stages consist of the first stage Analytical Study and Data Collection, the second stage Synthesis and Evaluation, the third stage Planning, and finally the Approval stage. Before planning, administrative and legal processes related to the preparation of the plan are initiated (allocation of appropriations if it is to be tendered, preparation of specifications, tender process, signing of the contract, etc.) and a planning team is formed according to the characteristics of the plan.  In the Analytical Study and Data Collection phase, data on the location of the field, Natural Structure, Historical and Cultural Structure, Socio-economic Structure, Administrative and Legal Situation, Technical and Social Infrastructure, and Environmental Problems are obtained and ready to evaluate in the Synthesis stage. The data are evaluated by taking into account ecological, socio-economic, recreational and tourism, and legal administrative characteristics. In addition, natural, anthropogenic, and legal limiters and restrictors are put forward, and plan decisions are prepared by evaluating the problem/threat-possibility/opportunity analysis. Plan decisions are prepared under two general headings; General and Special Provisions. While the general provisions consist of arrangements for the entire area, the special provisions include the arrangements made according to the zoning made.

The healthy existence of protected areas is based on good protected area planning and management.  Protected area planning requires setting out the resource values of the area and what will be done for the sustainable management and use of biodiversity, how, with what budget, and with whom, the rules of implementation, and the methods associated with this (Griffin, 2002). In this context, it is necessary to consider the area holistically with important sub-plans such as policy, strategy and impact assessment, economic planning, financial planning, business planning, and type improvement planning for the sustainable conservation and management of all-natural and cultural resource values in the long term.