Our world has completed another of its tours around the sun. This year has been different from the previous ones. A new era has begun in the world where subjects such as nature, climate, biodiversity and life are on everyone’s agenda. We are now louder and stronger in nature’s struggle for its rights.
Nature’s sources of joy continued to deliver inspiration this year as always. The first shoots sprouted from the burning forests. Millions of migratory birds continued their migration journey with hope despite WPPs, hunters and dozens of other threats. Children chased a new game every day. Artists are in pursuit of new concepts, on the verge of giving birth to art once again.
Flamingos in the Salt Lake were saved this year. Thousands of nestlings are now flapping their wings, thanks to the water brought to the lake with great effort. They are experiencing their new life in different parts of Anatolia.
In 2022, the tree that remained under the spotlight has been the olive tree. Civil society has united against the regulation that allowed mining in olive groves. We filed lawsuits and ran campaigns. Olive trees won again. We succeeded in canceling three GPP licenses that would poison the Orhanlı Valley, where The School of Nature is located. Thus, the abundance of olives has been different this season.
As in previous years, many wetlands in Anatolia experienced drought as a result of the outdated and wrong water policies of the State Hydraulic Works. Lake Marmara located in Manisa suffered the greatest loss. The campaign we launched to revitalize the lake is thriving day by day. We continue to defend the lake with official applications and lawsuits. Moreover, we kept on saying “Loyalty to the Gediz Delta” this year as well. We prepared reports highlighting the importance of every inch of the delta for birds. We started bird watching activities with 487 students and 30 teachers in schools near the delta.
Together with our local partners, we defended 11 Key Biodiversity Areas and carried out various conservation efforts. We filed two lawsuits while being a party to six. We enabled the insulation of 248 electricity poles in Ankara, Mersin and Adana. By this way, we prevented the deaths of Egyptian vultures and storks, in particular.
We have reached more than 2 million users with our social media posts. We published 44 podcasts with the participation of 57 experts; thereby recording various subjects ranging from reptiles to fairy tales, from Anatolian nomads to sparrows. This year, we incorporated 273 new volunteers. We carried out our efforts together with our volunteers and other supporters.
Yavaş Dükkan, a nature conservation project of the Doga Dernegi, continued to work for productions that support biodiversity and ecosystems. It supported 81 producer families implementing exemplary practices in 15 Key Biodiversity Areas and 4 Indigenous Production Landscapes. Yavaş Dükkan also keeps providing access to foods of which their sources we know and that do not destroy the nature.
Artist Gökçe Sümerkan, who joined us in line with our belief that art can protect the nature, has opened an exhibition. This painting exhibition has taken place in İzmir and was titled The Essence of Nature by its curator, Özcan Yüksek, who is an author and nature conservationist. Drawings from the Nature Association and The School of Nature were exhibited together for the first time.
We have a wishful Anatolian saying: Let it become abundant, not scarce; let it overflow, but not run to waste…
In the new year, we will continue to fight for the right of all beings to exist. We will pursue our endeavors with hope, just as the nature has taught us!
For the Love of Nature.
*We would like to thank you for all your support in our efforts to defend the rights of nature. Please click here to continue to support in 2023.
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