National Parks in Turkey
The first national park in Turkey was established in 1958. Since then their numbers have increased to 21. Some of these parks, which were initially established for archeological and historical purposes are at the same time rich habitats where biological diversity is protected. The Olympos-Bey Mountains National Park in the province of Antalya in the Mediterranean region, for example, contains a wealth of flora and fauna, which are either endemic or relic distributions, in addition to important archeological ruins. The Köprülü Canyon National Park, in the same province, is the home of Cupressus sempervirens forests. Natural forests of this tree no longer occur elsewhere in the world. In addition to its archeological and geological treasures, this park also contains a large number of indigeneus plants and rare animal species.
The regional distribution of national parks in Turkey is as follows:
Mediterranean - 6
Central Anatolia - 5,
Marmara - 3,
Black Sea - 3,
Aegean - 2,
Eastern Anatolia - 2.
Their surface areas vary between 65 hectares (Kuscenneti National Park) and 69, 800 hectares (Olympos + Bey reached 40,000 hectares.
Although the majority of the national parks are found on forest lands, there are also a number which are established in areas where steppe-type vegetation predominates. Examples are Munzur Valley (eastern Anatolia), Baskomutan, Göreme, Bogazköy-Alacahöyük (all in Central Anatolia), and Nemrut Mountain (Eastern Anatolia-Adiyaman).
Among the national parks, the famed Kuscenneti National is characterized by a particularly significant ecological structure based upon prime quality wetlands and is located in the southern zone of the Marmara region. This area, established as a national park in 1959, was awarded “European Diploma” in 1976 by the Council of Europe, and Diploma was renewed in 1981, 1985 and 1991
National Preserves
Their scale varies between 86 hectares (Haci Osman Forest - central Black Sea region) and 17 200 hectares (Sultan Marshes - Central Anatolian region), and their total area reaches 55 011 hectares.
Most of these nature preserves are smaller in area than national parks, which allows for their enclosure and leads to more effective protection.
All the nature preserves have been designated as such due to various biological characteristics. Some of these are outlined below.
