Page 172 - Çevre Şehir İklim İngilizce - Sayı 3

Ecosystem Based Adaptation Activities to
Climate Change for Sustainable Agriculture

Steppe ecosystems are widely observed in the Eastern, Southeastern and
Central Anatolian Regions, and in high mountain systems in the Aegean and
Mediterranean Regions. Steppe ecosystems in Turkey are facing the risk of
habitat loss and degradation, overuse of cultivation areas and climate change.”
The necessity to implement and widespread ecosystem-based adaptation
activities primarily in steppe areas in our country should be taken into account in
terms of national food security. Between 2016-2018, the “Project on Ecosystem-
Based (EBA) Agricultural Practices in the Anatolian Steppe Ecosystem” was
conducted and finalized in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and
Forestry and the Subregional Office of Central Asia under the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO-SEC), funded by the Republic of
Türkiye and the European Union. Objectives of the project are as follows:
• “To establish the resilience of steppe ecosystems to the possible
impacts of climate change” (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2022.
Strategy on Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change for
Anatolian Steppe Ecosystems 2022-2036)
• “To make the rural population resilient to climate with a strong
agricultural economy” (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2022.
Strategy on Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change for
Anatolian Steppe Ecosystems 2022-2036)
• ”To integrate ecosystem-based adaptation studies with policy,
planning and decision-making mechanisms in order to support climate
change adaptation strategies” (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,
2022. Strategy on Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change for
Anatolian Steppe Ecosystems 2022-2036)
• “To develop a governance model with stakeholders having management
capacity” (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, 2022. Strategy on
Ecosystem-Based Adaptation to Climate Change for Anatolian Steppe
Ecosystems 2022-2036)
According to the information obtained in the project, the steppe areas
covering 41% of Türkiye are very sensitive areas in terms of climate, water,
light, air, altitude and social aspects. In addition, these areas have agricultural
production potential while there is the risk of conversion into arid areas and
desertification due to climate change experienced worldwide, that should be
kept in mind. In the project, for preventing this threat, the following outputs
were achieved in order to create the basis for identifying the steppe areas
and their sensitivities and determining the actions to minimize their impact by
ensuring their adaptation to climate change, and expansion of steppe areas.

Year 2 / Issue 3 / January 2023 157