Page 295 - 7. State Of Environment Report Of Türkiye

F.4. Invasive Alien Species in Türkiye (The Most Dangerous Invasive Alien
Species in Türkiye)

With the support for puffer fish hunting, which started in 2020 and continued between 2021-
2023, for the first time, both the protection of aquatic biodiversity and support for fishermen
have been achieved at the same time. For the first time, both the protection of aquatic biodiver-
sity and support for fishermen have been achieved at the same time. Thanks to the supported
catch of puffer fish, approximately 14 million new individuals have been prevented from ente-
ring the ecosystem.

F.5. Areas Susceptible to Desertification and Erosion in Türkiye

Türkiye is among the countries that will be most affected by climate change and desertification
due to its location in the world, geological structure, topography and climate, etc. Reasons such
as topography, climate change, destruction of vegetation, misuse of agricultural and forest lands,
faulty agricultural practices, incorrect and irregular use of pastures, unplanned and excessive
irrigation, soil pollution, and illegal mining activities are also among the factors that accelerate
desertification.
In the World Desertification Threat Map, a significant part of Türkiye, especially Central Anatolia,
is shown as “vulnerable to desertification”. Nevertheless, 65% of Türkiye has arid and semiarid
characteristics. Currently, 4.17% of forest areas, 38.71% of agricultural areas, 53.66% of pastures
and 3.46% of other areas are exposed to medium and severe erosion. The fact that 86% of the
country’s land is under threat of erosion makes erosion the most important cause of desertifi-
cation.
The desertification of our agricultural lands, the deterioration of species diversity and natural
structure in our forests and pastures, improper and irrelevant land use, the concreting of fertile
and good quality agricultural lands, the ongoing soil pollution, and the significant levels of erosi-
on and soil loss are facts that reveal that Türkiye is highly susceptible to desertification.
46% of Türkiye’s total area has a slope greater than 40%, and more than 62.5% has a slope greater
than 15%. In Türkiye, there is active erosion in 59% of agricultural areas, 54% of forest areas and
64% of pasture areas.
Fırat, Çoruh, Yeşilırmak and Kızılırmak are among the rivers that carry the most soil to our seas,
lakes and dams. The rivers carrying the least amount of soil are Dalaman Stream and İyidere. The
main reason why these rivers carry little soil is that their basins are covered with forests and the
strong natural vegetation protects the soil.

Although there is no real desert in Türkiye, nearly 2/3 of our land consists of arid and semi-arid
areas. However, due to the climate changes observed in recent years, an expansion has been ob-
served in arid areas towards the west of Central Anatolia. Risk zones with semi-arid areas prone
to desertification spread from the Konya Plain to the Eastern Mediterranean. In a study conduc-
ted on a Turkish scale, when two 30-year periods (1950-1980 and 1981-2010) were compared, it
was determined that semi-arid areas in the country increased by approximately 14%.
Türkiye signed the UNCCD on 15 October 1994 to combat the effects of desertification/land deg-
radation and drought. Türkiye’s accession to the convention was accepted by Law No. 4340
dated 11 February 1998 and entered into force upon publication in the Official Gazette on 16
May 1998.

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