Red Book of Butterflies in Turkey Red Book of Butterflies in Turkey

4
Red Book of Butterflies in Turkey
A Short History of
Red Listing
in Turkey
Prof.Dr. Mecit Vural
Gazi University, Biology Department
Doğa Koruma Merkezi Scientific Committee Member
Assoc.Prof. C. Can Bilgin
Middle East Technical University, Biology Department
Doğa Koruma Merkezi Scientific Committee Member
Can Bilgin (left) and Mecit Vural (in blue shirt) at the
Red List Workshop, together with (left to right) Ayşe
Turak, Özge Özden, Süleyman Ekşioğlu, Bahar Bilgen
and Ümit Durdu.
©DKM Archive
With approximately 10,000 plant and several times more numerous
animal species and high rates of endemism (Kence and Bilgin 1996,
Turak et al. 2002), Turkey has been considered to have a high priority in
several global biodiversity studies (Meyers et al. 2000, Mittermeier et al.
2004, Eken et al. 2006). It is, however, important to know which species
should have priority at the country scale. If we can answer questions on
habitat preferences, population trends and threats we can then prepare
Red Lists and determine conservation priorities for different groups of
organisms.
The first such list for Turkey was the work on birds published in
1987 by İ. Kiziroğlu (Kiziroğlu 1987). This paper was followed by
the Red Data Book of Birds of Turkey published by the Turkish Society
for the Conservation of Nature (Kiziroğlu 1993). However, in both
these publications, and a revised version in 2008 (Kiziroğlu 2008), a
categorisation system specific to German-speaking countries and based
largely on population size was used instead of the more widely accepted
IUCN categories and criteria. Failure to utilise a system that is standard
across countries, based on clearly defined criteria, and with proven
application value, unfortunately reduces the value of these works.
Among other groups in Turkey, the first ‘red data’ book on flowering
plants was funded by the Turkish Society for the Conservation of
Nature (DHKD). In 1989 just 275 copies of this book were published
under the title Türkiye’nin Tehlike Altındaki Nadir ve Endemik Bitkileri
/ List of Rare, Threatened and Endemic Plants in Turkey (Ekim et al.
1989). In that year, various countries were preparing their own red
lists and ultimately all information was compiled by the IUCN Species
Survival Commission into the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants,
published in 1998. This publication used data from 198 countries,
including Turkey. According to this document –based on pre-1994 Red
List categories– 33,798 (12.5%) of the 270,000 vascular plant species
assessed were considered under threat. In Turkey, 1,876 (21.7%) of the
8,650 vascular plant species were threatened.
In 1994 Red List categories were revised and, accordingly, Ekim et al.
1989 was revised and published again in 2000 (Ekim et al. 2000). This
work determined threat status for both Turkish endemics and for nonendemic
plants with restricted ranges. For data it benefited both from
the distribution data in Davis’ Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands
(Davis 1965-1985, Davis et al. 1988) and that generated by ‘Endemic
Plants of Turkey’, a project which involved about 30 researchers from
9 universities. However, the species assessments were largely based on
observations and expertise of researchers, and did not fully follow the
prescribed IUCN procedure.
The first attempt to cover all vertebrate species was the Draft Red List
of Threatened Animals of Turkey, prepared for the European Economic
Commission meeting in Antalya by the Undersecretariat for the
Environment in 1991. In the 15 years following that report, a notable
series of efforts endeavoured to introduce the new IUCN Red List
system and criteria in Turkey, and to establish the necessary framework
for its implementation (Bilgin 1995, 2002). The workshops and
meetings, initiated by the Middle East Technical University (METU)
and the Turkish Bird Research Society (KAD), and funded by the UN or
UNDP, provided opportunities to transfer new concepts and approaches
to both the experts in the Ministry of Environment and to academicians
and other researchers. Among these initiatives, the Population Viability
Analysis (PVA) workshop organised at METU on 12-14 May 1999;
the Symposium on Bird Research and Nature Conservation organised
in Ankara on 7-8 February 2002; and the Red List and Prioritisation
Workshop that took place at METU on 10-11 March 2003 are
considered to have been the most important.
Finally, the “National Red List Workshop” organized on 7-8
December 2006 under the aegis of the General Directorate of Nature
Conservation and National Parks and with the participation of IUCN’s
Mediterranean Office, major nature conservation NGOs and university
representatives, can be considered a milestone. As a result of this
workshop the red list issue became a serious institutional concern and an
‘Action Plan for Preparing Red Lists’ was prepared with the involvement
of 96 experts from universities, government and NGOs. The presence of
Dr. H. Reşit Akçakaya, the head of the IUCN Standards and Petitions
Subcommittee, either as an organiser or a trainer in almost all of these
meetings has been crucial.
Karaçetin, E. and Welch, H.J. (2011). Red Book of Butterflies in Turkey. Ankara, Turkey: Doğa Koruma Merkezi. Available from: [www.dkm.org.tr]