Published without a T-PVS Reference: Loggerhead Nesting Beaches of Belek (Turkey).

Marine Turtle Conservation in the Mediterranean

Loggerhead Nesting Beaches of BELEK (Turkey) Report for the 20th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) Report prepared by MEDASSET The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles September 2000

For the past 10 years Belek has ignored recommendations made by sea turtle experts, NGOs, and in particular the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern) Standing Committee (Recommendation No 66 dated 4th December 1998 on the conservation status of some nesting beaches for marine turtles in Turkey).

According to an assessment by WWF carried out in 1988 there are 17 important beaches for turtle nesting in Turkey, five of which were stated to be supremely important. Belek was one of the five. Detailed WWF recommendations have never been implemented.

A horrific video was shown to the Standing Committee in 1998, and pictures of the beach being bulldozed, tennis courts, strong lights, beach furniture and structures on the beach appear in a University report for the Turkish government.

Research by a MEDASSET contracted expert in summer 2000 revealed that the situation is worse than ever: • 4 new mass tourist hotels are being constructed together with a large municipal recreation area, and more are being planned.

• Lights still affect the beach.

• Beach areas in front of all the hotels are covered with permanent sun umbrellas and sunbeds.

• The whole range of speedboat activities are taking place along the shore.

• 800 metres of beach at Tasliburun has recently been destroyed by sand extraction.

• At Kumkoy some of the beach huts are now illegally constructed of concrete.

• The Court case brought by one of the Belek investors for the removal of protected status goes on.

The situation is just as you would expect in a mass tourism development area.

Starting from the east of the beach: Acisu beach was a Specially Protected Area (SPA) where at least four hotels were built behind the beach. A Ministerial Council decision two years ago, removed the protected status of the beach. Now, it has been covered with sun beds and parasols, and common tourism activities go on including jet ski and speedboats.

MEDASSET: Loggerhead Nesting Beaches of BELEK, Turkey (2000)

1

The parcel next to Acisu hotels is empty for the time being, with two beach huts built by local people, which are not harmful for the turtles. This area is supposed to be allocated for new hotels in the near future.

The area that used to be TURBAN campsite belonging to the state was one of the parts where turtles could nest. There were not many lights shining on the beach, and few parasols, sun beds etc. In the privatization program of the government it has been allocated to the tourism investors so that now 7-8 more hotels are under construction. The west section of this beach is allocated to Serik municipality for daily recreational use, which is important for local people, but there is no beach management from a sea turtle point of view. The road just on the sand 40 - 50 meters away from the sea shore is being used at night, by cars coming to the beachside cafes & restaurants. There is heavy beach use during daytime but compared with the beaches in front of the hotels, there are no permanent parasols or sun chairs, and no speed boats.

The rest of the beach towards the west is occupied with hotels and their beach activities/facilities. Almost all have lots of permanent facilities on the beach, fixed parasols, sun beds remain in place at night, water sports facilities and vehicles are there all night, and lights illuminate the beach.

Almost all the hotels have water sport activities with jet skis and speedboats. No signs or information points regarding sea turtles were seen on the beach nor any protection activities.

At the west end is Kumkoy section where a big protest by environmental NGOs succeeded in stopping marina construction in 1999. There are lots of local people at their beach huts from June to September. These huts are too close to the sea, but they don't have electric lights. Now some of the beach huts are being illegally re-built with bricks and cement.

The April 3rd television programme “Wish you were here� on the ITV network in the UK, produced by Thames Television, portrayed Belek as an environmentally friendly resort and reported that British Airways had given an environmental award to the Belek Tourism Investors Association (BTIA) based on information supplied in the BTIA submission.

The awards recognise environmentally responsible management and encourage projects within mass market tourism that are making a genuine attempt to minimise the impact of the built environment on the local physical and cultural environment, providing a role model for environmentally friendly tourism.

Belek is an area that has been severely degraded by tourist development with 25 kms of prime sea turtle nesting beach now reduced to small isolated pockets of nesting. The last 10 years have seen the ever increasing disruption of the coast’s natural environment. It is incredible that it should receive an environmental award and this publicity.

Far from being the friends of the environment as portrayed in the programme, the authorities and tourist organisations of Belek have committed environmental destruction of the nesting beaches of the sea turtles on a grand scale.

MEDASSET: Loggerhead Nesting Beaches of BELEK, Turkey (2000)

2

Professor Dr. Ibrahim Baran of Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, a sea turtle expert, reports about Belek (Reference): • “The taking of sand to construct a golf course destroyed an important nesting area, with 700m of nesting completely destroyed.”

• “Most of the tourist establishments carried out construction on the nesting beach.”

• “Strong lights on the beach, with photo-pollution has an extremely serious effect on turtles.”

• “There are still a few undeveloped parts of the beach and most of the remaining nests are now found in these areas.”

It took the intervention of the Turkish Ministry of the Environment in 1999, under intense pressure from outraged international environmental NGOs, to try to prevent the construction of a marina at Belek. One of the Belek Tourism Investors has since the programme and award, again applied to the courts for permission to build the Marina. No doubt the Television Programme and the Award will be cited in support of his case.

Betuyab (ΒΤΙΑ) has financed a turtle survey to be carried out by volunteers from Earth Watch and Hacettepe University. Last year the unpublished survey is claimed to have reported 600 nests on Belek beaches. During the survey in 1994-95 the maximum number of the nests identified was 400, of which 75 % occurred in Kumkoy section in the west, while previously this had applied to Acisu. The high density nesting figures in the SPA adjoining Belec to the east are being used to inflate the claimed total nesting for Belek development area.

Betuyab (ΒΤΙΑ) are quoting the figures to claim “more hotels more turtles”.

The Ministry of the Environment (MoE) have opened a project tender named: “Sea Turtle Protection Plan project: Ecological Survey of the Antalya-Belek Beach Sea Turtles”. For one season MoE will pay the party that wins the tender 9,400,000,000. -TL which is approximately 15.000 US$.

The tender has been announced to only a few organizations: ! Mediterranean University (who sent a strong criticism about the method of tender to MoE) ! Hacettepe University (Mr. Ali Fuat Dogu) ! 2 more universities one of them in Adana (1000 kms away from the area!) ! Betuyab (BTIA) ! ENCON Co. (probably formed by scientists working for Betuyab) It seems that the tender is rather loaded between Betuyab and the Ministry!

MEDASSET: Loggerhead Nesting Beaches of BELEK, Turkey (2000)

3

Jetty

Photo © Copyright 2000 MEDASSET

Permanent commercial use of Belek nesting beach.

Lights Walls

Photo © Copyright 2000 MEDASSET

Solid beachfront development.

Light Column

Photo © Copyright 2000 MEDASSET

Packed ranks of beach furniture on nesting beach.

Photo © Copyright 2000 MEDASSET

Catastrophic sand extraction.

MEDASSET: Loggerhead Nesting Beaches of BELEK, Turkey (2000)

4