T-PVS(98)49: Specific Site, Marine Turtle Conservation in Patara, Turkey. Status Report

T-PVS (98) 49

MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION IN PATARA, TURKEY. STATUS REPORT AND EVALUATION OF NATURE PROTECTION MEASURES FOR THE 18th MEETING OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF EUROPEAN WILDLIFE AND NATURAL HABITATS (BERN CONVENTION, Nov. 30th to DEC. 4th) Report prepared by an independent wildlife consultant commissioned by MEDASSET The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles, with additional information from Pamir Yilmaz of Akdeniz University.

October 1998

According to a statement by the Turkish delegate at the UNEP meeting of Experts in Athens (October 1997), “of 2,580 Km of the Turkish coast adjoining the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, 120 Km have a significant importance for the turtle nesting beach complexes. In accordance with International Conventions and Turkish Environmental Law, 17 nesting sites are under protection�. A WWF survey in 1994 found that only five of these beaches remain fairly viable as sea turtle nesting sites.

Patara beach in common with the other 16 sites has little to show to support the claim that it is being protected by the APSA in Turkey, despite international contributions to that organisation.

The report is based on an assessment made in August 1998, augmented by information since received from other conservationists.

Introduction.

After some anecdotal reports on marine turtle nesting on the Patara beach in 1978 and 1987, the beach was found to be one of the major nesting beaches for Caretta caretta sea turtles in the Mediterranean in 1988 by Baran & Kasparek (1989). It is among the 13 most important nesting beaches along the Turkish coasts.

Patara was designated a Specially Protected Area on 2 March 1990 by the Government of Turkey, and is under the responsibility of the Authority for Specially Protected Areas within the Ministry of the Environment (Resmi Gazete No. 20449). In addition, Patara has the status of a 1st degree SIT Area since 8 September 1978 due to its archaeological importance.

The Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats recommended in 1988 that the Government of Turkey give appropriate protection to the beaches identified by the 1988 survey (recommendation no. 12), and called specifically for halting construction activities at Patara beach until management plans are drawn up (Recommendation no. 24, adopted 11 January 1991).

1

T-PVS (98) 49

The Patara issue was first brought up by MEDASSET in 1988 and since supported by others in the Standing Committee meetings, where it was subsequently discussed on a regular basis. Documentation includes a Secretariat Memorandum by the Directorate of Environment and Local Authorities on possible construction projects on Patara beach (T-PVS (93) 41) and a situation report by the Turkish Ministry of Environment (T-PVS (94) 13).

After the Standing Committee had wished in January 1996 to examine the case of marine turtles in Patara as an urgent case (T-PVS (96) 50), an onthe-spot appraisal was carried out in 1996 in order to clarify open questions.

The Report (Document T-PVS (96) 65) makes detailed recommendations, and the Standing Committee decided in December 1996 to keep the Patara file open in order to monitor the effectiveness of conservation measures.

The Area.

The Patara area is a unique ecosystem along the Turkish Mediterranean coast. It provides a number of different habitats, including an almost 12 km long sandy beach flanked by a system of shifting sand dunes, a creek with numerous sand banks which still flows partially in its original bed, forests, small freshwater wetlands, etc. This report is written in the understanding that any conservation efforts should aim at preserving the entire ecosystem rather than only parts of it or only single species.

For reasons of conformity, the entire beach is referred to in the report as “Patara beach”, whereas “Patara Village Beach” indicates that specific section which is accessed from Patara village and is the responsibility of the Mayor’s Office of Patara village.

There are four routes of access onto the beach which makes it difficult to exercise control over the tourists, and disperses them along the beach. a from Patara (Gelemis) village in the south-eastern third of the beach (Patara Village Beach) b from the left bank of Esen Çayý over Ovaköyü (Çayagzý beach, Ovaköyü Municipality beach) c from the north-western end of the beach over Kumluova d from the hill above Patara village to the middle of the south-eastern beach (i.e. from Beyhan hotel), which is a rarely used path.

Hunting.

During the assessment in the second half of August 1998, the sound of hunting guns was heard on at least two occasions (on two different days). In addition, lots of empty cartridge cases were found at several localities, in particular in the area around the mouth of Esen Çayý. Many of the empty cartridge cases appeared to be new and discarded only recently. They had been used this year.

According to the local people many local fishermen hunt with shotguns and even with dynamite. Fishermen wait on the banks of the river and channels, and once a large fish becomes visible, they discharge the shotguns into the

2

T-PVS (98) 49

water. This seems to be a serious threat to many non-target species, in particular freshwater and soft-shell turtles, both from the point of view of incidental injury and lead pollution.

Hunting is banned from a part of Patara beach, as indicated by a sign at the edge of Patara village (“Hunting forbidden”). However, the boundary of the area in which hunting is prohibited could not be ascertained.

Regarding hunting, it is recommended • to stop illegal hunting outside the hunting season • to clearly mark the borders of the area in which hunting is totally prohibited • to extend the ban on hunting over the entire sand dune ecosystem • to stop illegal fishing with shotguns and dynamite • to encourage the participation of local people and authorities in the control of illegal hunting activities Sand and Shingle Extraction.

Sand extraction from the sand dunes for construction purposes takes place on a large scale. The main extraction area is situated on both sides of the road from Ovaköyü to the mouth of Esen Çayý (Çayagzý). The sand dune ecosystem has already been seriously damaged there. It is obvious that sand extraction occurred there in the past, and is still happening. Some agricultural fields have been extended into the cleared area, providing space for the cultivation of water melons.

Shingle is extracted from the river bed of Eþen Çayý on a large scale. The landscape has been altered due to the extraction activity, and the river bed has been made wider and deeper. The full impact of shingle extraction from the river bed could not be assessed under the terms of this study.

Regarding sand and shingle extraction, it is recommended • to stop sand extraction from the sand dunes immediately • to ensure that sand extraction is controlled effectively and illegal extraction is punished • to rehabilitate damaged areas of the sand dunes • to make a full assessment of the loss and damage to sand dunes through sand extraction and agricultural encroachment • to consider closure of the road to Çayagzý to all traffic at night (install barriers) • to encourage participation of local authorities and local people in the control of illegal sand extraction activities • to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the extraction of shingle from the river bed • to prepare a management plan for the extraction of shingle from the bed of Eþen Çayý, taking into account the need for the conservation of the unique river landscape.

Garbage disposal.

3

T-PVS (98) 49

Solid waste from Ovaköyü Municipality and dependent villages including Patara village is deposited in the sand dunes to the east of the road from Ovaköyü to Çayagzý. Some people (including children) live temporarily in tents within the disposal area, and sort out waste items to be recycled. The disposal site covers an area of several thousand square metres. Refuse collection, deposition and preparation for recycling is apparently carried out by a private company appointed by tender, by the municipality.

The waste disposal site is situated in the ecologically highly sensitive zone of the sand dunes, and within the borders of the ”Specially Protected Area”.

Garbage is also now being dumped in a wetlands area of the SPA, between Patara and the Ecen Xanthos river.

Regarding waste disposal, it is recommended • to immediately stop garbage disposal within the borders of the ”Specially Protected Area” • to remove all solid waste from the sand dunes and to dispose of it in an ecologically sound manner • to rehabilitate the sand dunes once the garbage has been removed • to apply the ”polluter pays” principle to the costs of the removal and ecologically sound disposal of the garbage • to co-operate with local authorities in order to avoid any future garbage disposal in the SPA Beach Pollution.

Daily visitors leave much litter on the beach; this includes mainly plastic bottles (such as water bottles) and plastic food wrappings. Several litter boxes are available on the Patara Village Beach, but are not emptied on a daily basis. Consequently, as they are often full, tourists deposit litter on the sand next to the boxes. There is no (regular) beach cleaning. Many plastic items are thus widely scattered over the beach, and are often blown by the wind into the sand dunes and into the sea.

There are no litter boxes on the north-western end of Patara beach.

Litter, mainly plastic items, is also carried down into the sea by the Esen River, and is washed ashore on both sides of the river mouth. Regular litter collection in this area is required in order to keep the beach clean.

Pollution with crude oil was observed on the morning of 28 August, 1998. A ship had apparently dumped crude oil offshore the night before. No attempts by local authorities to clean the beach were observed. The oil caused considerable annoyance to visitors to the beach and will affect threatened marine life, including marine turtle hatchlings.

Regarding beach pollution, it is recommended • to collect litter left by tourists on the Patara village beach, and to empty the litter boxes on a daily basis during the tourist season

4

T-PVS (98) 49

• • • • •

to collect litter from the north-western beach at least once a week during the tourist season to collect the litter around Esen Çayý mouth on at least a 20-day basis to consider whether to initiate a deposit system for plastic bottles, in particular to those sold by the kiosk on Patara Village Beach to enhance efforts to combat illegal dumping of oil by ships along the coasts of Turkey to ensure that the entire beach is cleaned of crude oil after spillage has occurred.

Sand dune stabilisation.

Patara has one of the longest, still largely unspoilt sand dune ecosystems in Turkey; it is one of the most developed sand dune systems in the country. No comparable dunes exist in the western half of the Turkish Mediterranean coast. These dunes are only comparable to the dune complex of Akyatan (Adana Province) and to the nowadays seriously damaged dunes between Antalya and Gazipasa (Antalya Province). Patara thus has a special importance for the conservation of the sand dune ecosystems in Turkey. Patara’s sand dunes are shifting sand dunes, and are a highly dynamic system, continually changing shape and location.

In order to get control over this dynamic ecosystem, and to protect human settlements and agricultural fields from sand encroachment, the Turkish Ministry of Forestry (General Directorate for Forestry) initiated a project to stabilise the sand dunes around Patara village, in 1986. It is a great pity that the dunes have been to a large extent destroyed by afforestation and levelling (M. K. Uysal 1991).

Afforestation has mostly been carried out using Eucalyptus sp., a genus introduced from Australia. Due to the leaves’ content of aromatic oils, the soil around Eucalyptus trees and shrubs is affected in such a way that hardly any other species can grow. Eucalyptus, an alien genus, thus prevents the growth of the natural vegetation.

Looking from the beach the vegetation of the sand dunes, especially on top of the first ranges of dunes at the rear of the beach may shield lights coming from inland human settlements, screening the dark side of the horizon, and thus helping marine turtle hatchlings to find their way to the sea. However, this effect of sand dune plantations seems to be important in only a few places, certainly not along the total beach length.

Regarding the stabilisation of sand dunes, it is recommended • to re-assess the need for the stabilisation and afforestation of the sand dunes to the present extent • to consider leaving part of the sand dunes in its natural state, thus conserving some of the original, highly dynamic sand dunes along with their natural fauna and flora • to consider the replacement of alien species, in particular Eucalyptus spp., with local, autochthonous species 5

T-PVS (98) 49

Livestock grazing.

Several herds of goats and some cows were observed grazing in the sand dunes in particular in the area of Çayagzý. Although negative impact on vegetation was not apparent, the possible adverse effects should be monitored carefully in the future.

Regarding livestock grazing, it is recommended • to assess the number of goats and cows regularly grazing in the sand dunes, and their impact on the natural vegetation cover • to monitor vegetation development under grazing pressure from domestic animals Construction Activities and Beach Illumination.

Many new buildings have been constructed in Gelemis village since the late 1980s. Yerli & Demirayak (1996) found that over 90 buildings were constructed illegally and demolition orders were issued. However, these have not been carried out, and some buildings have been legitimised in the meantime.

Four building complexes are visible from Patara beach, and their possible impact on marine turtle nesting is considered here: (1) Beyhan Hotel, an international hotel, with approximately 300 beds. The hotel is situated on top of a hill above Patara and has been operating since 1991/92. (2) A summer village mostly inhabited by Turkish nationals, next-to the Beyhan hotel and further to the east of it. Some of these houses are still under construction (Hitit, Kumko, and Özlenen summer house co-operatives). (3) Ince Hotel situated on a hillside to the south of Patara village. (4) Some buildings still under construction on the hillside below Ince Hotel. Patara village itself is not visible from the beach.

A survey showed that Beyhan Hotel is visible from a total length of 1.8 km of the 6.0 km long south-eastern beach (i.e. from 30% of the beach length). The nearby holiday village is visible from 0.7 km of this beach, Ince Hotel from 2.1 km, and the nearby construction site from 1.4 km.

Lights dis-orient newly hatched turtles on their way to the sea. The brightest one is a floodlight on top of the Beyhan Hotel, used to illuminate the hotel’s swimming pool, which is visible over long distances. Other lights from these buildings are not very bright and their impact on turtle hatchlings is considered to be modest or even nil.

There have been reports in the Turkish press that the Turkish Ministry of the Environment are opposing plans to build an airport at Patara. Dr. Aykut, the Environment Minister visited Patara in July, and was presented with a 35,000 signature petition in favour of the airport.

6

T-PVS (98) 49

Regarding the illumination of the beach by artificial lights from buildings, it is recommended • to immediately remove the floodlight on top of the Beyhan Hotel • to avoid any additional illumination of those hotels and buildings which are visible from the beach • to avoid any new construction which may be visible from the beach Visitors Management.

In 1998, when the assessment was undertaken, there was a sharp decline of tourism in Patara. Local people claimed that there was a decrease in arriving visitors of over 50%, some hotel and pension owners said that the decrease was even greater. The tourist pressure on nature may thus not have been typical, i.e. it may be higher in other years.

A head count in August 1998 during the high tourist season showed that 1124 visitors were on Patara beach at the time (see Appendix). However the tourists are not distributed evenly over the beach: most of them being concentrated at the north-western and the south-eastern ends. Over 500, or 45% of all tourists were concentrated on the 350 m long Patara Village Beach.

At the Patara Village Beach, 149 umbrellas and an almost equal number of deck-chairs were offered to tourists for rental. While the umbrellas were brought back by the visitors after use, this is normally not the case with the deck-chairs. They stay more or less scattered in the area of the kiosk overnight. When approached by the students from Harcettepe University, Ankara, who monitored the nesting beach during July and August, on the subject of removing the chairs at night, the manager of the daily use facility replied “It’s a long beach, the turtles can go to another part of the beach!”

Bright lights are used by the kiosk employees after the beach has been “closed” for the night.

The beach to the north-west of the mouth of Eþen Çayý is completely open to tourists: No restrictions are enforced, cars, lorries, minibuses, motor bikes, etc. drive on to the beach. A total of 55 cars were counted at a single time during the assessment.

The north-western beach is the target of ”wilderness tours” organised by tour operators mainly from Fethiye: Groups were seen driving on the beach with heavy 4-wheels vehicles (Unimog) and thus even reached the remote parts of the beach. The “wilderness tours” also include jeep safaris with convoys of some ten jeeps driving on the sand. The sand has been so compacted by this traffic that it is now impossible for turtles to nest. MEDASSET had earlier in the year contacted a tour operator, Manos Travel, who were advertising the Patara jeep safaris in the UK, but received no reply.

There were no access restrictions on the south-eastern beach at night during the assessment: there were no wardens after 7–8 p.m. and 7

T-PVS (98) 49

anybody would be able to go onto the beach. Local people when asked whether it would be possible to see marine turtles at night on the beach declared that “turtle watching tours may be organised, although it is illegal and one should be cautious”. During the assessment period, no tourists were seen to remain on the south-eastern beach at night.

On the north-western beach, visitors regularly picnic and stay on the beach overnight. They park their cars (motor caravans, minibuses, tents etc.) on the beach.

The current areas of intensive marine turtle nesting on Patara beach are not sufficiently known. In 1998, the beach towards the south-eastern end seemed to the human eye to be most suitable. This is also the area with the highest tourist pressure. The team of Dokuz Eylül University, however, found the highest nesting density in 1997 to the left of Eþen Çayý River mouth. It is not known whether the situation of the beach changed from 1997 to 1998, or whether high tourist usage of the beach shifts the main nesting area towards the river mouth. Clearly more information is needed in order to make detailed recommendations for visitor management. Although the report by Prof.

Lescure in 1996 recorded the southern part of the beach as the most important nesting area.

Regarding visitor management, it is recommended • to erect a barrier and ban all vehicles from the north-western beach • to strictly enforce the regulations which prohibit the access to the entire beach at night, and to prohibit in particular people from staying on the north-western beach at night • to mark those areas of the beach where intensive turtle nesting occurs and to prohibit tourists from entering these areas Marine Turtle Monitoring and Nest Protection.

Since the discovery of marine turtle nesting on Patara beach, several surveys to record the number of nesting turtles were carried out by teams from the Dokuz Eylül University, Hacettepe University, Dogal Hayatý Koruma Dernegi (DHKD) and others. However, not all surveys covered the entire nesting season, and some did not even cover the entire beach. The results therefore need careful evaluation.

The special structure of Patara beach causes inundation of a considerable number of turtle nests each year. Other threats include predation by foxes.

Regarding turtle monitoring and nest protection, it is recommended • to carefully evaluate all existing information on turtle nesting on the Patara beach in order to assess population trends and protection needs, and in order to better understand the spatial use of the beach by turtles • to continue monitoring marine turtle nesting with standard methods which allow comparison with results from previous years • to consider regular relocation of turtle nests threatened by inundation, to be carried out by trained turtle specialists

8

T-PVS (98) 49

•

to continue protection of turtle nests against predation by foxes.

Protection of Soft-shelled Turtles.

In 1998, a population of Nile Soft-shelled Turtles, Trionyx triunguis, was observed in Eþen Çayý and in the canal draining Ovagöl. Nesting occurs in the sand next to the river mouth. This is one of the very few remaining populations of this highly threatened species in the Mediterranean, and one of the three populations in Turkey where reproduction has been established.

The protection of this population is therefore of high priority.

Regarding the population of the Nile Soft-shelled Turtle, it is recommended • to study the biology and ecology of the population, in order to get a better understanding of its conservation needs • to create artificial sand banks along the canal in order to provide nesting habitats • to immediately stop the fishing with shot guns and explosives in the river and in the canal Public Awareness.

There are two large, yellow notice panels, at the entrance to Patara Village Beach and on the north-western road to the beach; they state that the beach is protected as a “Specially Protected Area”, and some restrictions for visitors.

There are no similar notice panels on the road leading to Eþen Çayý Mouth.

There are no other sources of information for visitors, neither information leaflets to be disseminated on the beach, in the hotels or other tourist facilities, nor persons able to inform visitors about aspects of nature conservation.

The natural attributes of the “Specially Protected Area” may be used for the marketing of Patara as a tourist destination.

Regarding public awareness for environmental issues, it is recommended • to produce leaflets for visitors and other sources of information in order to raise the understanding of environmental matters in the protected area, and publicise necessary restrictions • to inform local people about the environmental issues of the Specially Protected Area on a regular basis, in order to enhance the understanding of protection measures, and to create pride in an unspoilt environment • to integrate environmental planning into local administration International Cooperation.

The Government of Turkey has received international assistance for the protection of the Patara Specially Protected Area. Germany for example provided support through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH the Agency for the Protection of Special Areas (APSA) for a sustainable development capacity study, to enhance

9

T-PVS (98) 49

conservation measures, and provided funds for turtle surveys by Baran and others, in the Patara area. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) supported the Dogal HayatĂ˝ Koruma Dernegi (DHKD) to survey turtle nesting and to monitor conservation efforts in 1994.

The World Bank (IBRD) provided funds for a joint project between APSA and the Ministry of Culture for the establishment of a management plan for the Patara area.

Despite these efforts, implementation of conservation measures is still weak.

There is a considerable gap between planning measures and implementation measures. Whereas e.g. coloured posters showing the beauties of the sand dunes were produced in the framework of the management plan, garbage disposal in the sand dunes, and motor traffic on the beach are still on-going features.

Regarding international co-operation, it is recommended • to link external assistance for conservation measures to progress made on implementation level • to link external assistance to the political will of the Government of Turkey to enforce conservation measures.

10

T-PVS (98) 49

Appendix Assessment of human activities on Patara beach in August 1998.

Suitability for turtle nesting: - = less suitable or unsuitable; + = suitable; ++ = good; +++ = excellent nesting opportunities. u = umbrellas; d = deck-chairs. beach section no. 510: north-western edge to Özlen Island no. of minino. of no. of no. of buses, motor visitors private tractors & bikes cars lorries 0-350 m 95 11 7 10 351-700 m 67 8 11 20 701-1050 m 39 6 2 1 1051-1400 m 30 4 2 3 1401-1750 m 13 2 1 0 1751-2100 m 29 2 3 3 total 273 33 26 37 beach section 511: Özlen Island to mouth of Eþen Çayý no. of minino. of no. of no. of buses, motor visitors private tractors & bikes cars lorries 2101-2450 m 65 16 0 6 2451-2800 m 18 4 0 2 2801-3150 m 8 3 0 3151-3500 m 2 0 0 3501-3850 m 2 0 0 3851-4200 m 12 0 0 1 4201-4450 m 5 0 0 4451-4900 m 5 0 0 4901-5250 m 2 0 0 5251-5600 m 9 0 0 5601-5950 m 21 0 0 total 149 23 0 9

no. of sun umbrellas & deck-chairs

no. of constructions visible

suitability for turtle nesting

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

+ +

no. of sun umbrellas & deck-chairs

no. of constructions visible

suitability for turtle nesting

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

+ + ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++ ++

no. of constructions visible

suitability for turtle nesting

0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 4 0 1 1 17

+ ++ + + + + + + ++ +++ +++ +++

2u

1u 2u

beach section 512: Mouth of Eþen Çayý to south-eastern headlands no. of sun no. of minino. of no. of no. of umbrellas & buses, motor visitors private deck-chairs tractors & bikes cars lorries 5951-6300 m 16 0 0 0 6301-6650 m 0 0 0 0 6651-7000 m 0 0 0 0 7001-7350 m 0 0 0 0 7351-7700 m 0 0 0 0 7701-8050 m 0 0 0 0 8051-8400 m 0 0 0 0 8401-8750 m 1 0 0 0 8751-9100 m 2 0 0 0 9101-9450 m 5 0 0 0 1u 9451-9800 m 6 0 0 0 1u 9801-10150 m 4 0 0 0 10151-10500 m 10 0 0 0 2u 10501-10850 m 18 0 0 0 3u 10851-11200 m 49 0 0 0 3u 11201-11550 m 511 0 0 0 120u + 145d 11551-11900 m 80 0 0 0 19u total 702 0 0 0 149u + 145d

11