The second Steering Committee meeting of the "Ecosystem Services for Social Cohesion in the Istanbul Regional Directorate of Forestry" Project, carried out under the European Union's Climate Change Adaptation Grant Programme, was held on August 13, 2024, at the Istanbul Regional Directorate of Forestry. The meeting was attended by a total of 11 people, including Celal Pir, Istanbul Regional Director of Forestry, Mahmut Ferhatoğlu, Ecosystem Services Branch Manager, İkram Çelik, Forest Fire Fighting Branch Manager, Yıldıray Lise, Deputy General Manager of the Nature Conservation Centre, and the project team. The meeting began with an opening speech emphasizing the importance of the project for the Istanbul region. Afterwards, an informative presentation was made about the progress made in project activities and planned work.
The presentation provided information on the current status of the spatial database and modeling studies conducted under the project's first main activity, the climate change adaptation strategy. Additionally, details were shared about the training activities organized at Atatürk Arboretum to increase social resilience, the project's second main activity, and visits made to forest management directorates. The project timeline for activities planned to be carried out in the next four-month period was also shared with the participants and presented for their opinions. The meeting concluded with a discussion of expectations and suggestions. Within the scope of the project's activities in the coming months, it is aimed to model the changes and vulnerabilities caused by climate change in the 630,000-hectare forest area covering the provinces of Istanbul, Edirne, Kırklareli, and Tekirdağ. These studies will be carried out accompanied by participant meetings and organized trainings and workshops.
