The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion ( tr, Türkiye Erozyonla Mücadele, Ağaçlandırma ve Doğal Varlıkları Koruma Vakfı), better known in abbreviated form as TEMA, is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

(NGO) for

reforestation Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting. Management A debat ...

and the protection of natural habitats in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

History

TEMA was founded in 1992 by Turkish businessmen Hayrettin Karaca, who has a UN Environment Award, and Nihat Gökyiğit. TEMA is the leading NGO in Turkey with over 451,000 voluntary members. TEMA is one of the winners of the first

UN Convention to Combat Desertification The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through ...

(UNCCD) Land for Life Awards.

Projects

Oak Project

The Oak Project (Turkish: ''Meşe Projesi''), which TEMA has maintained since 1998, aims to create vibrant

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

forests over 1 million

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s of land throughout Turkey. The project materialized in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and has a total cost of approximately $1.8 billion.

Memory Forest

A protocol was signed between the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Reforestation and Erosion Control and TEMA. Pursuant to this protocol, planting projects would be completed on behalf of people and institutions in various provinces. Thus far, 389,718 saplings have been planted in commemorative forests in places such as

Malkara Malkara ( el, Μάλγαρα, Malgara) is a town and district of Tekirdağ Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located at 55 km west of Tekirdağ and 190 km from Istanbul. It covers an area of 1,225 km², which makes ...

Mudanya Mudanya (Mudania, el, τα Μουδανιά, ''ta Moudaniá'' l. (the site of ancient Apamea Myrlea) is a town and district of Bursa Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located on the Gulf of Gemlik, part of the southern coast of t ...

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it ...

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun recorded a population of 710,000 people. The cit ...

, Izmir,

Şanlıurfa Urfa, officially known as Şanlıurfa () and in ancient times as Edessa, is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. Urfa is situated on a plain about 80 km east of the Euphrates River. Its climate features ...

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

, Kızılcahamam, and

Adıyaman Adıyaman ( ku, Semsûr) is a city and district in southeastern Turkey, and the capital of the Adıyaman Province. The inhabitants of the city are mostly Kurdish. Etymology An unverified theory is that the former name of the city ''Hisn-Mansur'' ...

Bodrum Türkbükü Biological Diversity and Vegetation Project

A 130-hectare area located within the borders of the Türkbükü and Gündoğan villages in the district of

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient ...

in the province of

Muğla Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dista ...

was surrounded with razor wire and fencing to protect and develop natural plant species. In this space, 43,450 plants and shrubs will be planted, including oak,

Turkish pine ''Pinus brutia'', commonly known as the Turkish pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey. Turkish pine is also known by several other common names: Calabrian pine (from a naturalis ...

black locust ''Robinia pseudoacacia'', commonly known in its native territory as black locust, is a medium-sized hardwood deciduous tree, belonging to the tribe Robinieae of the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to a few small areas of the United States ...

, gumwood,

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Gree ...

, almond,

horse chestnut The genus ''Aesculus'' ( or ), with species called buckeye and horse chestnut, comprises 13–19 species of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae. They are trees and shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere, with six species n ...

, and cypress species.

TEM Highway Vegetation Project

TEMA, in collaboration with the General Directorate for Motorways and the General Directorate of Reforestation and Erosion Control, planted trees along a 333-kilometer stretch of the Ankara-Istanbul section of the

Trans-European Motorway The Trans-European Motorways (abbreviated "TEM") are a project of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe of sub-regional cooperation among Central, Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chi ...

. Within the scope of this project, 49,321 various species of trees have been planted along the Kınalı junction of the Istanbul-Edirne stretch of the highway, and 241,844 trees have been planted along the Susuz junction of the Ankara-Istanbul stretch, including saplings, decorative foliage, and oak seeds.

References

External links

* {{authority control Environmental organizations based in Turkey Foundations based in Turkey Organizations based in Istanbul Organizations established in 1992 1992 establishments in Turkey Natural history of Anatolia