The Evaluation of Gölbaşı Specially Protected Area in the Framework of Landscape Management


	Bildiri Özetleri
Ana Sayfaya Dönüş

Back To The Main List

The Evaluation of Gölbaşı Specially Protected Area in the Framework of Landscape Management

İlkden TALAY, Nilgül KARADENİZ, Nevin AKPINAR

Ankara University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Landscape Architecture, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract

Landscape is a spatial and temporal result of interacting ecosystems and socio- cultural environment and has a certain structure, function and change trend. Guidance and harmonisation of landscape changes in the perspective of sustainable development could only be possible with "Landscape Management". Having specific ecological values and an overstressed and multi functional structure, Gölbaşı Specially Protected Area has been selected as the research area for evaluation in terms of "Landscape Management". This paper handles the example of Gölbaşı Specially Protected Area and discusses the general principles and approaches of Landscape Management. In addition, it emphasises the necessity of legal, administrative and conceptual changes to implement "Landscape Management studies in Turkey, also taking into consideration the international conventions to which Turkey is a part.

Introduction

Partial approaches to the conservation, use and evaluation of natural and cultural resources accelerate the loss of these resources and cause significant changes in landscape. Being defined as "an area, as perceived by people whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors" in the European Landscape Convention (European Commission 2000), landscape has been losing its biological, ecological and cultural richness. And depending on this, economic and social change and losses are inevitable. Landscape is a dynamic system and it inherently contains "change". However, the acceleration and change of direction of such change by the human influence cause certain negative impacts upon the landscape components and the entire landscape itself.

Conservation and improvement of landscape and evaluation of its resources in the context of sustainability could only be possible by defining and analysing the structural and functional landscape changes. In the perspective of sustainable development, "Landscape Management" is expressed as a guidance and harmonisation and regular upkeep of landscape changes caused by social, economic and environmental processes. For the integration of socio- economical principles with the environment, landscape management aims at the combination of technologies, policies and activities with the following goals:

Depending on these goals, the Landscape Management components are listed below.

· HOLISTIC APPROACH : Landscapes are concrete, mixed natural and cultural systems of our total human ecosystem that integrates humans and their total environment (Naveh 2000). Holistic approach is essential in analysing this complex and diverse structure and identifying the interactions and results within the system.
· TRANSDISCIPLINARY APPROACH : In landscape management, transdisciplinary notion of landscapes, emerging from the Holistic systems view (Naveh 2000), is necessary to integrate different kinds of knowledge about different parts of the ecosystem (Slocombe 1998).
· SUSTAINABILITY : For landscape management, it is a prerequisite to meet social and economic needs of the population living in a landscape, in other words, guide the landscape so as to enhance quality of life and, at the same time, safeguard the integrity and health of the ecosystem are primary requirements.
· SYSTEM PERSPECTIVE : Landscape is a whole that incorporates ecological and social systems. These systems present a dynamic and complex structure in which they are in a continuous interaction with each other. They also determine the structure, function and change trend of the landscape. The functioning of this dynamic and complex structure must be considered in landscape management process.
· ECOSYSTEM BASED : Management at the landscape level requires accepting landscape as a whole of different ecosystems. As a consequence, landscape management should be based on ecological principles (Slocombe 1998)
· HUMAN DIMENSION : Human is the dominant organism specifically for the cultural landscape. The human's way of life, production and consumption patterns are important factors in landscape change. Establishing a balance between natural resources and human needs is a guaranty for the sustainability of ecosystem as well as the survival of human being. It should be remembered that, in determining the management goals and predicting the structural and functional change trends of landscape, the human dimension is a complementary part of the "Landscape Management".
· SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL CHANGE : Change of landscape is the "alteration in the structure and function of the ecological mosaic over time" (Anko 1999) Being an open system, spatial and temporal change is essential in landscapes. "Landscape management" should consider the changes in landscape structure and function.
· INDICATORS : Indicators can provide crucial guidance for decision-making in a variety of ways. They can translate physical and social science knowledge into manageable units of information that can facilitate the decision-making process. They can help to measure and calibrate progress towards sustainable development goals. They can provide an early warning, sounding the alarm in time to prevent economic, social damage (United Nations 2001). Indicators are important tools especially in identifying landscape change trend and for purposes of guiding future actions and policies in the "Landscape Management" process.

Landscape changes depending on natural processes and human activities, and this change can be either continuous (continuously increasing) or discontinuous (in depth). Functional loss and failure are two basic results of landscape change (Wood and Handley 2001). In the context of the information given above, Gölbaşı Specially Protected Area (SPA), has been selected as the research area because of major changes in its function & structure, for evaluation in the framework of Landscape Management.

Material and Method

Gölbaşı (SPA) constitutes the main material for the research. To carry out the research, related literature including remote sensed data, photographs and slide films, video camera images, and data obtained during field survey were used as additional material. In order to identify changes in the structure and function of the research area in the framework of landscape management, comparative evaluations were performed. In this context, Anko (1999), Slocombe (1998) and Haeuber (1998) approachs were evaluated and an analytical approach, the ecological, economic and socio-cultural structure was studied, interpreted and related to landscape components to diagnose problems and develop proposals.

Results

The Council of Ministers' Decree 90/1117 of 22.10.1990 establishes and proclaims Gölbaşı and its surroundings as a SPA. Gölbaşı SPA covers an area of 245 sq.km including the District of Gölbaşı and is 17 kms from the City of Ankara (Anonymous 2001). The villages of Ballıkpınar, Gökçehöyük, Hacıhasan, Hacılar, Karaoğlan, Oğulbey, Örencik, Yağlıpınar, Yavrucak and Yurtbeyli are also located in the area. Lake Mogan (5,6 sq.km) and Lake Eymir (1,08 sq.km) are located in the northeast of Gölbaşı SPA. These lakes are important both as natural and recreational resources for Ankara which is the capital of Turkey.

Ecological Structure and Change
In Gölbaşı SPA, which includes Lake Mogan and Eymir as an important component of the Central Anatolian Wetland system, different varieties of vegetation are observed due to various elevation, temperature and moisture conditions. In general, the steppe variety of vegetation dominates. Due to its location, Gölbaşı SPA has a specific hydrological structure. This structure consists of four basic formations. These are:

These four basic formations influence all other features of Gölbaşı SPA directly (flora and fauna) and/or indirectly (productivity). Shallows and shores of Lake Mogan and its surroundings where the ground water level is high, are densely covered with reeds. As a wetland, the entire area is very important for sheltering and breeding of waterfowl. 160 bird species nest and shelter in the region (Anonymous 2001). Gölbaşı SPA is also a specific area where globally threatened species can regularly be observed. Despite its ecological value mentioned above, the water regime of Gölbaşı SPA has deteriorated due to misuse of land and resources, which has in turn influenced supply and discharge equilibrium of the lake adversely. The allocation of agricultural areas to different uses has increased the perceptibility of change in landscape. In addition, the soil, water and air pollution and erosion caused by different land uses have emerged as a significant indication of adverse changes in the landscape structure and function.

Socio-cultural Structure and Change
The data for the year 1997 shows that Gölbaşı SPA has a total population of 35.069. The assessment of the structure and distribution of the urban population by age groups indicates to a quite young population. The half of the count is of individuals below the age of 25 while only 4% of the count is above the age of 65. This shows the important presence of young generations in the demographic structure of the area. The active population between 15 - 64 years of age is 67% of the total population. (Anonymous 1999) A small town of 3000 people in 1950's, Gölbaşı accommodates an urban population of more than 30.000 people today. In parallel to this quantitative change, the population of Gölbaşı has also changed qualitatively, from rural character in the past to urban character today. The urban pattern of Gölbaşı has a representative character of its social and cultural structure. Three basic social groups namely; lower medium, medium, and upper medium income groups live in the city. Additionally, in recent years, recreational needs of the Ankara citizens resulted with secondary housing areas. Thus, a different socio-cultural structure imported to Gölbaşı SPA. This group, however, has no relationship with the other three groups (Anonymous 1999). Besides, the lakes in Gölbaşı SPA are being intensively used by the citizens of Ankara for recreational purposes on daily basis especially at weekends. On the other hand, Gölbaşı settlement is subject to an intensive uncontrolled and illegal development. Despite the increased density arising due to continuing squatter settlement (gecekondu) development and illegal storey construction in spite of the current planning decisions and laws, social utility areas have remained the same. Therefore the social utilities (education, health, open - green areas etc.) have become insufficient in the course of time. In addition to this, in areas for which the existing plans maintain lower densities, development occurs horizontally, which influences the valuable agricultural areas in the surroundings (Anonymous 1999)

Economic Structure and Change
The Interaction with the metropolitan area of Ankara impacts upon the forming and economy of Gölbaşı. As a result of this interaction, land use pattern has begun to change. Local people began to leave agricultural uses and expectations of the agricultural population from the soil has differed. (Anonymous 1999) The sectoral distribution of the active population in Gölbaşı had an agriculture-based pattern in the past. Today, industry and trade are the main sectors today, having 26% and 20% shares respectively. In the manufacturing sector, which has a share of 21.9% mining (quarries and etc.) takes the first place with its share of 18,7%. On the other hand, the agriculture sector has only a share of 3%.

Conclusion

Due to the complex natural and socio-cultural structure of landscape and the complexity involved in the management of them, it is not possible to recommend a management schema that could be valid for different types of landscapes. For this reason, this paper referred to the example of Gölbaşı SPA to discuss general principles and approaches of the Landscape Management. Gölbaşı SPA and its environs could not have made use of the advantages arising from its proximity to Ankara Metropolitan area and have become a deformed extension of the urban structure. This region, which presents an overstressed multi functional structure today, could strengthen its local and specific structure and develop the ecological and socio-cultural assets it owns. In this context :

Taking into consideration the specific situation of the Gölbaşı SPA and the national conditions, in addition to the complexity of Landscape Management process, the Landscape Management studies for Gölbaşı SPA and its environs could not be implemented in the short term. Besides it is the fact that Turkey is in the process of becoming of a member of European Union and is party to many bilateral and multilateral agreements (e.g. the European Landscape Convention) with many countries, some of which are EU members. The discharge of responsibilities under these agreements entail legal and administrative changes. In this context, in the framework of the basic principles mentioned above and perhaps the most significant aspect of landscape management is to realise the need to change the traditional concepts and approaches

References

. Anko, B.,1999. Environmental management of landscapes : Landscape Ecology. Environmental Management in Practice Vol. III. Ed. Nath, Bhaskar , Published by Routledge, London , pp. 230-250
. Anonymus 1999. Gölbaşı Yerel Gündem 21 Mevcut Durum Raporu, UNDP, IULA-EMME, Gölbaşı Belediyesi, (Gölbaşı Local Business 21, Existing Situation Report, UNDP, IULA- EMME, Gölbaşı Municipality) Ankara.
. Anonymus 2001. Gölbaşı ÖÇK Bölgesi Bölge Parkı - Yakın çevresi Kentsel Tasarım ve Peyzaj Proje Yarışması TC. Çevre Bakanlığı ÖÇK Başkanlığı (Gölbaşı SPA Regional Park Immediate Vicinity Urban Design and landscape Design Contest, SPA Department, Turkish Ministry of Environment) Ankara.
. European Commision, 2000. http:// conventions. coe.int / treaty/en/treaties/html.
. Haeuber, R.,1998. Ecosystem management and environmental policy in the United States: open window or closed door. Landscape and Urban Planning 40 (1998) 221-233
. Naveh, Z.,2000. What is holistic landscape ecology ? A conceptual introduction. Landscape and Urban Planning 50 (2000), 7-26.
. Slocombe, S.,1998. Lessons from experience with ecosystem-based management. Landscape and Urban Planning 40 (1998) 31-39
. United Nations, 2001. Indicators of Sustainable Development: Guidelines and Methodologies. New York.
. Wood, R.& Handley, J.,2001. Landscape dynamics and the management of change. Landscape Research, vol. 26, no.1 45-54.

Sayfa Başı