Interview: Keep beauty of nature for future generations: Turkish experts

Autumn, maybe the most beautiful and colorful season on earth, attracts people to go out to see the natural beauty before it is too cold in winter. For a country holding over 70 million population who are really fond of picnic, some national parks in Turkey are facing intense pressure from excessive tourists, and Turkish experts insist keeping natural beauty for future generations with multiple efforts.

Abant Lake National Park, a freshwater lake in Turkey's Bolu Province in northwest Anatolia, is one of the favorite vacation and excursion spots for both Turkish and foreign travelers thanks to its beautiful lake area, the dense forests nearby and easy access by car from Capital Ankara and metropolis Istanbul.

Kemer Can, Bolu provincial director of the Bureau of Nature Protection and National Parks under the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs of Turkey, has been focusing on the protection and development of Abant Lake for many years.

"Last year, the beauty of Abant attracted 455,000 guests with over 120,000 cars entering and leaving the national park," Kemer Can told Xinhua.

Every park wishes to bring more guests inside, however, too many guests will be a burden for the national park and the tourists themselves, for there is not enough parking place, lack of accommodation, and less joy for the tourists but more environmental problems, Kemer said.

"We choose to tell tourists the truth when there is not enough space for cars to park and for people to relax. We usually suggest them to come another day. When facing too many guests in our park, we change the function areas in the national park. We will move the picnic area which Turks love most to enhance the flow of tourists, which is an efficient way. We also give tourists picnic cloth and rubbish bags for free. "

"What we keep doing is not to damage the beauty of nature, but to keep the harmonious relationship between human and nature," Kemer Can told Xinhua.

Kemer Can is also in charge of the Yedigoller Nation Park, another famous Turkish national park in Bolu province, which is best known for the seven lakes formed by landslides and for its profusion of plant life especially in summer and autumn.

However, the fame of the park brings not only tourists and money, but also problems like lack of parking place, too narrow roads and the pollution caused by human activities.

"Yedigoller Park is one of the most famous parks in northern Anatolia region. After we broadened the roads to the park last year, the number of tourists doubled to 110,000, and we are expecting 150,000 tourists this year," Erden Karaagac, the Regional director of the 9th Region of the Bureau of Nature Protection and National Parks under the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs of Turkey, who is in charge of Turkish national parks in several provinces in central and northern Anatolia including Bolu, told Xinhua.

"To welcome more tourists, we are continuing the expanding of our parking place using local material which enables the parks to be harmonious with the surrounding view. To protect the Yedigoller Park from forest fire and to keep the area clean for sightseeing, we forbid BBQ in the Park. However, we are building an BBQ square for our guests who are fond of grill kilometers away from the park area," Kemer Can added.

According to Karaagac, the most important principle of the development of the Turkish national parks is protection.

"When we talk about protection, we not only talk about the protection of trees, rivers and mountains in the park, but also the protection of wildlife and tourists. For the protection of a unique trout in Yedigoller Park and Abant Lake, we set up a trout area in the park to help the breeding of it. We are also improving the camera system in our parks to protect wildlife such as bear from illegal hunting," the regional director said.

According to Emilhan Atilgan, the senior engineer in Kure Park, there are over 1050 species of plants and 129 species of bird living and breeding in the park, which covers 37.753 hectares between Kastamonu and Bartin provinces.

"There are nearly 120 villages in the buffer zone. This buffer zone is unique for Turkey and is the most important tool for protection and effective management of the national park," Emilhan told Xinhua.

"To protect the nature and traditional life styles and for sustainability, state institutions, nongovernmental organizations and local people have been working in collaboration, and the national park has become one of the most successful examples of nature protection and natural resource management in Turkey," Emilhan said.

Turkish experts in different national parks are still trying to solve different issues they are facing; however, they all put protection in the first priority.

"We need to make thoughtful plans in the protection and development of national parks, so that we can hand over the beauty of nature to the future generations," Karaagac strengthened. Endit