Bluescapes Alliance

As the Bluescapes Alliance we are trying to address the degradation and loss of coastal, riparian and wetland habitats, which are critical ecosystems that support biodiversity, provide essential ecosystem services, and are under threat from human activities such as urbanization, agricultural expansion, and climate change. In the Marmara Sea region and watershed alone, forest and vegetated cover in coastal areas have decreased by as much as 85% in the last three decades according to studies. With our remote sensing analysis we have also observed that more than a third of areas with protected natural area status have been opened up to development in the Marmara region since 1997. These changes are a testament to the fact that Turkey has rolled back many environmental protections and currently ranks 172 out of 180 countries according to the Yale Environmental Performance Index. Beyond their role as critical biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks, these coastal wetland and riparian corridors are not only vulnerable to flooding, but also have soft alluvial soils prone to liquefaction during earthquakes given proximity to fault lines in this region, putting communities at risk. Protection of these habitats are critical for a multitude of reasons, we are aiming to stop and reverse the degradation of these areas through satellite observation, tracking, partnerships for restoration and advocacy.

By using remote sensing and drones to assess the conservation status of protected wetlands and coastal habitats, and by assisting landowners in the design and implementation of ecological restoration projects, we are working to address this problem by:

1. Improving our understanding of the status and trends of these habitats, including their extent, quality, and threats, which can inform conservation planning and management, and identifying areas that are at high risk of degradation or loss, which helps us prioritize conservation and restoration efforts

2. Providing landowners with the information, tools, and guidance they need to design and implement effective restoration projects that can enhance the ecological functioning of these habitats and increase their resilience to threats. 

3. Developing partnerships and advocacy documents to help protect and restore these important ecosystems, which can benefit both biodiversity and human communities that depend on them for a range of services, including flood control, water purification, and recreational opportunities.

We are currently actively working in two regions in Turkey. The first is the Marmara Region, which currently encompasses three municipalities and eight conservation and environmental advocacy groups. With support from National Geographic Society, we are developing a watershed restoration plan and approach that outlines key habitats that we need to prioritize for conservation action. In addition, we are working on building a partnership with Antioch Environmental Protection and Tourism Foundation in the Asi River Delta and Samandag Coastal wetlands region, which was heavily impacted during the 2023 earthquake. Construction debris is being dumped on these wetlands and the coastal areas, which are also nursing habitats for protected sea turtles, are being opened up for development, which are areas vulnerable to flooding and soil liquefaction during earthquakes as well. We are tracking land use change and developing a protection plan and advocacy campaign to ensure these areas are protected in re-development plans for the region. In addition to these two regions, our target groups include conservation and restoration practitioners, landowners and managers of wetlands and coastal habitats, and local communities more broadly.

Being born and raised in the Istanbul metropolitan region, with over a decade of experience in large scale masterplans and ecological restoration projects in Turkey, United States and around the world, our team lead and project partners are uniquely situated in addressing this issue. Through support from National Geographic Society, the engagement process around the watershed restoration vision for the Sea of Marmara has reached over 40 community leaders and decision makers. The vision document and plan will be made public in October 2023. The Team Lead and partners have a deep understanding of the communities they are serving, including their needs, values, and priorities to create a more meaningful and impactful solution that builds long-term resilience.

We have several active projects where we have deployed our technology and methodology with support through grant funding, however we have no paying customers as we operate as a non-profit. We are hoping to understand how our work can be supported through voluntary carbon markets or other conservation finance tools.

This is hard to quantify given the scale at which we work, however the watershed management plan vision we are developing for the Marmara region would impact at least 25 million people. 

Although we have several active projects where we have deployed our technology and methodology with support through grant funding, we are hoping to build a more sustainable funding model for our organization. With the help of Solve, we are hoping to understand how this type of work can be supported through voluntary carbon markets or other conservation finance tools and mechanisms. While our team and partner network is made up of planners, ecologists, geospatial analysts and policy advocates, we are hoping to understand novel mechanisms to fund and support ecological restoration work in a context where the public sector does not have a formal RFP process to support these types of environmental projects. We are also hoping to get better at branding and social media outreach to build an audience for our work locally and beyond.

Our main goal is to increase formally protected coastal and wetland habitats by 30 percent within the project region for the Marmara watershed. We hope to achieve this primarily through the vision plan and ongoing discussions with planning agencies and public campaigns. In addition, we have selected 4 critical habitat areas (Karacabey longoz, Uluabat lake, Izmit, Kucukcekmece lagoon) where we will actively work on improving the ecological health and functioning of coastal and wetland habitats within the project region. We will be tracking progress on pilot projects with drones and near infrared sensors.