Kick-Off Meeting of the Project on “Restoring Marine Ecosystem Connectivity in South West Türkiye with Network of Marine Protected Areas Boosting Climate Change Resilience” was held on 17 December 2025, hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.
The meeting was organized at the meeting hall of the Çevre, located within the premises of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. The meeting was attended by Ms. Özge GÖKÇE AKTAŞ, Sector Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye; Mr. Özgür ÖKMEN, EU Expert at the European Union Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Raci BAYER, Head of the Project Implementation Department, and Mr. Mehmet Yunus İNAN, Contract Expert Mr. Güven SEYDİOĞLU, Head of the Project Preparation and Monitoring Department of the General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change; representatives of the General Directorate for the Protection of Natural Assets; and representatives of the contractor consortium GOPA Worldwide Consultants – GOPA Danışmanlık Ltd. Şti. – IPCEU International Project Consultancy Inc.
During the opening session, project stakeholders were introduced, and information was provided on the roles and responsibilities of the consortium, the technical assistance team, and the backstopping team. This was followed by presentations on the project’s objectives, scope, areas of activity, expected results, and deliverables. In this context, the planned actions aimed at strengthening ecological connectivity between Marine Protected Areas, conserving biodiversity, and enhancing climate change adaptation capacity were discussed.
In addition, topics related to the inception phase, including priority focus areas, result areas and deliverables, the draft operational plan for 2026, and project visibility elements such as the proposed project name and logo, were addressed. Operational aspects ensuring the effective and timely implementation of the project such as office set-up, expert selection and approval procedures, reporting mechanisms, and meeting arrangements were also discussed.
The Kick-Off Meeting concluded with a general wrap-up session following the exchange of views and evaluations among participants. The project is expected to make a significant contribution to the protection of marine ecosystems in Türkiye, the sustainable management of marine biodiversity, and the enhancement of resilience to climate change.