NATURE CONSERVATION AT GÖNEN CREEK DELTA WETLANDS (BALIKESİR): WATER, CULTURE AND LIFE

43761

Although they have important functions for wild and human life, wetlands face significant threats and suffer in many parts of the World. These losses can only be reduced by well-coordinated efforts at local, national and international levels. Although such areas have been used by local communities for many years, they have attracted the attention of different interest groups, mostly from outside the sphere, due to the neoliberal economic policies and the spread of Western-based nature conservation practice. These interest groups want to have a say in the management of wetlands. One of these areas is the Gönen Creek Delta Wetlands. In this study, efforts made to understand the struggles about managing the wetlands area among different interest groups and actors with the perspective of cultural and political ecology. The study basically seeks to understand the power conflicts and the resulting management model among relevant stakeholders in using the natural resources in the delta. In this context, the positions of local and non-local stakeholders who claim to manage the wetlands have been tried to be put forward. The results of the study show that the demands and priorities of the different groups that want to participate in the management of the delta area could not be transformed into an integrated management plan in terms of sustainability. All stakeholders should be involved in planning for the vise use and sustainable management of the site, and the role of local actors should be strengthened and made permanent.

151

Gönen Creek Delta Wetlands , Wetlands , Cultural and Political Ecology , Nature Conservation

International Journal of Geography and Geography Education

171

International Journal of Geography and Geography Education