THE MEDCOAST INSTITUTE 95:

The MED-CAMPUS Certificate Program on
Coastal Zone Management

28 August - 14 September 1995, Ankara - Marmaris - Capadocia, T U R K E Y

 

MEDCOAST INSTITUTE 95 PARTICIPANT LIST

Kadriye Aday
The Authority for the Protection of Special Areas
Koza Sokak 32, G.O.P. 06700 Ankara, Turkey
 

 

Ayse Bayar
Environmental Engineering Department
Middle East Technical University
06531 Ankara, Turkey
 

 

Diana Alice Bucur
Constanta County Council, BD. Tomis nr. 51,
8700 Constanta, Romania
 

 

Antonio Cangemi
Private Practitioner, Via di Scina, 15,
90139 Palermo, Italy
 

 

Juan Criado
SEO/Birdlife (Spanish Ornithological Society),
Carretera de Humera 63-1,
28224 Pozuelo de Alarcon (Madrid), Spain
 

 

Amir Walid Dajani
Bethlehem University,
Institute of Hotel Management and Tourism
P.O. Box 9, West Bank, Occupied Territories
 

 

Jale Emekdas
General Directorate of EIA and Planning,
Ministry of Environment, Eskisehir Yolu 8 km.,
Bilkent Kavsagi, Ankara, Turkey
 

 

Kamel Esseghairi
Women for Sustainable Development (NGO)
B.P. 337, 7 rue Remada,
2000 le Bardo, Tunisia
 

 

Yury Golubev
Ukranian Hydrometeorological Institute

Ukraine
 

 

Marwa Kanj
Marine Research Center

Lebanon
 

 

Bahar Keskin
Coastal and Harbour Engineering Laboratory, Civil Engineering Dept.
Middle East Technical University, 06531 Ankara, Turkey
 

 

Lounes Lahyani
Institut Superieur Maritime,
Bou-Ismail, 42415 W. Tipaza, Algeria
 

 

Fadil Mahmoud
Coastal Center for Pollution Combating,
P.O. Box 514, Lattakia, Syria
 

 

Labeeb Mukhallalati
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation
Gaza Strip, Palestinian Authority, via Israel
 

 

Fatma Narli
Institute of Marine Sciences and Management,
Istanbul University, Müskile Sokak, Vefa,
34470 Istanbul, Turkey
 

 

Veli Ortaçesme
Department of Landscape Architecture, Fac. of Agriculture
University of Çukurova, 01330 Adana, Turkey
 

 

Funda Öztürk
Fikirtepe Sok. Tekel _spirto ev. A/1 B, D.2,
Kanlica, 81610 Istanbul, Turkey
 

 

Anne Marie Sciberras
St. Andrew, St. Georges Junction,
St. Julian's, STJ10 Malta
(University of Malta/Sussex)
 

 

Özlem Ünal
Department of Urban and Regional Planning,
Faculty of Architecture
Dokuz Eylül University,
Sehitler Cad. no: 12, Alsancak 35230 Izmir, Turkey
 

 

Ariela Weinberg
Ministry of Environment,
P.O. Box 20110, Tel Aviv 64734, Israel
 

 

Walid A. Nazmy Younes
Oceanography Department, Faculty of Science
Alexandria University,
Moharram Bey, Alexandria, Egypt
 

 

Soukaina Zizah
Institut Scientifique des Peches Maritime
2, rue Tiznit, 20000 Casablanca, Morocco
 


 

FROM THE PARTICIPANTS:
 

Anne Marie Sciberras

This three week training course which focuses on coastal problems in the Mediterranean, was organized in Turkey by the Medcoast Network which includes the Middle East Technical University in Turkey, the University of Malta, Cardiff University in Wales, the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Delft Hydraulics, the University of Genoa, Italy, the Catalonian University of Technology in Barcelona and the Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa.

With flights to and from Ankara finally confirmed, the unearthly hour of 2 am of Monday, August 28, saw Anton Micallef, a MEDCOAST'95 faculty member representing the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Insular Dynamics at the Foundation for International Studies (University of Malta), and myself off for a three-week unforgettable training course on " Coastal Zone Management in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea Countries". This course took us across different parts of Turkey, starting from Ankara, down to the coast along the Marmaris/Fethiye route and finally to Cappadocia, bringing us in contact with 21 other participants from 15 Mediterranean countries and Black Sea coastal states and 10 faculty staff representing several universities and marine institutions specialising in this field.

Week one took place at the Middle East Technical University (METU), an 11,000 acre Campus just outside the center of Ankara city. Two flights and the slowest taxi ride ever, brought us (weary and somewhat dishevelled travellers) to our destination, with the opening session in progress. Prof. Erdal Özhan, the Chairman of MEDCOAST, was introducing the lecturers and had just mentioned Anton's name when the Maltese contingent made its grand entrance!

The lectures for that first week were very intensive but also full of interesting and useful information. The subjects dealt with were various, each given by experts in their field and dealt with coastal and marine systems, physical and coastal features, living and non-living resources and their utilisation, management techniques such as the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and legislation pertinent to coastal use. Besides the lectures, each participant had to make a presentation on his/her country's coastal zone and related activities.

Lectures were held each day until late afternoon after which participants were free to organise their own dinner arrangements. This was the only time available to us in which we could venture out to the city center. Ankara, is a cosmopolitan city, with its tall characterless buildings and heavy traffic, making it no different from many others in Europe. One is only reminded that she/he is in Turkey through the countless posters of their great hero Atatürk, a person all turks have great respect for. Soukaina (the Moroccan participant who was to be my room-mate for the remaining two weeks), and myself took these opportunities to visit the old city, the castle and the grand mosque of Ankara which is reputed to the largest in Turkey. Together with other participants we went bargain hunting and we were treated to the best of Turkish hospitality, traditional food prepared and offered by one of the Turkish participants in her own home.

The first week soon passed and Friday night saw the MEDCOAST group say "good-bye" to METU and embark on a ten hour coach trip to Marmaris, a coastal town hosting approximately 800 yachts, thus possessing the largest marina premises proved a respite and treat to us all. In the meantime formalities were being taken care of by the captains of the boats which were to be our home for the next week. The Lyra and Barbarossa are two gullets - traditional Turkish boats; the former being the larger of the two, welcomed on board the faculty and some participants while the Barbarossa accommodated the remaining 14 participants.

The field study trip from Marmaris to Fethiye and back was a full programme and sine it forms part of the famous Blue Voyage route, the scenery in route represents some of the best offered by the Turkish coast. The course organizers made full use of this occasion to bring each participants with the reality of coastal development, that is, a tug-of-war between touristic and environmental protection needs.The field work thus addressed "good and bad" coastal development approaches, the need for setting aside marine and land-based reserves, beach surveying needs as well as many other issues relevant to effective coastal zone management practice.

Various bays, docks, industrial plants and beaches were thus visited in route and we came across many illegal buildings some of which flourished to become "notorious" landmarks, others to be pulled down leaving heaps of rubble for all to see.

One of the special protected areas visited was the beautiful Dalyan beach where the sea turtle Caretta caretta lays her eggs, revealed by the tracks of the tiny newborns heading for the open sea as well as those belonging to the baby turtle predator spider crabs.

During the field trip, we also met with mayors from the towns of Ekincik, Dalyan, Göcek and Ortaca, a governor from one of the neighbouring municipalities and with representatives from the touristic and agricultural sector. These meetings proved to be more interesting than anticipated as they highlight some of the real problems faced by decision makers in attempting to balance the socio-economical and ecological interests of the coast.

Life in the boat, made us all become one big family. For some of us, home was Barbarossa and whenever we had to board the Lyra for a a lecture, we were all keen to return to 'our' boat and to the company of our wonderful Turkish crew. Our cook would sometimes let us help out, adding our own ideas to the varied menus. During the sailing between one site and another we also had an opportunity to do a spot of fishing, in this way contributing to our dinners with freshly caught tuna, mullet and octopus.

But all good things come to an end so did our Blue Adventure trip. On returning to Marmaris, all of us physically exhausted but sad to leave our floating homes, we climbed back onto the awaiting coaches for a thirteen hour drive to Cappadocia region, another natural wonder of the world in all true senses.

Kaya Otel, a resort in the village of Göreme, was our destination to continue with the third final  week of this training course. The location is a most unusual one, being dug out in the Valley of the Pigeons. Our course work during this final week was again full to the brim, with lectures, presentations by each participant of their field study report and a 'simulation game' on the last afternoon. We also held group discussions on problems facing our respective countries. One afternoon was relegated to an organized tour of the region's main sites of historical and cultural interests, including an underground city, the open-air museum and last but not least, a wine-tasting session, particularly relished by those who enjoyed this drink.

September 15 was our last day of the course, and which it came by the banquet and graduation ceremony as well as some sadness in saying good-bye to people who had become like family. A questionnaire had been given to each participant to complete reflecting their comments an individual aspects of the course. Mine were excellent! The organization, course content, activities, environmental setting and participants chosen were super and first class. It is a a course I would recommend to anyone who is interested in learning more about Coastal Zone Management issues and who would like to mix three weeks of intensive study with the adventure which the programme has to offer.
 
 

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