Investment in sustainable management, prevention, eradication, and control of IAS and restoration of IAS-degraded habitat at key marine and coastal areas.
MarIAS IAS Management Planning Meeting
UNDP Türkiye Communication Team
Testing and piloting a variety of IAS management and control strategies is crucial for developing experience and know-how. For this purpose, IAS management frameworks, i.e., IAS Management Plans, have been developed at four pilot sites of the project. The implementation of management plans has been initiated starting from Ayvalık Islands in 2023 and will be completed at all pilot sites by the end of 2024.
MarIAS project has also developed Harvest Incentive Programs for the Indo-Pacific origin lionfish (Pterois miles), Atlantic starfish (Asterias rubens), puffer fish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) populations, offering solutions on how to control them and integrate them into the economy. As part of the implementation of these Harvest Incentive Programs, a fishing derby and gastronomy event for lionfish, a diving contest to collect starfish, and a community activity for removal of water hyacinth from the Asi River and along the Mediterranean coast at Samandağ were carried out. The lionfish derby in Keldağ was followed by a tasting of different lionfish recipes, in an effort to popularize the hunting and consumption of lionfish among Hatay residents. Local divers participated in a small-scale tournament, competing to collect as many starfish as possible from the shores of the Marmara Islands, and the winners were rewarded with a scuba dive computer, a dive bag, and a dive torch. The community water hyacinth removal event targeted water hyacinths, which block waterways and channels and also prevent sunlight and oxygen from reaching the water column and submerged plants due to their very rapid reproduction and spread, thus negatively affecting transportation, tourism, and fishing activities, as well as causing much destruction to the ecosystem and a significant decrease in biodiversity.
The main factor that has enabled investment in sustainable management of IAS is the availability of GEF funds for this cause, which further encouraged and increased the willingness and quick adoption of governmental institutions such as the General Directorate of Aquaculture and Fisheries in the struggle with the IAS, especially in the toxic pufferfish and lionfish.
A committed and inclusive process for stakeholder involvement and active collaboration of an expert national NGO (Nature Research Society) in protected area management planning and species action plans for the development and expedited implementation of pilot site IAS Management Plans has also fostered a process that was accepted and formally recognized by all actors involved.
The participation of local coastal communities is important for creating awareness among the public, and collective and fun events can also be instrumental as short-term solutions for controlling the population of the marine invasive alien species. Additionally, these events help raise awareness among coastal communities about invasive species and the threats they may represent to local biodiversity and livelihoods.