The Saros Bay Conservation and Restoration Planning Action

This action primarily aims to develop a Conservation and Restoration Action Plan for the Saros Bay Special Environmental Protection Area and its surrounding seascapes in the Aegean Sea off Turkish coasts, which are of particular importance for biodiversity. Given the geographic scale, multitude of threats, stakeholders involved, an adaptive management planning process is essential in the region. Accordingly, this action will identify the goals, objectives, and specific indicators for conservation and restoration actions, assess the ecological viability of ecosystems, ascertain threats, and design strategies and actions for implementation. There will be a specific focus on small-scale fisheries, women and youth and on empowering these groups.
Objectives of the action are:
1. Develop a Conservation and Restoration Action Plan: Craft a detailed action plan for Saros Bay SEPA and its surroundings to guide biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration
2. Employ a Holistic Approach: Integrate environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and spatial considerations into conservation strategies.
3. Align with Global Conservation Goals: Ensure the project's alignment with EU's policies, strategies and the international frameworks such as the SDGs, GBF, and UN Decade of Ocean Science.
4. Support Global and Local Conservation Efforts: Contribute insights to global biodiversity efforts and address specific local conservation needs in the area
5. Mobilize Conservation Funding: Use the action plan to attract funding for implementing large-scale conservation and restoration projects.
6. Engage and Empower Communities: Focus on involving women, youth, and stakeholders in sustainable practices and conservation activities.
7. Foster Partnerships: Collaborate with academic institutions, governmental bodies, and NGOs to enhance project impact.
8. Raise Awareness: Increase public awareness about the region's biodiversity and the role sustainable small fisheries and sustainable land & sea use systems play

Activities and Proposed Methodology:

A. Stakeholder/Community Mapping and Analysis
1. Land and Sea Use Systems and Practices
2. Stakeholder Identification
3. Meetings and Interviews
4. Stakeholder Analysis

B. Finer Scale Assessment
1. Review of Existing Knowledge
2. Establishing the Baseline
3. Participatory Analysis
4. Resource availability identification
5. Risk management

C. Developing the Conservation and Restoration Action Plan including via organizing a workshop
1. Objective Setting
2. Best Practices and NbS / EbA Assessment
3. Develop a flexible and adaptive action plan, with its strategies and theory-of-change, that engages stakeholders and incorporates ecological, socio-economic, cultural factors

D. Finalization and Promotion
1. Communication
2. Fundraising