Blogger: Simon Tonkin, RSPB Senior Farmland Conservation Officer

Where am I? Over 800,000 square kilometres of land, surrounded on three sides by seas, serving as a bridge between three continents and forming a critical flyway for migrating birds? .....Turkey of course!

Turkey encompasses two main routes for birds migrating en mass, referred to as a flyway. Twice a year, the land and water habitats of Turkey offer hospitality to thousands of migrating birds.

Bird migration is with out doubt one of nature’s greatest miracles. The epic flights of migratory birds connect us all - crossing our borders, cultures and lives. I can not describe the fascination, awe and shear miracle that bird migration continually demonstrates to me. Yet there is still so much we do not understand about one of the world’s greatest events.

The birds, wildlife and culture of Turkey had a real effect on Tristan Reid when he visited and delighted in the spectacle of wildlife and the friendly people he met on his travels. Imagine the shock, disbelief and anger that Tristan must have felt after realising that the mass development of hydro-electric damns right across that 800,000 hectares. Not just one or two but a head-spinning 1,738 hydro-electric damns are planned.

What’s the problem? – the creation of these damns on such a mass scale would destroy the vital ecosystems on which migrating and resident birds depend, but also destroy the habitats which many people rely on for food and a huge variety of other resources.

In Europe this type of development would have to pass the EU’s Habitats Directive - helping to ensure development limits its effects on important habitats and species. The government in this country recently announced a review of the implementation of this directive, feeling the directive constrains on the ability of our economy to overcome the current bleak outlook. RSPB and many others strongly disagree. Sacrificing the environment, and for example destroying that jaw dropping miracle of flyways for short-term economic gain has no long-term sustainable economic, environmental or social future.

Unfortunately Turkey isn’t part of the EU and doesn’t have such a cornerstone of protection for nature. It is important to note that the development of renewable energy sources is important to us all, but they must not be at the expense of the ecosystems that so many of us rely on. In Turkey 2,000,000 Turkish villagers will be forced to migrate away from their homes as a result of these damn developments.

Tristan decided to step-up for Turkey’s nature – He is helping Birdlife partner Doğa Derneği in their work and give them and the issues they are fighting against greater publicity. He literally decided to give his right (and left) arm!

 

Photo: Tristan enthusing RSPB staff about Turkey’s fabulous wildlife and his very cool, but no doubt very painful tattoo’s.

 

Here is Tristan’s plan:

1. Commission an artist to design a montage of ten of the iconic birds of Turkey (this will be auctioned off once the project is complete)

2. Have the design tattooed on his complete arm and shoulder (funded completely himself)

3. If he raises over £10,000 he will add a further £1,000 to the total and have a montage of a further ten species tattooed onto his left arm and shoulder

And here’s what YOU can do to help!

You can donate by following this link:

http://www.justgiving.com/givingmyrightarm

Alternatively you can donate via text message! Text the code VWFE83 followed by the amount (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) to 70070 (all letters in the text must be in higher case)

30% of the global population of the Critically Endangered Northern Bald Ibis

25% of the European breeding population of the Endangered White-headed Duck

> 10% of the global population of the Endangered Egyptian Vulture (a species which now only really survives in large numbers on Yemen’s Socotra Island)

> 30% of the global population of European Rollers (pictured)

> 70% of the global population of the near Turkish endemic and Near Threatened Krueper’s Nuthatch

> 90% of the global population of the Cinereous Bunting

Additionally Turkey holds five endemic mammals (mountains here still apparently hold the Anatolian or Asia Minor Leopard Panthera pardus tulliana), has 52 endemic freshwater fish, 13 endemic reptiles, 30.6 Turkish plant species are endemic to Turkey and the nearby Aegean Islands.