Communities help manage Turkey’s Kure Mountains National Park

Galip Arslan, a local activist near the Kure Mountains National Park, has been part of the Government’s efforts to engage communities in protecting the environment

The “Rise of the South” and post-communist Europe and Central Asia - part II

Ben Slay

Read part I

Photo:Shynar Jetpissova / World Bank

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - 3 December, 2012 - In 1990, Turkey was a lower middle-income country whose recent political history had been punctuated by coup d’etats in 1960, 1971, and 1980 (as well as the ‘28 February Process’ in 1997). The currency crises and recessions of 1999 and 2001 reduced Turkey’s per-capita gross domestic product (GDP) from $4,000 to $3,000; more than 20 percent of GDP was devoted to servicing the state debt. Today, per-capita GDP is above $10,000; fiscal and external balances are under control; and Turkey has become the largest (by GDP and population) parliamentary democracy among the developing and transition economies of Europe and Central Asia. 

Under the sea – photographs showcase biodiversity in Turkey's seas

ANKARA, Turkey, 25 September, 2011 – A new photography book presents 329 different species photographed during dives in the Eastern Mediterranean from the Keldağ (Hatay) area near the Turkey-Syria border to the Saros Gulf of the Agean Sea and in theBlack Sea from Trabzon to Zonguldak. See: Stunning underwater sea photos courtesy of photographer Tahsin Ceylan.

Turkey shares progress report on Millennium Development Goals with leaders from region

ISTANBUL, Turkey – 10 June 2010 – Five years before the 2015 deadline, Turkey has eradicated extreme poverty and hunger, and nearly achieved gender parity in primary education, two of the eight internationally-agreed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The globally endorsed development goals include targets for reducing income poverty, maternal and child mortality, disease, gender inequality, environmental degradation and for promoting global partnerships for development. Read: Turkey's MDG Report 2010

UNDP and Turkey: a Q & A with Kori Udovicki, Regional Director for UNDP Europe and CIS

Ankara, Turkey, 10 May 2010-UNDP Turkey hosted the Director of UNDP's Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States Kori Udovicki in April. Udovicki visited many government officials in Turkey, including the Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and Minister of State Cevdet Yilmaz, to speak about UNDP's ongoing programme in the country. According to Udovicki, Turkey can become a significant global partner for UNDP.

Eastern Turkey Becomes Tourist Destination

Çoruh Valley, Turkey, September 2009-Turkey’s Eastern Anatolia is a long way from tourism hotspots such as the Aegean and  Mediterranean coasts. Even so, tourists—more than 1,400 in the past two years— are now finding their way to a remote area that has become an eco-tourism gem despite ongoing plans for dam projects in the region. For now, though, the Çoruh region near the city of Erzurum draws power from tourists rather than hydro-electric sources.