📩 30/09/2023 11:30
Among the 12 projects to be supported within the scope of the Horizon Europe Program, the only project from Turkey aimed at the restoration of the Gediz Delta, in which Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is a partner, was included. Gediz Delta will begin to be restored with a grant support of approximately 1 million 500 thousand Euros.
Application results for the 2022 calls under the Climate Change Adaptation Mission component of the Horizon Europe Program have been announced. Among the projects that will receive grants within the scope of the program is the project aiming at the restoration of the Gediz Delta, of which Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is a partner, together with İZSU General Directorate and İzDoğa. Gediz Delta will begin to be restored with a grant support of approximately 1 million 500 thousand Euros.
883 institutions and organizations competed with 43 projects
Within the scope of 6 call titles of the Horizon Europe Programme, 883 institutions and organizations competed with 43 projects. Among the 12 projects to be supported within the scope of the program, the only project application from Turkey in which Izmir Metropolitan Municipality is a partner is included.
Gediz Delta will be restored with nature-based solutions
The project includes nature-based solutions and awareness activities to be carried out for four and a half years in the Gediz Delta, located on the borders of İzmir's Çiğli and Menemen districts and home to hundreds of different creatures.
The main objectives of the project, which will start in October 2023, include ecological restoration and habitat creation in the Gediz Delta. Work will be carried out to support and strengthen the conditions of agriculture, animal husbandry and traditional coastal fishing in harmony with nature in the Delta.
In addition, many projects such as the Diversion Channel, combating poaching and raising awareness will be implemented with the grant.
It is aimed to support biological diversity
Within the scope of the project, restoration works will be carried out in which the fishermen's huts will be turned into smart huts to support traditional coastal fishing. With the project, purified water from the Çiğli Wastewater Treatment Plant, of a quality that can be used in ecological restoration, will be used in the restoration of the Southern Gediz region through a channel in the form of a natural stream. Supporting mandate activities in positive flood areas created by the transferred water is among the details of the project. These studies are carried out by İZSU General Directorate with the permission and partnership of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.
The aim of the work is to minimize the pressure and threats on the Gediz Delta, to set an example for other areas in Turkey, and to provide a living space for thousands of living creatures in the future. The project team met with other institutions receiving support from the European Union Horizon Europe Program in Athens, Greece, on 27-29 September 2023 and held the opening meeting of the project.