TÜBA Compiled the World's Health in 3 Works
The latest publications of the TÜBA Environment, Biodiversity and Climate Change Working Group (ÇBİD), one of the TÜBA Working Groups that prepares reports and books to guide decision-makers after symposiums, workshops and meetings organized with leading scientists on important, priority and current issues in Türkiye and the world, were shared with the public. Following the Workshop on the Current Status and Future of Water Resources within the Framework of Climate Change, the Workshop on Biodiversity and Ecosystems, and the Workshop on Cleaner Production, Green Consensus and Sustainable Waste Management, the comprehensive books prepared were presented to the benefit of policy makers.
Speaking about the 3 published books, TÜBA President Prof. Dr. President Şeker first thanked Prof. Dr. Nüket Sivri, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Duran Şahin and Prof. Dr. Güleda Engin, including Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Aydın, the Executive Director of the Group, for their long and intensive editorial work and the patience and diligence they showed in this process. President Şeker said that reviewing and advising on scientific issues and determining scientific priorities is one of the main duties of TÜBA and that the Academy continues to work in this direction without slowing down. In fact, he stated that the most important issue of the world and therefore of Türkiye is climate change, biodiversity and therefore the future of the world.
Türkiye is on its way to becoming water deficient
President Şeker said: "As it is known, the climate has constantly changed throughout history, but today this change is human-induced and very rapid. The global average temperature change is estimated to increase by 1.5-4.0 degrees Celsius depending on the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere after the industrial revolution. This rapid change in climate directly affects the whole world ecosystem. It has been accepted in all scientific studies conducted so far that the severity and frequency of disasters are increasing during the process of climate change. In addition to natural disasters, pollution of water resources due to human misuse is seen as an important problem. It is known that many countries in the world have become water deficient, especially when the pollution of fresh water resources, the lack of effective irrigation methods in agricultural areas, and the effects of climate change come together, and our country is on its way to join this group.
We will continue to create a channel of communication between academics, researchers and decision makers
Prof. Şeker reminded that the European Commission published a policy package in December 2019 aiming to make its economy more sustainable and greener and underlined that the "European Green Deal" was launched to combat the climate change crisis facing the world. He said that the main goals of the agreement are to become the first carbon-neutral continent by reducing net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 and to turn the transition to a green economy into an opportunity for Europe. President Şeker said that we will continue to create a communication channel between academics, researchers and decision makers to transfer and disseminate knowledge about green and responsible governance through our programs, projects and publications in this field.
Problems and solutions together
Prof. Dr. Mehmet Emin Aydın, the Executive Director of the Group and co-editor of the books, stated that the publications not only identify the problems, but also clearly put forward the solution proposals by separating these problems into layers. Prof. Aydın said the following about the content of the books; "The papers and discussions presented at the workshop held at ITU on September 23-24, 2022 were turned into a book. In the book where the impact of climate change on water resources is discussed in detail; water potentials of the world and Türkiye in terms of water resources are discussed. Problems such as uneven distribution of water resources, displacements in water resources due to climate change, severe floods and overflows, misuse of water in agriculture, damage to aquatic ecology, exposure of forests, which are an important source of ecology, to extreme fires, deficiencies in sectoral-based water allocation planning, local governments having limited resources in water supply, water leakage and losses in local governments, pollutants affecting mucilage and seawater, increase in seawater temperature and level, etc. were discussed."
Aydın explained the solutions to the problems raised in the book as follows: "Basin-based water planning, redefining disasters and extremes due to climate change, determining changes in water potentials within the framework of climate change scenarios, making changes in agricultural product patterns, measures to be taken in forest fires and raising awareness, simplifying trainings on water consumption to the public and making them sustainable, protection of aquatic ecosystems, ensuring the continuity of quality controls of water used in industry, utilization of floods for underground water storage, local rainwater harvesting, recalculations within the framework of new extremes against flood-flood disasters in settlements, managing the risks of water-related disasters before their management, etc. "
Biodiversity means the balance of the world
Prof. Aydın said that we brought together expert scientists and representatives of institutions at the workshop held at Ege University on December 1-2, 2022, and as a result of this comprehensive meeting, we prepared a book with presentations and discussion results on biodiversity and ecosystems to ensure a sustainable future in Türkiye. This valuable work is very important for us because biodiversity means the balance of the world. Biodiversity, which defines the diversity of life forms in the world, is the most important element of the healthy functioning of the world. It includes not only the diversity of species, but also genetic diversity and the diversity of ecosystems. From the smallest microorganism to the most advanced mammal, every organism plays a vital role in maintaining the delicate balance of our planet."
The world is under various environmental pressures
Stating that the papers and discussion results presented at the workshop held on March 17-18, 2023 once again revealed that the world is under a wide range of environmental pressures, Aydın said, "The fact that the green consensus, cleaner production and circular economy, which are among the issues that have been frequently discussed in recent years, have been discussed on the same platform, clean production practices from some selected sectors and the effects of the green consensus on the real sector have been discussed, and the concepts of circular economy and waste valuation have been discussed in a comprehensive book. Therefore, this book includes articles on the process of transition to cleaner production, the sectors primarily affected by the green deal, and introducing policies and practices for the implementation of zero waste, circular economy and waste valorization in our country. I am sure that these books will make important contributions and be useful to relevant institutions, academics, students, individuals interested in the subject and the public in terms of creating an up-to-date and compact resource."