Citation: FAO-MoAF. 2020. National Steppe Conservation Strategy and Action Plan. Doğa Koruma Merkezi, Conservation and Sustainable Management of Turkey's Steppe Ecosystems Project Publication. 281 pages. Ankara. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF). The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. 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Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: [email protected] 3 COPYRIGHT National Steppe Conservation Strategy and Action Plan has been prepared by Nature Conservation Centre (DKM) within the scope of the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Turkey's Steppe Ecosystems Project which is carried out in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks (GDNCNP), General Directorate of Plant Production (GDPP), and General Directorate of Forestry (GDF) and with the financial support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Prepared by: Nature Conservation Centre (DKM): Gülden Atkın Gençoğlu, Dr. Özge Balkız, Yıldıray Lise, Dr. Mustafa Durmuş, Dr. Tuba Bucak, Gelincik Deniz Bilgin, Dr. Semiha Demirbaş Çağlayan, Hakan Eligül, Prof. Dr. Tuna Ekim, Prof. Dr. Mecit Vural, Prof. Dr. Can Bilgin, Prof. Dr. Latif Kurt, Prof. Dr. Hayrettin Kendir, Dr. Uğur Zeydanlı Project Team Members: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Dr. Nihan Yenilmez Arpa, Dr. Peter Pechacek The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks (GDNCNP): Mustafa Bulut (Deputy Director General), Tuğba Usta, Abdulsamet Haçat, Burak Tatar, Fatih Köylüoğlu, Ömer Faruk Arslan, Serhat Erbaş, Ümit Bolat, Osman Uğur Akınç Şanlıurfa 3rd Regional Directorate: İsrafil Erdoğan, Murat Akgün, Hüseyin İnce, Ecrin Kapucu, Fecir Örnek, Mehmet Ekinci, Mehmet Emin Saygan, Mehmet Gürkaynak, Suat Tekin 4 The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Plant Production (GDPP): Ahmet Dallı (Deputy Director General), Tuncay Gürsoy Yüce, Esra Esina, Davut Özgür, Gültekin Öçalan, Kürşat Kaan Yeşil Agriculture and Forestry Provincial Directorates: Mehmet Gözoğlu (Şanlıurfa), Süleyman Şeker (Şanlıurfa), Halil Şıtıl (Şanlıurfa), Aziz Aktacir (Şanlıurfa), Süleyman Tüzün (Şanlıurfa), Zafer Çelik (Ankara), Ergun Yılmaz (Kayseri), Fethi Akman (Erzurum), Yılmaz Türk (İstanbul), Sinan Aykan (Antalya), Özgün Talan (Antalya), Oral Özgen (Diyarbakır), Erol Çiftçi (Sivas), Aydın Cesur (Adana), Suat Safran (Van), Üzeyir Tombul (Konya) The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Forestry (GDF): Mehmet Çelik (Deputy Director General), Mehmet Koç, Ramazan Balı, Kıymet Keleş, Türkan Özdemir, Cezmi Keleş, Yaşar Sönmez 5 Conservation and Sustainable Management of Turkey's Steppe Ecosystems Project National Steppe Conservation Strategy and Action Plan ©2020 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF) For Detailed Information: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations www.fao.org/turkey E-mail: [email protected] Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks https://www.tarimorman.gov.tr/DKMP General Directorate of Plant Production https://www.tarimorman.gov.tr/BUGEM General Directorate of Forestry https://www.ogm.gov.tr ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The strategy has been prepared in close cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MoAF) General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, the General Directorate of Plant Production, the General Directorate of Forestry and especially the Şanlıurfa Units. The base data required for the strategy was provided by the project coordinator FAO and MoAF and developed by the Nature Conservation Centre (DKM). The strategy was prepared with the participation of 15 experts from DKM and with the contributions and support of approximately 150 experts from MoAF and FAO. In the process, very important support was received from the Scientific Advisory Group and the National Steppe Conservation Working Group. We would like to thank all institutions and individuals who did not deny their support, especially the members of the National Steppe Conservation Working Group, who are the experts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of European Union and Foreign Relations, General Directorate of Combating Desertification and Erosion, General Directorate of Livestock, General 6 Directorate of Plant Production, General Directorate of Agricultural Research and Policies (GAP Agricultural Research Institute), Strategy Development Directorate, General Directorate of Agricultural Reform, General Directorate of Forestry Non-Wood Products and Services Department, Presidency Strategy and Budget Directorate General Directorate of Sectors and Public Investments Department of Agriculture, General Directorate of Plans and Programs, Strategy Development Department, Ministry of Environment and Urbanization General Directorate of Preservation of Natural Heritage, Nature Conservation Centre Foundation, Chamber of Forest Engineers, Turkey Sheep and Goat Breeders Central Union (TÜDKİYEB), Chamber of Agricultural Engineers, The Research Association of Rural Environment and Forestry, WWF-TR, Nature Research Society, Buğday Association for Supporting Ecological Living, and Sustainable Rural and Urban Development Association. We also thank Scientific Advisory Group members of the Project, Assoc. Dr. Burcu Tarıkahya and Prof. Dr. Nilgül Karadeniz for their contributions. We would like to thank the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, General Directorate of Plant Production, General Directorate of Forestry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for data sharing. The General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has led the preparation process of the strategy, as well as the project and we are especially thankful to Mr. İsmail Üzmez, the General Director of Nature Conservation and Natural Parks and Mr. Mustafa Bulut, the Deputy General Director, who have not denied their help in overcoming all kinds of obstacles during these processes. We would like to express our sincere thanks