Conservation Oriented Development Planning Process in Turkey: Ball？kayalar Natural Park Experience

According to international literature “Natural Parks”, accepted under the heading “Natural Habitats”, are under the protection of different legislations and different institutions at international, national and local scale. The foremost argument for this protection concept in Turkey is the “Conservation Oriented Development Plan”. This article aims to share planning process experience of “Ball？kayalar Conservation Oriented Development Plan” prepared for “Ball？kayalar Natural Park”, one of the most important natural habitats in our country to be conserved, from a perspective of collaboration between the university and the public institution. The development of the subject of the Plan was composed of three phases. In the first phase, literature and other countries samples were examined, in the second phase analysis and synthesis studies were carried out while on the third stage the plan and the planning decisions were made. Particularly; the detailed studies on the field during the analysis phase, the efforts to implement the successful studies on international natural parks at the national level and finally on the planning decision concept, the eagerness to make a special project area on a delicate geography is expected to contribute to “conservation oriented development plan” on a national level through the experience acquired from the Ball？kayalar Natural Park experience