Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ecological Risk Assessment and Problem Formulation for Lake Uluabat, a Ramsar State in Turkey

  • Published:
Environmental Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Unlike the United States and the European Union, developing countries do not have sufficiently structured legal and institutional systems to apply certain environmental management tools such as ecological risk assessment. However, it is important for countries with valuable environmental and ecological resources to have appropriate tools and to strengthen their environmental management capabilities and capacities for the sake of those resources. The case study described in this paper attempts to be a case study towards developing environmental management plans, especially in developing countries. The problem formulation step of Ecological Risk Assessment applied in this study contributed to the basic elements of an environmental management plan including the following: the partnership-building process, prioritization of the problems and issues of the ecosystem, and development of the action plan. Based on the information provided by participants from a series of workshops held to develop an environmental management plan for Uluabat Lake, ecosystem risks were ranked and an action plan was formed. The results obtained with the aid of fuzzy set theory provided a base for identification of the action steps by allowing scientific information to be included in the process. The degree to which Uluabat Lake’s problem formulation fits into the existing legal framework of Turkey is also analyzed in this paper.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Figure 2.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. S. M. Adams M. Power (1997) ArticleTitleAssessing the current status of ecological risk assessment Environmental Management 21 825–830

    Google Scholar 

  2. E. Aksoy M. A. Çullu H. Ergun (1997) Remote sensing and geographical information system applications in the identification of adverse changes in natural resources of Bursa TUFUAB III-Remote Sensing and Applications in Turkey Seminar [in Turkish] May 1998 Bursa Turkey 16–18

    Google Scholar 

  3. E. Aksoy G. Özsoy (2002) Investigation of multi-temporal land use/cover and shoreline changes of the Uluabat Lake Ramsar Site using RS and GIS Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Land Use and Management, 2002 Çanakkale Turkey 73–79

    Google Scholar 

  4. A. Balsam C. Wood (2002) ArticleTitleA comparative evaluation of the EIA systems in Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia Environmental Impact Assessment Review 22 213–234 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0195-9255(02)00004-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. R. Barrington (2001) ArticleTitleBiodiversity: new trends in environmental management Corporate Environmental Strategy 8 39–47 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S1066-7938(00)00096-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. S. M. Bartell (1997) ArticleTitleEcological risk assessment: Progressing through experience or stalling in debate Environmental Management 21 822–825

    Google Scholar 

  7. Celik, G. (2000) Ecological Risk Assessment in Environmental Management and Problem Formulation for Uluolbait Ramsar Site Uludoig University Science Institute, MSC Thesis [in Turkish], Bursol-Turkey, pp 434

  8. InstitutionalAuthorNameDHKD (2001) Draft Report: Uluabat Lake Management Plan Turkish Ministry of Environment & Society for the Protection of Nature (DHKD) [in Turkish] Ankara 50

    Google Scholar 

  9. InstitutionalAuthorNameEnvironment Foundation (1999) Turkish Environmental Regulations [in Turkish] Ankara . 1201

    Google Scholar 

  10. Erdmenger, G. 1998. Environmental management instruments. International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, Freiburg, Germany. 84 pp.

  11. J.H. Harris R.B. Wenger A. V Harris D.S. Devault (1994) ArticleTitleA method for assessing environmental risk: A case study of Green Bay, Lake Michigan, USA Environmental Management 18 295–306 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK1MXjtlansrw%3D

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. W.E. Hogsett J.E. Weber D. Tingey A. Herstrom E.H. Lee J.A. Laurence (1997) ArticleTitleAn approach for characterizing tropospheric ozone risk to forests Environmental Management 21 105–120 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s002679900010 Occurrence Handle8939790

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. InstitutionalAuthorNameICLEI (1996) The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide. International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Toronto, Canada 212

    Google Scholar 

  14. L. Kooistra R.S.E.W. Leuven P.H. Nienhuis R. Wehrens L.M.C. Buydens (2001) ArticleTitleA procedure for incorporating spatial variability in ecological risk assessment of Dutch river floodplains Environmental Management 28 359–373 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s0026702433 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD3MvovVemug%3D%3D Occurrence Handle11531238

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. A.D. Lemly (1997) ArticleTitleRisk assessment as an environmental management tool: considerations for freshwater wetlands Environmental Management 21 343–358 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s002679900034 Occurrence Handle9106410

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. T.L. McDaniels (2000) ArticleTitleCreating and using objectives for ecological risk assessment and management Environmental Science & Policy 3 299–304

    Google Scholar 

  17. InstitutionalAuthorNameMinistry of Environment (1997) Handbook for Ramsar Convention [in Turkish] Turkish Republic Ministry of Environment-General Directorate for Environmental Protection Ankara 162

    Google Scholar 

  18. M. Power S.M. Adams (1997) ArticleTitlePerspectives of the scientific community on the status of ecological risk assessment Environmental Management 21 803–830 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s002679900069 Occurrence Handle9336481

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. M. Power L.S. McCarty (1997) ArticleTitleFallacies in ecological risk assessment practices Environmental Science & Technology 31 370A–375A

    Google Scholar 

  20. B.L. Preston (2002) ArticleTitleIndirect effects in aquatic ecotoxicology: Implications for ecological risk assessment Environmental Management 29 311–323 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s00267-001-0023-1 Occurrence Handle11830762

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. C. Sampford (2002) ArticleTitleEnvironmental governance for biodiversity Environmental Science & Policy 5 79–90

    Google Scholar 

  22. V.B. Serveiss (2002) ArticleTitleApplying ecological risk principles to watershed assessment and management Environmental Management 29 145–154 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s00267-001-0025-z Occurrence Handle11815819

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. G.H. Sewell (1975) Environmental quality management Prentice-Hall Inc Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 150

    Google Scholar 

  24. K.R. Solomon P. Sibley (2002) ArticleTitleNew concepts in ecological risk assessment: Where do we go from here Marine Pollution Bulletin 44 279–285 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0025-326X(01)00252-1 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DC%2BD38XjtlOqsLs%3D Occurrence Handle12139317

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Storksdieck, M., and K.O. Zimmermann. 1994. Advanced environmental management tools and environmental budgeting at the local level. International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, Freiburg, Germany, 59 pp.

  26. Suter II, G.W. 1996. Guide for developing conceptual models for ecological risk assessments. Environmental Risk Assessment Program Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 14 pp.

  27. G.W. Suter SuffixII (2000) ArticleTitleGeneric assessment endpoints are needed for ecological risk assessment Risk Analysis 20 173–178 Occurrence Handle10.1111/0272-4332.202018 Occurrence Handle10859778

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1994. Memorandum: Role of the ecological risk assessment in the baseline risk assessment, Oswer Directive No. 9285.7-17. USEPA, Washington, D.C. 2 pp.

  29. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1996a. Waquoit Bay Watershed Ecological Risk Assessment Planning and Problem Formulation, EPA/630/R-96/045A (Draft). USEPA, Washington, D.C. 111 pp.

  30. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1996b. Clinch Valley Watershed Ecological Risk Assessment Planning and Problem Formulation, EPA/630/R-96/005A (Draft). USEPA, Washington, D.C. 62 pp.

  31. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 1998. Guidelines for ecological risk assessment. EPA/630/R-95/002F. USEPA, Washington, D.C. 114 pp.

  32. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 2000. Ecological risk assessment for the Middle Snake River, Idaho. Region 10 Office of Environmental Assessment, Washington, D.C. 100 pp.

  33. C.J. Van Leeuwen (1997) ArticleTitleEcological risk assessment: An input for decision-making Environmental Management 21 812–816

    Google Scholar 

  34. Welch, G., and H. Welch. 1998. Breeding bird survey of Uluabat Lake, Society for the Protection of Nature (DHKD) [in Turkish], Ankara, 80 pp.

  35. R.B. Wenger H.J. Harris D.S. Devault (2000) ArticleTitleAn assessment of ecosystem risks in the St. Croix national scenic riverway Environmental Management 25 599–611 Occurrence Handle10.1007/s002670010047 Occurrence Handle10790525

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. M. Yarar G. Magnın (1997) Important bird areas of Turkey Society for the Protection of Nature (DHKD) [in Turkish] Istanbul, Turkey 297

    Google Scholar 

  37. Y.Y. Yin G.H. Huang K.W. Hipel (1999) ArticleTitleFuzzy relation analysis for multicriteria water resources management Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management 125 41–47 Occurrence Handle10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9496(1999)125:1(41)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Agnes van’t Bosch from International Federation of Settlements and Neighbourhood Centres in Canada, Rachel Ruthstrom, and Eric Bridgett from Texas in the United States for reviewing the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering & Architecture, Environmental Engineering Department, Uludag University, 16059, Gorukle, Bursa, Turkey

    Guray Salihoglu & Feza Karaer

Authors
  1. Guray Salihoglu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Feza Karaer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Guray Salihoglu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Salihoglu, G., Karaer, F. Ecological Risk Assessment and Problem Formulation for Lake Uluabat, a Ramsar State in Turkey. Environmental Management 33, 899–910 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-004-2864-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-004-2864-x

Search

Navigation