The ‘Colloquium on Integrated Ocean Management and Marine Spatial Planning’ was held on 13 April 2026 at the Honor Hall of Ankara University Faculty of Law, organized by DEHUKAM within the scope of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) 2223-B Domestic Scientific Event Support Programme and led by DEHUKAM Senior Researcher Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali İbrahim Akkutay.
The event was convened with the objective of establishing a platform for discussion and knowledge exchange that promotes the management of marine areas within a temporal and spatial framework, based on ecosystem and science-driven, multi-stakeholder, and sustainable approaches. The colloquium was attended by representatives from academia, the private sector, and public institutions and organizations. The program commenced with opening remarks delivered by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali İbrahim Akkutay, Senior Researcher at DEHUKAM, and Prof. Dr. İbrahim Ermenek, Dean of Ankara University Faculty of Law. The speeches highlighted the sustainable management of living and non-living marine resources and underscored the significance of marine areas for Türkiye.
In the first session of the colloquium, entitled “Governance Tools on the Path to Marine Spatial Planning,” chaired by Prof. Dr. Yücel Acer, presentations were delivered by Prof. Dr. Süheyla Suzan Gökalp on “Practices of Special Environmental Protection Areas,” by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Berat Lale Akkutay on “Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs) and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs),” and by Hatice Şahin on “Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs).” In addition, Ergül Terzioğlu, Deputy Director General of Nature Conservation and National Parks at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, provided information on the activities carried out by the General Directorate, while İlhan Üze, Head of the Department of Fisheries Management and Control under the General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, delivered remarks on fisheries-related activities in Türkiye and their relationship with Marine Spatial Planning.
In the session entitled “Marine Spatial Planning and Offshore Wind Energy,” Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali İbrahim Akkutay presented on “The Importance of Spatial Planning with Particular Reference to Offshore Wind Energy,” Dr. Murat Durak on “Key Characteristics of Offshore Wind Energy Activities and the Need for Marine Spatial Planning,” and Ufuk Yaman on “Marine Spatial Planning in Türkiye and Its Expected Impacts on Offshore Wind Energy Activities.”
Within the framework of the academic discussions held throughout the colloquium, significant contributions were made by addressing key topics including special environmental protection areas, area-based management tools, marine protected areas, ecologically or biologically significant marine areas, and offshore wind energy, under the overarching framework of marine spatial planning.
