ÇADER - Hand in Hand with VGP Foundation and NABU Stiftung International

By Heidi Trautmann

On 17 November I attended a press conference, accepting an invitation issued by ÇADER (Çatalköy Development and Culture Association) for the introduction of a campaign that in fact had been started already many years back, with many steps taken, one by one, to awaken and then continuously develop the awareness of the island’s people.  They have now reached a point where all the efforts of the last years carry fruit and are resulting in a campaign recognized and supported by the European institutions VGP Foundation and NABU Stiftung International.

Worldwide we have all been made aware that the clock of nature shows 5 minutes to twelve and that – if we don’t immediately get up and act – we shall perish for the mistakes and the harm we have done to our nature, mother of life. We have been living carelessly and happily with our eyes and ears closed to what is happening around us and all the while the deep wounds of our earth are growing wider and wider. We had to have children stand up in some parts of the world because the adults including our politicians worldwide were continuing to exploit and abuse the ground under our feet. ÇADER and its members were aware of it and have started initiatives in fields where they knew that they had to start acting.

And here we are, ready to listen to the points of the campaign that will come into life from now on and continue on the road already laid out.

I will use the written information I received which are in great detail and will help the reader to understand what the campaign is about, what has been achieved so far and how the Project Team will operate in the separate fields of duty.  I include the text ‘ÇADER Concept Note Abridged’ and the text ‘ÇADER history’ to give the reader all background information.

I also take over the Press Release following the Conference:

ÇADER Press Release 17/11/2020

Çatalköy Development and Culture Association (ÇADER) held a press conference of the project named "Nature Conservation Campaign in Cyprus" today in the ÇADER building.

ÇADER President Pervin Özgeçen talked about the previous activities and the projects carried out in the past for the environment and left the floor to Şerife Ebeler, the project manager, for the promotion of the project. Mentioning the importance of the environment for all living things, she stated that, as ÇADER, they have achieved yet another first. Stating that training will be started in three villages, namely Çatalköy, Esentepe and Arapköy within the scope of the project, Ebeler stated that they will set a good example by reaching the public and other villages thanks to the press. While underlining the importance of environmental education especially for children, she pointed out that there is a deficiency in this subject because there is no environmental education course in schools. On the other hand, she stated that many activities of the training part of the project for the environment and biodiversity will be carried out in practice with experts in accordance with all age groups. She thanked Çatalköy Mayor Mehmet Hulusioğlu, Çatalköy Primary School Director Uğur Çınar, Esentepe Primary School Principal Hasan Ergürer and the former director of the Forestry Department Faik Koyuncuoğlu for their support.

Project coordinator Martin Marancos explained the importance of birds for biodiversity and talked about the bird boxes to be built for them. Finally, the project leader, Irene Raab-Marancos, stated that they have been working together with all stakeholders in the formation of this project and that a joint effort is required for the good of our environment.

Present at the conference were several representatives of the press who were very interested in the new project. Public information via newspaper and television will be given accordingly. The role of the press is very important as they are the carrier of necessary information for the society and supportive in spreading understanding and support for the campaign.

After the conference we had the opportunity to speak to the persons directly and indirectly involved in the campaign and thus I learnt more about the experts who will help with their expertise in carrying out the various educational activities. For example, there is Faik Koyuncuoğlu the former Director of the Forestry Department. He was instrumental in aiding Derek Viney set up the Herbarium in Alevkaya. His role is to advise on trees and plants and to communicate with the current Department of Forestry. The education expert for birds will be Asuman Korukoğlu, a founder member of Kuşkor and currently a teacher in Famagusta. Furthermore,  Prof. Dr. Wayne Fuller, Prof. Dr. Salih Gücel and Prof. Dr. Özge Özden, from Near East University, have been kind enough to give advice on plants and seed collection.

Plans for bird box construction have been provided by BirdLife Cyprus, the British Ornithological Trust and by NABU. Other environmental activists are in the team and although they may not be experts in any given biological field, they have a huge amount of knowledge about the environment of Cyprus and an exceptionally good network of local and international institutions and experts.

A net of cooperation has been laid out to the district municipalities, institutions and schools, as the Mayor of Çatalköy, Mehmet Hulusioğlu, also pointed out and mentioned that other furthering projects parallel to this campaign have been envisaged.  He is closely working together with ÇADER and is equally proud of what has been achieved and of playing the sample role for other municipalities and communities. 

When I made my comments of respect to the Chairwoman of ÇADER, Pervin Özgeçen, she said, it is and will always be a question of cooperation, ‘Together we can’…. And here comes to my mind the logo of ÇADER which is hands of different colours forming a circle of mutual support.

Attached are two texts for detailed important information....