47 
It is not certain that a thorough environmental impact assessment has been 
carried out by the Turkish authorities. It seems relevant that the Soviet 
Union has recently changed its ambitious irrigation projects after 
re-assessing the potentially harmful impact they would have had on the 
environment . 
It is not at all clear that the estimated 5,000,000 tonnes of fertilisers 
or 300,000 tonnes of pesticides will improve either the soil or the other 
biological and ecological resources of the area. Turkey has a rare 
opportunity to develop Southeast Anatolia sustainably. It is hoped that 
it will take the- opportunity to learn the lessons from other dry land 
developments in Turkey and elsewhere before committing itself to a costly 
and potentially damaging project. 
International finance and aid organisations could usefully finance a 
thorough survey of the area together with a sustainable development plan. 
The Tigris and Euphrates valleys, together with their ecosystems, are part 
of the world heritage. The world thus has a responsibility to assist in 
their sustainable development. 
Bald Ibis at Birecik 
A meeting between representatives of the Turkish Forestry and National 
Parks Departments, DHKD, WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) and ICBP at 
Birecik on 9 February 1989 discussed necessary improvements to the wild 
and captive breeding populations of the Bald Ibis. The decisions have 
included concentrating on improving the breeding success of the wild birds 
because captive-bred birds fail to migrate. The traditional nesting 
ledges have become unsuitable, and are being replaced with specially 
designed wooden nestboxes for the 1989 season. The housing and diet of 
the captive population is to be improved in consultation with the Jersey 
Island Wildlife Preservation Trust. Since all the Bald Ibises in zoos 
world-wide are of Moroccan stock, it has been proposed that two pairs of 
Turkish birds are "loaned" to a European zoo to safeguard the genetic 
origin of the Turkish stock. We hope to report further on the outcome of 
these measures in the autumn bulletin. 
Kuslarln in dlinyasi (Educational Booklet on Birds in Turkey - 
produced by Dogal Hayati Koruma Dernegi 
This is an excellent 20-page, Turkish-language booklet, covering all 
aspects of the lives of birds, and aimed at primary-school children. It 
is packed with information, presented in a style attractive to young 
children, and features a cartoon bird who takes you through migration, 
breeding behaviour, anatomy, building a nestbox, etc. 72,000 copies have 
been produced with financial support from ICBP, the British Stop the 
Massacre Committee, the Danish Migratory Bird Committee and the Dutch 
Migratory Bird Committee. DHKD is combining the launch of the booklet 
with information days for teachers in certain areas of outstanding 
importance for birds. 
