Southern Anatolia

A rich mix of land and marine life

Stretching across the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin, this ecoregion is home to a rich mix of land and marine wildlife including the almost extinct Anatolian leopard and the critically endangered monk seal, and to freshwater resources which are scarce and therefore precious.

The region’s extensive sand dunes and beaches, coastal wetlands, rocky cliffs and caves, and islets are representative examples of the eastern Mediterranean coastal ecosystems.

Remote rural areas, industrialized urban areas, pristine habitats, and crowded beaches jostle against each other in this region. About 20 million people live here, with the population particularly concentrated in coastal cities such as Antalya.

Socio-economic values

The vast stretches of beach make tourism the major economic activity in southern Cyprus and in most of the Turkish coast.

Around 7 million tourists visited Turkey in 1999, and 11.5 million in 2001.

Almost 30% of these tourists entered the country from Antalya on the southern coast.

Subsistence agriculture and small scale forestry are important economic activities for rural communities in the inland mountains. The mountains in the region are rich in medicinal and aromatic plants which are a potential source of income for these communities.

Fertile floodplains created by rivers in the last 5,000 years form a significant portion of agricultural land in the region today. The mountains and forests act asa  water reservoir for the region where freshwater is a scarce and valued natural resource. It is often also the cause of social and political tensions.

Unique natural features

The complex geomorphology of this region accounts for a vast variety of habitats, including extensive broadleaf and conifer forests on the mountains; short rivers such as the Goksu and Ceyhan; wetlands such as the Goksu and Cukurova Delta; representative coastal and marine ecosystems such as dunes, beaches, estuaries, lagoons, Mediterranean maquis, Posidonia meadows and submerged coral reefs.

The magnificent and symbolic cedars of Lebanon have their last stronghold in the Lebanon and Taurus mountains, and in the remote corners of Cyprus.

The rich mix of Eurasian and Mediterranean wildlife on land, includes large mammals such as Anatolian leopard, wolves, bears, Cyprus mouflon, and wild sheep.

The ecoregion is of primary importance for two endangered species, the monk seal and the green turtle. All 17 of Turkey’s turtle nesting sites fall within the boundaries of this ecoregion.

The island of Cyprus is also an important turtle nesting area. Other marine species include bottlenose and striped dolphins, fin and sperm whales. The region acts as the flyway for migratory birds in the eastern Mediterranean.