Interactive Conservation Platform for Orchids Native to Greece-Turkey -ICON Germany has been formed with the participation of the NGO's from Germany, Greece and Turkey under Civil Society Dialogue IV program.
The Interactive Conservation Platform for orchids native to Greece and Turkey (ICON) project is funded by the Civil Society Dialogue between EU and Turkey Grant Scheme, and it is implemented by Sails-for-Science, a German NGO, the Hellenic Society for the Protection of Nature, a Greek NGO, and the Association for the Conservation of Antalya Orchids and Biodiversity (CAOB), a Turkish NGO. Associates of the project include the Orchid Specialist Group of the IUCN, the Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Centre, as well as academic institutions in Turkey.
The main objective of the project is cooperation between Greek, Turkish and German NGOs for the protection of wild orchids in Turkey and the creation of an innovative powerful common awareness/educational tool.
Specific objectives include: the creation of a Digital Interactive Education Platform (DIEP); the preparation of methodologies for education in environmental protection); the preparation of common guidelines for species monitoring; the exchange of information and best practices between EU-based and Turkish NGOs; the establishment of a network between Greek and Turkish entities (NGOs, academic institutions) working in the field of environmental conservation, specifically focusing on wild orchids; increasing awareness of the Turkish public about specific endangered species; and the introduction of EU Environmental policies and legislation to the Turkish public and authorities. The DIEP is intended to reach and unify a multitude of audiences and stakeholders interested and/or participating in flora conservation through interactive education about wild orchids and associated areas of interest. It will also serve as a tool for wide dissemination of all messages of the project. The information and expertise transferred through the project to Turkish participants (NGO, universities) will be further disseminated through them to other Turkish entities with similar interests. All information will be freely available to all interested parties.
