French Institute Türkiye is set to organize a series of conferences, workshops and exhibitions under the title "The Mediterranean, a Sea Under Pressure" to raise awareness about marine biodiversity ahead of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice, France in 2025 and the "Mediterranean Season" in 2026. This event series aims to address the governance of coastal regions, climate issues, loss of biological diversity and the social consequences of ecological collapse from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Renowned scientists, local authorities, and representatives from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the fields of ecology and environment from both France and Türkiye will participate in the "The Mediterranean, a Sea Under Pressure" event series. Notable figures include Franck Courchamp, François Gemenne, Gilles Boeuf, Antoine Aiello, Frederique Chlous, Madeleine Cancemi, Edouard Bard, Koray Yılmaz, Mustafa Yücel, Selcan Serdaroğlu, and Levent Kurnaz.
The first conference of the series will feature Franck Courchamp, Director of Research at CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) and AXA Chair at Paris-Saclay University, who is also the recipient of the CNRS Silver Medal. This conference, titled "Biodiversity: Are We Really in the Sixth Mass Extinction?" will take place on April 2 in Ankara.
Courchamp recognized as one of the world's leading ecologists, will provide insights into the definition and significance of biodiversity, as well as the reasons and mechanisms behind biodiversity loss. He will address pressing questions regarding the biodiversity crisis, particularly exploring whether humanity is amid the sixth mass extinction in the planet's history.
Joining Courchamp as a speaker at the conference will be the professor. Koray Yılmaz and Mustafa Yücel from Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ). Yılmaz will deliver a talk titled "Navigating the Extremes of the Water Cycle in a Changing Climate: The Eastern Mediterranean Perspective," while Yücel will discuss "The Impact of Multiple Stress Factors on the Eastern Mediterranean Ecosystem."
Franck Courchamp is highly esteemed in the field of ecology, having been awarded the CNRS Silver Medal for the originality, quality and importance of his research. He is also recognized as one of the most cited scientists in the field of ecology according to the Web of Science 2023 ranking. His expertise lies in biological invasions, their economic costs, and biodiversity in the face of climate change.
Professor Mustafa Yücel is a faculty member and vice president at the Institute of Marine Sciences at ODTÜ. His research areas include biogeochemical cycles in oceans, deep-sea ecosystems, sustainable marine economy and the development of marine observation systems. Yücel has been honored with numerous national awards and has published over 40 papers in leading international journals in the natural sciences.
Koray Yılmaz works in the Department of Geological Engineering, specializing in hydrology and water resources. His expertise lies in monitoring the water cycle, hydrological extremes (floods and droughts), flood modeling, and the sustainable management of natural and built hydrological systems under the effects of climate change. He is a selected member of NASA's Global Precipitation Measurement Mission Science Team and serves as a hydrology expert in the Nature Sciences Sector of the UNESCO Türkiye National Commission.