Dead planet, living planet

CASE STUDY #14

Revegetation of a road cut, Glacier National Park, B.C., Canada

Restoration of a new railroad grade inGlacier National Park BC Cana- da followed natural successional processes by using a local pioneer- ing species (Alnus viridis ssp. sinuata) as the dominant initial cover.

Project and photos credit: Polster Environmental Services.

CASE STUDY #15

In the Golden Horn Estuary, at the center of Istanbul, Turkey, over 40 years of uncontrolled industrial and urban growth caused ma- jor damage to local water resources in this city of over 11 million people. Filling one-third of the estuarine surface area to establish factories and tenements with no waste provisioning had resulted in thick layers of anoxic sediment, industrial contamination, tox- ic bacteria, consistently low water clarity, “unusable” dissolved oxygen levels (by US EPA standards), and a strong hydrogen sulfide odor. These unhealthy conditions led to an ecologically unlivable environment, fisheries collapse, and low quality of life. Restoration of the once-again iconic Golden Horn Estuary in Istanbul has been one of the world’s largest such projects, given the complexity of the situation and need for a multifaceted, staged approach. This substantial political, logistical, ecological, and social challenge demonstrates the wide-ranging and long- term considerations frequently required for successful restora- tion. The major components of this rehabilitation, which took place over two decades, included (1) demolition and relocation of industries and homes along the shore, (2) creation of waste- Ecosystem restoration in the Golden Horn, Turkey Source: Coleman et al ., 2009

water infrastructure, (3) removal of anoxic sludge from the estu- ary, (4) removal of a floating bridge that impeded circulation, and (5) creation of cultural and social facilities. This restoration presents a prime example of a developing country ameliorating environmental problems in spite of inadequate management funds, institutions, policies, and legal structure. In this case, re- organizing and strengthening municipal institutions proved crit- ical in reversing the effects of pollution. The sum of these efforts was largely successful in revitalizing the area through dramatic water quality improvement. Consequently, the estuary is once again inhabitable for aquatic life as well as amenable to local resource users and foreign visitors, and Istanbul has regained a lost sense of cultural identity. For more information, see Cole- man et al . (2009). The paper focuses on literature review and personal interviews to discuss the causes of degradation, solu- tions employed to rehabilitate the estuary, and subsequent phys- icochemical, ecological, and social changes.

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