ECNC

Nationality: Turkish Position: Programme Manager - Nature and Society Contact: cil@ecnc.org Education: BSc in Landscape Architecture, Ankara University, Turkey; MSc in Landscape Planning and Design, Ankara University, Turkey; MSc in Urban Environmental Management, Rotterdam/Wageningen, the Netherlands; PhD research (ongoing) in Conflict Management and Stakeholder Development for Coastal Areas, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Background information: Aysegül’s responsibility involves developing and implementing projects focusing on the social context of nature conservation, and especially issues such as interactive processes in policy making, stakeholder involvement and linking science and policy by effective communication. She also provides input into social aspects of other programme areas of ECNC such as ecological networks.

Aysegül recently coordinates a project in Macedonia and Croatia with a specific attention to stakeholder participation and communication in nature parks and another in Zagreb focusing on community involvement in urban biodiversity assessment. Her responsibility in leading one of the work packages of ALTER-Net (A Long term Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Awareness Research Network) is to link biodiversity research and policy. Currently, she coordinates the project on knowledge management for ecological networks in Europe which focuses on practical implementation of these networks by understanding sectors, organizations, and people.

Within the context of nature and society, Aysegül has been involved in various training programmes and workshops, such as ECO-Net and EPBRS. She has more than 12 years of experience with a semi governmental organization (the Bank of Provinces, Turkey) and has worked in developing programmes for municipalities as well as national and international projects. She has an extensive experience in regional and local environmental planning and management.