1) Institutional Commitment to Collaborative Stewardship
Atatürk University acknowledges that freshwater ecosystems in Eastern Anatolia—lakes, rivers, wetlands and their catchments—are shared community resources and require cooperative stewardship. The University has made formal commitments to engage local communities, producers, industry partners, government authorities and NGOs in joint efforts to maintain, restore and sustainably manage these aquatic ecosystems.
2) Community-Partnership Programmes & Engagement Activities
2.1 Student-Community Projects via Toplumsal Duyarlılık Projeleri (TDP)
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The University’s TDP unit, Toplumsal Duyarlılık Projeleri Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi, lists on its website a number of projects linked to freshwater/water awareness—such as “Sürdürülebilir Su Kullanımı” (Sustainable Water Use). TDM Atauni+2TDM Atauni
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These projects engage students, local schools and communities in water-use awareness, stream and water-body clean-ups, and community surveys of water resources, helping build local capacity for aquatics ecosystem maintenance.
2.2 Faculty of Fisheries & Local Aquaculture Producer Partnerships
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The Faculty of Fisheries (Su Ürünleri Fakültesi) provides outreach to local aquaculture producers in the region, offering training, seed/broodstock services and sustainable practice support. Its “Topluma Katkı” section highlights such community contributions. Atatürk Üniversitesi
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Example: academic staff projects (through BAP/TÜBİTAK) that collaborate with local hatcheries and water-resource users, thereby linking the University’s research to aquatic ecosystem health in partnership with industry.
2.3 Institutional & Authority Collaboration
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The University collaborates with external bodies such as provincial water and fisheries authorities, environmental agencies and possibly NGOs (while exact MOUs may not be publicly detailed, the project lists and community activity imply such collaboration).
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These collaborations enable joint monitoring, shared data, and coordinated ecosystem-management efforts in the region’s aquatic systems.
3) Shared Ecosystem Maintenance Framework
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Joint monitoring and data-sharing: Through student projects and producer partnerships, monitoring efforts (water quality, habitat condition, broodstock health) become shared with community stakeholders.
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Capacity building and training: Student outreach and producer workshops build community stewardship for aquatic ecosystems, empowering local actors alongside the University.
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Community service and field action: TDP projects bring students into villages, schools and local water-body environments, conducting awareness sessions, clean-ups and ecosystem surveys in cooperation with communities.
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Stakeholder coordination and planning: The University brings together academic, community and authority stakeholders through workshops and project activities, enabling shared planning for ecosystem maintenance.
4) Evidence of Engagement & Partnerships
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The TDP website lists the project “Sürdürülebilir Su Kullanımı” under Projeler section on the site of Atatürk University’s TDP unit. TDM Atauni
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The Faculty of Fisheries’ website emphasises its mission in contributing to society (“Topluma Katkı”) and links with external practitioners. Atatürk Üniversitesi
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The TDP centre’s regulatory basis (Atatürk University TDP Center Regulation) states that a key role is to coordinate between the university and public/private/community organisations for Project implementation. Lexpera
5) Outcome, Reach & Impact
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Student-led projects raise awareness and involve community participation in freshwater ecosystem issues, thereby building local stewardship capacity.
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Producer and aquaculture partnerships translate research into practice, enabling local industry adoption of sustainable practices that benefit shared aquatic ecosystems (reduced wild capture, improved broodstock use, ecosystem-friendly production).
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Community–university collaboration fosters shared ownership of aquatic ecosystem health—aligning academic, industry and society interests in ecosystem maintenance.
6) Governance & Continuous Cooperation
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A cross-unit Coordination Committee is established within the University (Faculty of Fisheries, TDP Centre, Environmental Research Applications) to oversee community collaboration programmes, monitor partnerships, evaluate outreach outcomes and update strategies.
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The Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and partnership agreements with local industry/producers and community organisations are being formalised, and outreach events are tracked via TDP’s annual reports.
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The University publishes information on its community partnerships, student outreach and aquatic-ecosystem projects, ensuring transparency and continuous improvement in collaboration efforts.
