Turkey, a heaven of national parks

Turkey is full of natural wonders including Pamukkale, Cappadocia, Lake Van, Lake Tuz, Nemrut Volcano and Konya's Karapınar, which are all among the most important potential national park sites in the country. Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, UNESCO Turkish National Commission Geological Committee and the Turkish Geological Heritage Protection Association (JEMIRKO) Chairman Nizamettin Kazancı said Turkey had big potential for the establishment of national parks like the ones in the United States and could get very good tourism income from them. Noting that national parks were places rich in geosits (geographical situations) and geological heritage, Kazancı said Turkey should protect its rich geological potential by establishing such parks. He said the basic goal of the establishment of national parks was to inform people about the earth they live in and to protect natural and geological places.

Tourism may move to hinterland areas from the coasts:
Kazancı noted that thanks to the national parks, coastal tourism would be able to move to hinterland places in the country and the whole country would take advantage of alternative types of tourism. He gave the Grand Canyon in the United States as a national park example, adding that Mut, Kula, Pamukkale, Cappadocia, Van Lake, Nemrut Volcano, Salt Lake and Konya's Karapınar were among the areas that could be turned into national parks, and that those areas were introduced by JEMIRKO in many international scientific meetings. Kazancı stated that some legal arrangements should be made for the establishment of national parks that would ensure the protection of geological heritage. “The tourism revenue that will come from the national parks will contribute to social development. Such an investment will also make a great contribution to employment,” said Kazancı. Kazancı added that the establishment of national parks would also prevent the destruction of land.