A general view of the uninhabited Tavşan Island, part of the Princes’ Islands in the Marmara Sea.
A pioneering 11-year marine conservation and coral restoration initiative from Tavşan Island in the Marmara Sea is set to take center stage at the COP31 climate summit in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.
Accompanied by Marine Life Conservation Society (DYKD) Chairman Volkan Narcı, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül and Zero Waste Foundation President Samed Ağırbaş toured the conservation site.
Located off Istanbul’s coast in the Princes’ Islands, the uninhabited island, also known as Neandros, is a third-degree archaeological site closed to unauthorized entry. DYKD biologist Ulaşcan Kayataş noted that this natural isolation makes it an ideal testing ground free from human pressure.
Teams have restored over 700 gorgonian coral colonies since 2015, achieving an 80 percent survival rate for yellow gorgonians. Divers launched a new program in January 2026 to strengthen purple coral (Paramuricea clavata) populations, marking a first for Türkiye.
Kayataş said the program detected naturally multiplying juvenile corals. Operating with an integrated conservation approach, the society continues to monitor fish species, octopuses and seagrasses.
Crews removed 650,000 square meters of ghost nets and 3 tons of lead from the seabed, recycling some nets into agricultural covers and bags to contribute to the circular economy.
“When human pressure is removed and pollution stops, nature somehow renews itself,” Gül said, calling nongovernmental organization support for state initiatives extremely valuable.
“We want to turn targets into field applications and applications into measurable results,” Ağırbaş said, noting that the initiative proves how conservation, restoration and continuous monitoring operate together.
The foundation combats plastic pollution in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas, Ağırbaş said, calling the issue a crucial problem for human health and the environment.
Calling the 11-year restoration zone a pilot region for the climate summit, Narcı said, “At COP in Antalya, we will tell the world this: Türkiye has created a model demonstrating its 30x30 targets by actively implementing them in the field.”
Partnering with the Antalya Governor’s Office, the DYKD will roll out the project’s next phase off Üç Adalar, Tekirova and Çıralı, collaborating with local stakeholders to map key habitats and inventory the marine ecosystem.
As the host of the COP31 UN climate summit, Türkiye will hold the main event in the southern province of Antalya from Nov. 9 to 20.
