NEGATIVE EVIDENCE AROUND ME
I have had a farm on the foothills of Uludağ since 1998, and I have been observing the changes taking place in the nature around my farm for a long time. But there is a time before, I remember my childhood and youth.
I spent my childhood in the Bursa plain. We would ride bicycles among the vineyards and gardens in the plain. Nowadays there are no plains left, everywhere is a concrete jungle.
We would swim and fish in the Nilüfer stream, which winds through the Bursa plain. Nilüfer stream is fed by the clear snow waters of Uludağ. It provides Bursa's drinking water. Before entering the city, it flows through the valley where my farm is located, fills the Doğancı drinking water dam, goes down to the city, wanders around the city and extends towards the Karacabey plain.
Belentepe Farm land is on the southern slope of the valley through which the Nilüfer stream flows.
When the Nilüfer stream comes out of Bursa, it flows black. Industrial facilities on the city perimeter pollute the stream. Those who farm in the plain irrigate their fields and gardens with the water of the stream; products come to our tables.
Nilüfer stream flows into Marmara through the Karacabey Strait. I spent my youth in the Eğirce region, which has a long beach about 16 km to the east. At that time, the sea was sparkling clean, we swam with dolphins and caught lots of fish. Nowadays, the dirty waters of the Nilüfer stream reach this beach - the color of the sea is brown.
Even then, I was thinking, 'yes, we will pollute, but to what extent? What will happen if only we do it, but if all humanity around the world behaves similarly and continues to pollute and destroy nature at an increasing rate?'
In 1998, I bought a field on the ridge of Doğancı Dam, which provides Bursa's drinking water. Grain had been cultivated in the field for many years. I had the intention of turning this place into a farm. I built a vineyard house and planted fruit trees and grape vines on the empty land. There was no water source in and around the land, we were carrying the water of the vineyard house by tanker from a distance of 1 km. We did not have the opportunity to water the planted trees and grapes in the summer. But back then, it would rain occasionally, even in July and August. In this way, the majority of those who were planted succeeded, they are now 18 years old; We get wonderful grapes and various fruits from the trees. Nowadays, we have to water the trees we plant for at least 2 years because there is a significant decrease and imbalance, especially in spring and summer rainfall. Sometimes we do not receive significant rainfall for 4-5 months. Sometimes we receive abnormally heavy rainfall in the driest season, for example in August. It causes landslides and erosion.
August 2014, landslide on Belentepe road after heavy rain
Short-term heavy rainfall does not help much on very dry soil. It flows away from the soil before it can penetrate deep into the soil, causing more harm than good.
I have observed the serious effects of increasing drought over the years on local life. The village of Mürseller, which I am within the borders of, had over 130 households 30-40 years ago, but now it has less than 40 households. One of the important reasons for migration to the city is the difficulty of making a living in the countryside:
Pastures drying up due to drought and livestock farming shrinking significantly,
Living topsoil lost through erosion,
The soil has been weakened by modern agriculture for a long time and no longer provides sufficient fertility,
Increased operating costs
The northern slope of Belentepe shows deep erosion crevices. Observe the soil in this photo taken at the beginning of June: in fact, during this period, the surrounding lands should have been covered with lush, well-graded pastures, it used to be like this, but pastures cannot form anymore, the soil enters the dry season bare and the topsoil is flooded and washed away with excessive rains.
We have been observing major changes in the local climate in recent years. In the past, snow would arrive in the area where the farm was located in mid-December at the latest, and sometimes it would not leave until mid-April. It's a complete mystery how the winters will be these days. In February 2016, the temperature was above 20 degrees for a long time, and at one point it rose to 26 degrees. Of course there was no snow. We now experience abnormal heat waves from time to time.
Belentepe, January 2014. There is no snow, the weather is hot. We don't have coats on! We are building our first pond.
Belentepe, February 2014. Plums are in bloom, flowers in the gardens...
Below you see the seasonal norms data table for Bursa province between 1981-2010. You can access valuable data for the whole country from the website of the General Directorate of Meteorology. The average temperature in February is 6.1 degrees, the average highest temperature is 10.7 degrees. 26 degrees hot in February is not normal!
We saw 26 degrees in February and 36 degrees in April, but there are also abnormal colds in between. A constant state of bouncing. When the weather remains warm for a long time in March, fruit trees bud. Then a frost and sometimes we don't get any crop from certain fruit trees that year. Local people are deprived of an important source of income. If winter ends early, we observe an exponential increase in the number of voles because they begin to multiply early. They bore holes in the soil and eat the crops. Early spring brought another problem to our region: the pine processionary beetle. Thousands of caterpillars multiply in sacs on the pines. Sometimes invisible hairs fly from these caterpillars with the wind and reach people's bodies, causing a catastrophic skin reaction.
There used to be spring rains. Nowadays, we sometimes have to water our gardens in April because it is dry and hot. While we do not receive significant rain in April and May, we sometimes receive excessive rain in June. June rains cause both benefit and harm. Ripening strawberries, plums, cherries and sour cherries swell with excess water, burst and begin to mold within a few days. We also experience great losses in these products. (But again, as a result of observation, I realized that local fruit species are not much affected by excessive rainfall.) There is a serious loss of yield in large-fruited cherries (Napoleon type, etc.) planted for commercial purposes nearby.
Knowing the importance of water retention, I built 3 ponds and 2 underground water tanks on the farm land. I store over 700 tons of water and just get by in the summer. Those who do not have a water source no longer have any chance.
The winds also began to blow unevenly and sometimes in the form of a storm. We started to experience events that had never happened in the region, as far as the elders knew. In January 2015, we experienced both extreme snow and a severe northeastern storm. There was great damage to the pine forests in the surrounding area, and trees fell from their roots.
Belentepe land surroundings, fallen pine trees on the northern hills
Some time before this storm, the Southeastern Storm caused 3 deaths and great material damage in Bursa, which was a situation seen for the first time in the history of Bursa.
Extreme heat and dry summer winds seriously affect gardening in our region during summers. Since we are at an altitude of 750 meters, we receive more intense sunlight. When combined with the extremely hot wind, it wreaks havoc on everything like a hair dryer. In extreme sun and heat, the resistance of plants decreases, their development stops, and they catch diseases more easily. We experience temperatures above 40 degrees in August. When I was young in Bursa, when the temperatures were above 30 degrees, radio broadcasts were made and warnings were made for children not to stay outside under the sun. As a matter of fact, Bursa's average temperature in July and August for many years is around 24.5 degrees. The average highest temperature was 31 degrees. Nowadays it is rising above 40 degrees. This is not normal.
Another thing that is not normal is that almost no one notices or cares about this trend. What is happening, why is it happening, what will happen next? How many people are questioning?
This is Marmara, one of the more fertile and well-watered regions of Anatolia. If we are experiencing this here, what are the situations in the drier central and southern regions?
Take a look at Meteorology's drought map for the last 24 months, this alone is enough to ring alarm bells:
Yukarıda sizlerle paylaştıklarım yaşadığım yereldeki bir kısım gözlemlerim. Kırsalda iklim değişikliğinin etkilerini yurdun her bölgesi yaşamaya başladı. Yurdun birçok bölgesinden dostlarla haberleşiyorum ve benzer anormallikleri onlardan da duyuyorum. Ve bu daha başlangıç.
Ne olduğunu, neden olduğunu, neler olabileceğini farketmek, bilmek ilk başta kendimiz ve yakın ailemizin geleceğini güven altına almak açısından önemlidir. Kafalarımızı kumun altına gömerek görmezden gelmeye devam edersek, daha beterlerini görmeye devam edeceğimiz, gittikçe artan sayıda insanın gittikçe artan şiddette bu gidişattan negatif şekillerde etkileneceği aşikardır.
Mevcut gidişatı görüp, hızla değişmeye başlayan doğa içinde yaşayabilmenin yollarını bulmak zorundayız. Mevcut küresel sistem bu gidişata ayak uydurabilecek dirençte değil, çok kırılgan. Artık normal dışı afetlerle başedemeyen ülkelerin çöküşlerini, insanlık dramlarını yaşamaya başladık. Bizim de başımıza gelmeden önce hep birlikte önlemler almaya çalışmaktan başka seçeneğimiz var mı?
Olumsuz kanıtları görelim ama bunlar nedeniyle umutsuzluğa da düşmeyelim. Aksine daha fazla çaba göstermek için bizi ateşlesin. Eğer artan sayıda insan sürdürülebilir yaşama doğru dönüşmeye başlarsa, çözüm olasılığı da artacak. Elimizden geleni yapalım.
Uzun yıllar Uludağ eteklerindeki arazimde doğal yöntemlerle çiftçilik yapmayı denedim, başarılı olamadım. Belli ki yanlış şeyler yapmaktaydım, nasıl doğru işler yaparım diye araştırırken karşıma 'Permakültür' çıktı. Permakültür, doğa ile ahenk içinde kendi kendine yetebilen yaşam alanları tasarımıdır. Toprak ıslahı, su tutma, doğal gıda üretimi, geri dönüşüm, temiz enerji, doğal yapılar, erozyonu önleme, gıda ormanı oluşturma gibi temel konularda çözümler sunar. Permakültür, doğa ile ahenk içinde yaşayagelmiş toplumların ata bilgilerini içerir. Permakültür sayesinde;
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Kuraklığa, aşırı sıcağa karşı toprağı korumayı,
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Toprağımı canlandırarak toprakta büyüyen bitkileri daha dirençli yapmayı,
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Toprağı erozyondan korumayı, yeni toprak oluşturmayı,
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Yağış zamanında büyük hacimlerde su tutmayı,
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Aşırı sıcaklara karşı bahçemdeki bitkileri korumayı,
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Güneş ve rüzgardan elektrik üretmeyi,
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Toprağın ısısını kullanarak binaları ısıtmayı/soğutmayı,
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Enerji tasarrufunu,
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İklim değişikliğine karşı mücadeleyi: havadaki karbonu bitkiler vasıtası ile alarak toprağa gömmeyi öğrendim.
Permakültür mantığı bir taşla çok kuş vurmaya benzer, çoklu faydalar içerir. Toprağı canlandırırken, doğal gıda üretiriz ama aynı zamanda iklim değişikliği etkilerini azaltacak çalışmalar da yapmış oluruz.
Bu konuları daha detaylıca belentepe.org sitemizde anlatıyoruz.
Ben Kimim?
Taner Aksel
1968 doğumlu. Istanbul Robert Kolej 1987 mezunu. 1991’de İ.T.Ü. inşaat mühendisliği bölümünden mezun olduktan sonra 1991-1993 yılları arasında ABD’de Ohio eyaleti Cincinnati Üniversitesi’nde ‘İnşaat Yapılarının Deprem Davranışının Tespiti’ üzerine yüksek lisans yaptı. 1994’te Türkiye’ye döndü ve kendi firmasını kurarak inşaat mühendisliği alanında yazılım geliştirme, eğitim, danışmanık hizmetleri verdi. 2008’deki küresel ekonomik krize yol açan insan davranışı ile yapıların deprem davranışı arasında benzerlikler bulunca iki yıl süren bir araştırma sonucunda, özellikle iklim değişikliğine dikkat çekmek üzere ‘Kritik Eşik’ kitabını yazdı.
2010’da Bill Mollison’dan permakültür eğitimi alarak ‘Permakültür Tasarım Sertifikası’ sahibi oldu. Permakültür prensiplerini uygulayarak önce İstanbul Beykoz’daki evinin bahçesini doğal yöntemlerle kendi gıdasını üreten ve daha verimli bir şekle dönüştürdü. Ardından Bursa Uludağ’daki 14 dönümlük arazisinin permakültür tasarımını gerçekleştirdi ve Belentepe Permakültür Uygulama ve Doğal Yaşam Çiftliği’ni kurdu. Belentepe Çiftliği doğa ile ahenk içinde, kendi kendine yetebilen bir yaşam alanı, bir laboratuvar ve örnek uygulama alanı oldu. Her yıl yüzlerce ziyaretçiyi ağırlamaktadır. Kurs-atölye, kamplarla sürdürülebilir yaşam anlatılmaktadır. Bu çalışmalar medyanın da ilgisini çekmiş, belgesel, dergi, radyo konuları olmaya devam etmektedir.
Güneş ve rüzgardan elektrik üretimi, ısı pompaları ile toprağın ısısını kullanarak binaların ısıtılması/soğutulması, atık sıvı yağların araçlarda yakıt olarak kullanılması, depreme dayanıklı yapıların tasarımı - özellikle jeodezik kubbe yapılar, doğal yapı malzemeleri, pasif solar yapı tasarımı v.b. de uzmanlık alanları içindedir.