Enerjisa Uretim Uses GIS and Satellite Data for Sustainable Wildlife Management

Enerjisa Üretim is an energy company that manages an integrated portfolio in two main business lines: electricity generation and trade. The company is also responsible for carrying out studies on wildlife within the scope of the Arkun Dam Wildlife Project. Arkun Dam, on the Çoruh River in northern Turkey, generates electricity as part of one of Enerjisa Üretim's 12 hydroelectric power plants.

Because Arkun Dam is within the Verçenik Mountain Wildlife Development Area (YHGS), wildlife studies are required and appreciated by the scientific community. All these studies are done in cooperation with the Turkish government’s Nature Conservation and National Parks Departments, and the species and biodiversity in the region are monitored, recorded, and reported on through field studies.

One of the main challenges for Enerjisa Üretim was the initial lack of an implementation plan for managing species in a rocky and steep terrain. The wild goat (Capra aegagrus) and the hook-horned ibex (Rupicapra rupicapra) are among the most important mammal species for the country's biodiversity. Because of this, accurate data collection on these species was needed. However, in rocky and steep terrain, the information obtained with satellite transmitters and GPS could not be easily interpreted. Enerjisa Uretim turned to geographic information system (GIS) technology for better analysis of satellite data. 

Enerjisa Uretim started by creating a plan for remote monitoring and tracking of the behavior of wild goats in the area. Staff used ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS 3D Analyst, and ArcGIS Spatial Analyst to create UTM ED50 6° maps with satellite data. The maps visualized the following findings:

• The 21 wild goats monitored by satellite used an area of approximately 28,199 hectares during the monitoring period. Wild goats, which had been known to live at elevations no higher than 2,000–2,200 meters, were also found to use land at an elevation of approximately 3,500 meters in this satellite-monitored area.
• In October in the Verçenik Mountain YHGS, male wild goats descend from high areas to lower elevations, adopt a group of females and kids, and move with them during the mating period. The male wild goats return to the higher elevations in this region in early May.
• The mating period starts in November or December and lasts until March. 
• While 11 satellite-tracked male wild goats used a total area of 26,964 hectares, 5 female and 5 juvenile wild goats used a total area of only 4,153 hectares.
• Out of the 21 wild goats, the following used the largest area: Ayaz, a male wild goat that was monitored for only five months, used 19,456 hectares. Poyraz, which was monitored for 10 months, used an area of 4,374 hectares, while Yeşil, which was monitored for 17 months, used an area of 2,944 hectares. Ayaz used an area approximately 4.5 times larger than Poyraz did. The highest elevation at which Ayaz is seen on the maps is 3,541 meters. Cevher, a three-year-old male wild goat that was tracked for only 10 months, was tracked at 3,384 meters.
• Barut, a four-year-old male wild goat that was monitored with a satellite transmitter, was monitored for 25 months, during which time he used an area of 2,140 hectares and walked approximately 1,166,000 meters. The highest point he reached during the monitoring period was 2,404 meters in June. The lowest elevation was 954 meters in January.
• On average, the months in which the remotely monitored wild goats used the largest area and walked the greatest distance were May, June, and July.
• For the first time in Turkey, stand maps of the area used by the 21 satellite-tracked wild goats were used as a base and the land distribution of their habitats was determined. Thus, the stand types in which they spend their time seasonally were obtained. Separate maps were produced for two different groups since the males and the females and juveniles use different areas except for mating and giving birth.

The findings of the Arkun Dam Wildlife Project are being used by Turkey’s Nature Conservation and National Parks Departments to improve the effectiveness of species monitoring and develop new policies.

Thanks to the analysis studies and data layers that Enerjisa Uretim created with ArcGIS Online, valuable information about the region and its ecosystem can now be used to inform decisions on how to protect wildlife and biodiversity and determine risk factors.

ArcGIS technology provided unprecedented accuracy to gain new understanding of wildlife behavior. For instance, during the project, 43 wild goats were fitted with GPS-global system for mobile communication (GSM) satellite transmitters. But due to technical problems in the transmitters as well as climate and terrain conditions, the number of wild goats monitored for more than a year was 20: 5 juveniles, 5 females, and 10 males. In addition to these wild goats, Ayaz—a one-year-old male—was monitored, but only for five months due to the significant difference in behavior. One of the biggest benefits of ArcGIS is that while investigating the reasons for these intermittent losses, it allows research to be carried out at points on the map according to the last coordinate data. Accordingly, the status of a monitored individual or whether there is a malfunction in the transmitter is also recorded.
 

The study conducted by Enerjisa Uretim produced a number of milestones as well. The Verçenik Mountain Wildlife Development Area is now the region in Turkey where the highest number of wild goats have been monitored by satellite. Twenty wild goats were monitored with GPS-GSM satellite transmitters for about one year. In addition, from October 2022 through October 2023, three wild goats were fitted with satellite transmitters and released. Through satellite data from these wild goats, potential unknown species can be recorded. It is also the first time that real-time data on any species in the region has been obtained and reported to the Nature Conservation and National Parks Departments. Thanks to the transmitters the wild goats carry, data such as location, time, and temperature is received from the satellite, and with this data, specific information about the species' habitats—such as breeding and mating areas, sleeping areas, nests, area use by season, and altitude and food preferences—can be obtained.