Pursuant to the Presidential Decree No. 1 on the Presidential Organization, published in the Official Gazette No. 30474 dated 10.07.2018, the duties of the Directorate General for Preservation of Natural Heritage are as follows:

Directorate General for Preservation of Natural Heritage

ARTICLE 109 - (1) The duties and powers of the Directorate General for Preservation of Natural Heritage are as follows:

a) To determine the procedures and principles regarding the registration, approval and announcement of national parks, nature parks, natural monuments, nature protection areas, wetlands and other areas with similar protection status and to register the boundaries of these areas,

b) To determine the procedures and principles regarding the determination, registration, approval, amendment and announcement of natural assets and natural protected areas and special environmental protection zones and to determine the boundaries of these areas, to register, maintain and manage the same,

c) To take the policy decisions regarding the use and construction of national parks, natural parks, natural monuments, nature protection areas, natural protected areas, wetlands, special environmental protection zones and other areas with similar protection status, and environmental order in all types and scales, and also to carry out, draw up, change, approve, apply or implement the same accordingly,

ç) To determine the principles of protection and use in places where natural assets, natural, historical, archaeological and urban sites and other areas with protection status overlap, by taking the opinion of the relevant ministries and to decide by which administrations these areas will be managed partially or completely, environmental order of all types and scales, to draw up, make and approve master and application development plans,

d) To actualize the allocation of immovable natural assets, protected areas and natural site areas that are outside the forest areas to be used in accordance with the policy decisions determined by the Ministry and approved plans, as well as monitoring and supervising the realization of the applications in accordance with the allocation conditions,

e) Regarding natural assets and natural protected areas and special environmental protection zones,  to have the existing maps obtained, to carry out the necessary projects, to put them in practice and to approve the same, to carry out all kinds of researches and examinations, to have them fulfilled accordingly, to monitor them, to carry out educational and awareness-raising studies, to ensure that the areas where the usage is banned are expropriated or similar means, to control and audit, to invest in the protection of areas and to prevent pollution, or to support the investment projects of the relevant administrations, to make all kinds of savings regarding the places under the rule and disposition of the State in these areas and regions, to operate and to give usage permits, to provide man-force and financial resources for protected areas,

f) To fulfill other duties assigned by the Minister.

(2) Registration and announcement of natural parks, natural monuments, nature protection areas, wetlands and other similar protection areas determined by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in places not subject to the forest and forest regime, and natural sites, natural assets and their protected areas determined by the Ministry, is carried out pursuant to the approval of the Minister. However, all protected areas, including natural assets and natural protected areas, which are proposed to be banned by the Ministry, are registered and announced by the President of the Republic. Land and plot arrangement, barter or expropriation procedures regarding the areas subject to private ownership, for which building ban has been imposed with the implementation zoning plan decision, are carried out by the institutions that undertake the management and operation of these areas or by the Ministry.