The TEMA Foundation (The Turkish Foundation for Combating Soil Erosion, for Reforestation and the Protection of Natural Habitats) was founded on 11th September 1992 by two prominent Turkish businessmen Hayrettin Karaca, the founder of Karaca Arboretum, UN Environment Award Owner and Nihat Gökyiğit, co-founder of Tekfen Holding, the founder of the Turkey - Commonwealth of Independent States business councils and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Council. The idea to form TEMA first emerged in 1980 when Hayrettin Karaca founded the first private Arboretum of Turkey. Mr. Karaca's search for Turkish wild life species, trees and other plant varieties took him to all corners of the country. During these travels, he witnessed massive erosion, disappearance of plant varieties, ruined grazelands, fountains that had run dry, and the sad remnants of forests claimed by fire, developers or farmers looking for new croplands. He decided to do something about all this and started speaking out whenever and wherever he could. What had started as a hobby eventually turned into his life's passion, culminating in the establishment of the Karaca Arboretum in Yalova, south of İstanbul in 1980.
Meanwhile, Mr. Gökyiğit, Mr. Karaca's longtime friend, was looking into the possibility of setting up a foundation to hasten the pace of afforestation in Turkey. Mr. Gökyiğit, a graduate of Michigan University and co-owner of one of Turkey's top conglomerates, was already known to the Turkish public for his efforts to develop economic relations with Russia and the former Soviet republics.
During an interwiev of a national newspaper dated 5 August 1992, Hayrettin Karaca emphasized: “The values of inorganic substances, mineral and metallic elements inside the soil who flows to the seas, the streams, the dams could be equal to the Turkish national budget. If we calculate the soil which we let flow to the seas we could revive Turkey. Turkey had that much soil loss but we don’t count this as a loss. We said that we could die for the land, we won’t give a span of our land but we gave armful. Today all the streams on Kızılırmak, Yeşilırmak and Eastern Black Sea flows muddy. All the Çoruh creeks spilled out after uprooting the Çoruh’s soils.”
When these two gentlemen joined forces, Turkey had already gained formidable advocates and men of action for an environmental cause vital to the country's future. They also had the support of the late Vehbi Koç, the dean of Turkish industrialists and an early supporter of major philanthropy in the country. As of November 2004, TEMA with more than 236 000 voluntary members is one of the biggest environmental NGO’s of Turkey.
A – Real Persons
B - Institutional Members
AKFİL SANAYİİ VE TİCARET Co.
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AKIN TEKSTİL Co.
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AKSA AKRİLİK KİMYA SANAYİİ Co.
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ALTINYILDIZ HOLDİNG Co.
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ECZACIBAŞI HOLDİNG Co.
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HAS OTOMOTİV TİCARET VE SANAYİİ Co.
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HÜRRİYET GAZETECİLİK VE MATBAACILIK Co.
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KALEBODUR SERAMİK SANAYİİ Co.
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KARACA HOLDİNG Co.
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MİLLİYET GAZETECİLİK Co.
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ORTA ANADOLU TİC. VE SANAYİ İŞLETMELERİ Co.
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SABAH YAYINCILIK Co.
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SINAİ VE MALİ YATIRIMLAR HOLDİNG Co.
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TATKO OTOMOBİL, LASTİK VE MAKİNE TİCARETİ Co.
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TEKFEN HOLDİNG Co.
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TÜRKPETROL VE MADENİ YAĞLAR Co.
