Garanti BBVA-sponsored project discovers ancient seagrass meadow
Garanti BBVA’s flagship environmental program, the Blue Breath Project, has helped identify Türkiye’s oldest seagrass meadow off the coast of Kızılada near Göcek. Led by Professor Ergün Taşkın, a team of scientists confirmed the meadow’s age at about 2,000 years, the first time such an ecosystem has been dated in the country. Researchers believe the discovery could reshape marine conservation.
Launched in 2021 in partnership with the marine conservation group TURMEPA and supported by the Ministry of Environment, the Blue Breath Project was conceived in the aftermath of the mucilage crisis in the Sea of Marmara. It combines scientific research with on-the-ground environmental work, ranging from waste collection to biodiversity mapping and education.
BBVA’s Turkish franchise, one of the country’s largest private-sector banks, has positioned the project at the intersection of climate science and social responsibility. “By investing in the protection of coastal ecosystems, we are investing in Turkey’s future,” a bank representative said.
Seagrass meadows raise the stakes in climate action: a single square kilometer can supply the annual oxygen needs of 1,000 people, while locking away carbon at rates that often surpass forests on land. They serve as nurseries for marine life, buffer coasts from erosion and preserve layers of sediment that act as living records of centuries past.
The project has already produced measurable results. More than 275 tons of solid waste have been cleared from the Marmara Sea and 16 tons from Lake Van. In Göcek, a vessel dedicated to liquid waste has collected 860,000 liters from boats, sparing an estimated 6.8 million liters of seawater from contamination. In Saros Bay, 45 dives at 35 sites documented 382 species and produced a new habitat map.
Restoration is central to the effort. In the Fethiye-Göcek Special Environmental Protection Area, Taşkın’s team transplanted about 10,000 seagrass seedlings across three stations, achieving survival rates above 70 percent. Surveys in the same waters recorded 1,545 species, strengthening the scientific base for future conservation.
Garanti BBVA has also pushed to broaden public awareness. In partnership with TURMEPA, the project has delivered online courses under the Ministry of Education’s protocols and deployed a mobile “Blue Breath” education bus, reaching more than 100,000 high school students and 5,000 teachers. Its “Blue Detectives” program gives students the chance to design their own environmental projects, encouraging early habits of stewardship.
For scientists, the 2,000-year-old meadow is both a benchmark and a warning. It shows how resilient seagrass can be when undisturbed, and how much could be lost without protection. For BBVA’s unit in Türkiye, this discovery is proof that private-sector backing can accelerate scientific progress while anchoring long-term environmental gains.