Turkish Journal of Maritime and Marine Sciences, vol.9, no.1, pp.54-65, 2023 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aimed to provide a comprehensive framework for all economies /industries to work toward a more prosperous and environmentally friendly future. Maritime transport and its subsectors like Inland Waterway Transportation (IWT) are needed to attain most SDGs. Thus, it must raise awareness of how the marine industry, its sub-sectors, and scientific research contribute to SDG achievement. Accordingly, the present study is dedicated to providing a broad direction for initiatives through further strengthening Van Lake's contribution to the SDGs by accurately identifying impediments and exploring possible and present issues. In addition, as Lake Van and its surroundings were recently designated as a "naturally protected, sustainable conservation, and managed area", it should be appropriately conserved in addition to the actions taken to mitigate climate change impacts. The Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is used in this study, which is one of the most well-known and robust approaches for strategic analysis. The study's findings highlight both the importance of improving communication among the shareholders to build cooperative connections and developing new ways to integrate the SDGs into regulatory and policy plans to innovative infrastructure planning and investment solutions. In this study, a SWOT analysis of IWT activities in Lake Van has been made, and the strengths and weaknesses, remarkable opportunities, and possible threats to sustainable maritime transportation in Lake Van are determined.