The registration of Lake Van and its surroundings as a “natural site-sustainable conservation and controlled use area” with the decision published in the Official Gazette will contribute to better protection of the basin. Work continues to prevent pollution in Lake Van, which he defines as “Van Lake”, and to leave it cleaner for future generations. Saved as “area”.
With the decision published in the Official Gazette, the construction around Lake Van will be brought under control, and the projects related to the zoning plans will be evaluated and implemented by the Natural Assets Regional Commission of the Provincial Regional Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. Protection Board.
The Commission will also decide on the construction of low-density tourism facilities in accordance with the legislation that citizens and tourists can benefit from. In all settlements on the lake shore, treatment facilities will be ensured to operate at 100% capacity and the factors causing pollution will be eliminated. Various training programs will be organized for water management, the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the municipalities in the settlements on the lake shore will conduct continuous inspections of the lake and its surroundings.
A Positive Decision
Van Yuzuncu Yil University (YYU) Faculty of Letters, Geography Department Lecturer Prof. Dr. Faruk Alaeddinoglu said that the registration decision is important for the future of the lake. One of these areas. Lake Van is actually Turkey’s most important wetland. The existing water resources in this area are subject to some negative consequences due to the temperatures. There is a similar picture not only in our country, but also in many countries of the world. But they are taking very serious steps to protect it. They pass conservation laws. They allocate serious resources to keep those lakes alive. In this sense, steps are being taken in Turkey. In recent years, people have started to build uncontrollably in and around the lake, where water has been withdrawn due to global warming. It is very important to declare the lake and its surroundings a natural protected area in order to prevent this uncontrolled construction. valuable. We need this if we want to keep the lake alive and see the people of the region as the living space of the world.”
Lake Van Will Now Stay Cleaner
President of Vangöl Activists Association, which has been working to draw attention to the pollution in Lake Van, Erdogan Ozel expressed that they welcome the registration decision. Stating that the lake will now stay cleaner, Ozel said, “We are trying to carry the world’s largest soda lake to the future. We are pleased with the latest developments in conservation efforts. Since the lake is located in a closed basin, we are dealing with various problems every day. Pollution and drought are the biggest threats. A conservation law was needed to eliminate these threats and to transfer this blueness and unique beauty of the lake to future generations. As nature lovers, we were very happy. It was declared a natural site and gained a status. It will be of great service.”
We were at Mollakasim, Lake Van recently and it was very polluted with plastics. Noone cleans up their rubbish and there are no bins on shoreline. I have photos and would like to send them. Something needs to be done very quickly to clean up all the plastics.