We are deserting! In the last 60 years, twice the wetland of the Marmara Sea has dried up.

We are deserting! In the last 60 years, twice the wetland of the Marmara Sea has dried up. Nature Association will organize an international meeting titled 'International Meeting for Drying Lakes' on 2-2007 September within the scope of the 'Burdur Lake Rescue Project' that it has been carrying out since 17. In the conference hall of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKU) in Burdur, 18 speakers will attend the meeting, which will last for two days, as well as representatives of academicians, public institutions and nature conservation organizations from 10 countries from Central Asia, the Middle East, the Balkans and Africa, as well as Turkey.

MORE WETLANDS DRY THAN THE SEA OF MARMARA

Engin Yılmaz, General Manager of Doğa Derneği, who organized the meeting, said that in the last 60 years, approximately 20 thousand square kilometers (2 million hectares) of wetland has dried up or been left to dry up. Pointing out that this figure corresponds to approximately twice the area of ​​the Marmara Sea with an area of ​​11 square kilometers (350 million hectares), Engin Yılmaz said, “Akşehir Lake, where Nasreddin Hodja played yeast, is dying today. The amount of water lost by Burdur Lake just last year is more than 1.1 billion carboys. In the Konya Basin, which was called the 'Six Seas' 3 years ago, the water level drops 20 meters every year.”

'TURKANA CHILD' IS GOING TO HOME

Explaining that the situation is not different in the world, Yılmaz said that the Aral Sea, which was once the fourth largest lake in the world, today consists of a gigantic desert, and that 60 percent of the Urmia Lake in Iran, the largest lake in the Middle East, is the Lut Mountain, the lowest point in the world. He said that one third of the lake has dried up. Yılmaz stated that Lake Turkana in Kenya, where 1,5 million-year-old humanoid fossils are found, is also under the threat of extinction with the dam project to be built on the Omo River, which flows into the lake.

4 CUBE WATER LOSS IN 144 COUNTRIES

Underlining that a total of 2003 cubic kilometers of fresh water reserves were lost in many regions of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran in only 2010 years between 7 and 144, according to NASA, Nature Association General Manager Engin Yılmaz said, “This amount is almost the total amount of the Dead Sea. equal to the volume of water. After India, the Middle East has the second fastest loss of underground water reserves in the world," he said.

IT IS POSSIBLE TO KEEP OUR LAKES ALIVE

Considering the reasons for the disappearance of lakes in Turkey and in the world, Yılmaz said that there are agricultural policies that consume a lot of water and water policies that interfere with the natural cycle of water with dams.

“However, it is possible to keep our lakes alive. By growing plants that are suitable for the region and consuming less water, using economical irrigation systems in agriculture, and most importantly, remembering that lakes need water like every living thing, not cutting off the water flowing from streams and rivers to lakes with dams.”

WORLD-FAMOUS LAKES WILL BE TALKED

In addition to the current threats to the world's leading lakes such as Lake Turkana (Kenya), Lake Urmia (Iran), Lake Dead (Jordan-Israel), Lake Aral (Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan), Lake Koroneia (Greece), which are under the threat of drying out, Successful rescue efforts in wet areas such as Lake Hula (Israel), Lake Sevan (Armenia), Siranguli (Iran), Mesopotamian Marshes (Iraq) will also be shared. In addition, cooperation at the regional level will be discussed to keep the lakes alive.

 

Source : Hürriyet

📩 16/09/2013 11:28