Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Directorate General of Nature Conservation and National Parks continues its registration studies on wetlands.
Within the scope of the implementation with respect to protection of wetlands through the registration, which were put into force with the amendment made in Bylaw on Wetlands Conservation in 2014, registration of the wetlands are made as three different categories that are Ramsar Area, Wetland with National Importance and Wetland with Local Importance.
In accordance with the decision taken by National Wetland Commission's at its recent meeting, 3 wetlands which are Karamık Reeds in Afyonkarahisar, Metruk Saltern in Muğla, Tuzla Lake in Kayseri were put under protection through registration as Wetland with National Importance.
Metruk Saltern and Tuzla Lake are of great importance in terms of being one of the important accommodation areas for red cranes in our country, whilst Karamık Reeds is one of the most natural wetlands of Western Anatolia and is a valuable wetland with its islets and peat beds structure and also valuable, in terms of carbon accumulation and prevention of climate change.
THE SIZE OF WET AREAS HAS GONE UP TO 995 THOUSAND 364 HECTARES
With the registration of these 3 wetlands, the number of Wetlands with National Importance increased to 56, while the total number of wetlands under protection with the other statutes laying down in the Wetlands Protection Regulation went up to 79. The area covered by these wetlands increased to 995 thousand 364 hectares.