Follow KuzeyDoga

Follow KuzeyDoga on Twitter Join KuzeyDoga on Facebook KuzeyDoga's Latest News

Watch KuzeyDoga on Dailymotion Watch KuzeyDoga documentaries on Vimeo See KuzeyDoga pictures on Picasa

Faaliyet Raporu 2009

Annual Report 2009

Bağış Yapın / Donate

You can contribute KuzeyDoga Society's nature conservation, environmental education, wildlife research and community based eco-tourism projects.
 
World Wetlands Day in Kars & Iğdır PDF Print E-mail
Kars
 
2 February 2010
 
The World Wetland Day was celebrated on February 2 by KuzeyDoga Society with the support of Kafkas University and Kars Directorate of Environment and Forestry at Kafkas University Faculty of Science & Literature. Emrah Çoban, Science Coordinator of KuzeyDoga Society gave a presentation about the effects of global warming on wetlands and explaining the research, conservation and restoration efforts of KuzeyDoga Lake Kuyucuk, which became Turkey’s 13th RAMSAR wetland in 2009. The IzTV documentary about KuzeyDoga work was then screened to an audience of 32 people including academics and students. The event was concluded by distributing handouts provided by the Kars Directorate of Environment & Forestry. 
 
 
  
Iğdır
 
3 February 2010
 
The World Wetland Day was celebrated on February 3 by KuzeyDoga Society and Iğdır Directorate of Environment and Forestry at the Aralık-Karasu marshes fed by the meltwater of Mt Agri (Ararat), Turkey’s highest mountain at 5137 meters. Wintering waterfowl at Aralık-Karasu marshes were counted with the participation of the director of Iğdır Environment & Foresty, Mr. Taner Tazegün and the director of Iğdır Nature Conservation & National Parks Department (DKMPGM), Mr. Mete Türkoğlu. 1124 birds of 28 species were counted during 3 hours observation. Recording white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) first time in Iğdır was an exciting experience for the participants. Coot (Fulica atra) was the most common species during the count. KuzeyDoga Society Science Coordinator Emrah Çoban stated that the wetlands in Kars, Ardahan, and Ağrı are usually frozen in winter time so that Iğdır’s Aralık-Karasu marshes, which do not freeze, are very important for birdlife in the winter:
 
“Aralık-Karasu marshes are critical for wintering birds, but the site does not have a designated protection status. The site is becoming more developed and the sewage of the villages is released directly into the wetland. This pollutes the wetland which holds water year-around. It is relatively easy to protect Aralık-Karasu marshes due to the relatively low and rural population. But if pollution and development continue, it will be hard to maintain the current lakes, marshes and wet meadows in the future, which means more money and more effort to get them back. We need to understand the real value of what we have before we lose them. In the last 60 years, Turkey has lost more than half of her wetlands, equaling an area size of the sea of Marmara. An area bigger than Lake Van has been drained. The destruction of these wetlands should stop as soon as possible. We hope that the Aralık-Karasu marshes, which are fed by melt water coming from the snows of legendary and biblical Mount Ağrı (Ararat), will get its legal protection status in 2010 and the thin line between humans and rest of nature will stay in balance.”