Feature: Turkey's Lake Mogan Faces Rising Threat From Urban Development

Aerial photo taken on June 8, 2021 shows a flamboyance of flamingos flying over Lake Mogan in Ankara, Turkey. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

"It's ironic because on one hand, people need this place to connect with nature, but on the other hand, the same people are causing serious harm to the nature with their constructions," a Turkish environmental activist said.

by Burak Akinci

Lake Mogan is the most popular recreational area in Turkey's capital of Ankara, where residents enjoy observing its natural beauty and abundance of wildlife. But environmental activists are ringing the alarm bell for the rising threat it faces from urban development.

On weekends and holidays, Ankara's residents love visiting the restaurants, cafes and camping facilities built on the shoreline of Lake Mogan, home to around 240 species of birds, some endangered, at various times of year. In winter, one can see sea birds migrating from northern countries to Turkey, while in summer, birds such as ferruginous ducks and red-crested pochards incubate their eggs at the lake area.

Lake Mogan is interconnected hydrologically with another small and shallow lake called Eymir, both located about 20 km south of Ankara. They constitute significant ecological resources for the capital.

A herd of pelicans are seen on Lake Mogan in Ankara, Turkey, on June 13, 2021. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

"Lake Mogan is a wetland located right in the center of Anatolia and on bird migration routes, and as other wetlands in this region are drying out, it has grown in importance," Melih Ozbek, a wildlife photographer as well as a passionate bird-watcher and activist, told Xinhua.

Ozbek said that though both Lake Mogan and Lake Eymir have been under environmental protection from extensive human activities since the 1990s, urban expansion continues in the area.

Wildlife conservationists complain that the Turkish capital of nearly 6 million population keeps making inroads into the lake area.

The size of Lake Morgan used to be bigger than the current one, and pollution and uncontrolled construction activities are blamed for the reduced size of the lake.

Aerial photo taken on June 15, 2021 shows Lake Mogan, in Ankara, Turkey. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

"We have seen in the past few years a rise in the number of constructions around the lake. People are building prefabricated huts to circumvent regulations, and transforming them to small lakeside houses later," Metin Erler, a resident in the Golbasi district, told Xinhua.

Ozbek blamed the pollution for the severe "sea snot" problem in the northwestern Marmara Sea, warning that a similar problem may plague Lake Mogan in the future if measures are not implemented.

"Humans tend not to believe what they don't see, such as pollution, and once they see it, it's generally too late. One day this lake will not be able to accommodate bigger numbers of people on its shores," he cautioned.

Ozbek called for immediate actions to protect Lake Morgan and its ecosystem. "We are not late, but we have to act now," he said.

Aerial photo taken on June 15, 2021 shows Lake Mogan, in Ankara, Turkey. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

Last year, the Chamber of City Planners (SPO) in Ankara denounced a project to build a new recreational park on the shoreline of Lake Morgan, citing that it would "damage the ecological diversity and the fauna of the Mogan wetland forever."

"It's ironic because on one hand, people need this place to connect with nature, but on the other hand, the same people are causing serious harm to the nature with their constructions," Ozbek said.

Ozbek highlighted the importance of Lake Mogan, which is a remarkable urban recreational area in terms of natural beauty, water reservoir, air corridor for bird migration, and area of biological diversity.

"In the world, there are very few ecosystems as diverse as Mogan located inside the perimeter of the city itself, but we humans are not paying enough attention to its preservation," he said.

Heeding the call for environment protection of Lake Mogan, the Ankara city government announced recently that efforts are underway to clean up the water of the lake.

(Source: Xinhua)