Court Ruling in Favor of Lake Marmara, a Key Biodiversity Area in Turkey!

Court Ruling in Favor of Lake Marmara, a Key Biodiversity Area in Turkey!

Located in Manisa Province in Turkey's Aegean Region, Lake Marmara was designated as a Wetland of National Importance in 2017, covering 24,893 hectares in accordance with the Ramsar Convention’s Regulation on the Protection of Wetlands. The lake is listed among Turkey's 184 Important Bird Areas and 305 Key Biodiversity Areas. It supports bird species protected under the Bern Convention, to which Turkey is a signatory, and is also home to endemic freshwater fish.

Over the past decade, Lake Marmara has faced severe impacts from poor agricultural and water management practices by authorities such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works. Excessive use of both underground and surface waters, combined with reduced water sources feeding the lake, has led to its desiccation.

Campaign and Legal Actions

In 2021, Doğa Derneği/BirdLife Türkiye launched a campaign to spotlight the environmental destruction in the area. By 2022, 25 civil society organizations and research institutions from the Mediterranean Wetlands Alliance and BirdLife International partners joined forces to alert the Turkish government and international authorities about the degradation of this globally significant ecosystem. They sent a letter to the President of Turkey, emphasizing the lake's importance, the problems, and potential solutions, ensuring the issue reached international civil society organizations and the media.

After the lake dried up, a protocol was signed in 2022 between regional decision-makers and the General Directorate of Agricultural Enterprises (TİGEM), allocating the dried lake basin to TİGEM for agricultural production. Consequently, the National Wetland Commission revised the Wetland Protection Zone borders.

Opening a wetland with official protection status for agricultural use contradicts both national and international legislation. In response, Doğa Derneği, alongside national and local civil society organizations and residents of the lake area, filed a lawsuit against the National Wetland Commission’s decision to revise the wetland borders and the protocol converting the lake into an agricultural area. 

Court's Expert Opinion

The expert examination and inspection by the judge occurred on March 25, 2024. The specialist opinion submitted to the court on July 1, 2024, stated that “Lake Marmara can regain its wetland and lake characteristics through relevant activities and natural processes. The agricultural activities planned for the lake basin under the protocol will negatively impact the possibility of the lake returning to wetland status in the future. These agricultural activities will adversely affect the lake basin, groundwater, surface water, and the biodiversity in and around the lake basin.”

The specialist opinion concluded that current practices in the area would destroy the Lake Marmara wetland ecosystem and that restoring water to the area instead of these practices would allow it to recover its wetland and lake characteristics. As a result, the Court has ruled to suspend the execution of the case.

This decision marks a significant step toward the restoration of Lake Marmara. We anticipate that the court’s final judgment will annul both the protocol and the wetland border revision, thus accelerating our efforts to reinstate water to the lake and restore it to its former state.