STORY: Türkiye's lakes drying up amid groundwater overuse, climate change
SHOOTING TIME: Sept. 25, 2024
DATELINE: Sept. 29, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:47
LOCATION: KONYA, Türkiye
CATEGORY: ECOLOGY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Türkiye's lakes
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): MURAT ULUDAG, Local resident of Kulu
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): MURAT ULUDAG, Local resident of Kulu
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): MELIH OZBEK, Scholar and expert on lakes, wetlands, and photographer

STORYLINE:

When Murat Uludag was a teenager about 40 years ago, there was so much water in central Türkiye's Lake Kulu that it was dangerous to swim in it.

"This region used to be a sanctuary for 186 species of birds. Compared to the past, we only have a handful of birds left," lamented Uludag, a man in his mid-50s who now heads a local wildlife conservation group.

"If there's no water, there's no life," the ex-farmer told Xinhua, pointing at a small flock of flamingos and ducks stubbornly packed together in the middle of a tight shoal in the lake.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): MURAT ULUDAG, Local resident of Kulu
"If there's no water there's no life."

Lake Kulu, by which Uludag grew up, is located some 5 km east of Konya Province's Kulu district. Once a haven for rose flamingos and other migratory birds on their way to Africa, it has already dried up due to groundwater overuse and climate change.

In the past, farmers in Kulu used to grow traditional crops like wheat and barley, but they later shifted to water-intensive crops like maize or beetroot, leading to aggressive use of groundwater which gradually dried up the creeks feeding the lake, Uludag said.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): MURAT ULUDAG, Local resident of Kulu
"In the past, Kulu farmers used to grow traditional local crops like wheat and barley, which required less water. However, they later started planting water-intensive crops such as beetroot and maize, leading to aggressive use of groundwater."

Lake Kulu is not alone in facing an uncertain future. According to figures released by the Türkiye Nature Conservation Association on September 18, 186 out of 240 lakes in Türkiye have entirely dried up over the past 60 years, while the remaining ones are at risk of drought and pollution.

Besides, authorities have reported hundreds of sinkholes in Konya Province, which are weakening the bedrock and threatening agriculture and human safety.

"One of the main issues in central Anatolia and the vast Konya plain is the proliferation of illegal wells drilled by farmers to irrigate water-intensive crops," Melih Ozbek, an Ankara-based scholar and a wildlife activist, told Xinhua.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): MELIH OZBEK, Scholar and expert on lakes, wetlands, and photographer
"One of the main issues in central Anatolia and the Konya basin is that the aggressive agricultural practices used there to cultivate water-intensive crops such as beetroot. Also, the proliferation of illegal wells drilled by farmers to irrigate their crops is an issue leading to the lakes drying out." 

Another reason is the change in agriculture in recent years, exacerbated by climate change that has resulted in erratic weather conditions and drought, Ozbek said.

There is an urgent need to create a plan involving all relevant parties and implement it with a shift in mindset, he said.

"People are unwilling to make sacrifices for something they cannot see. They will suffer more in the coming decades," he added.

Echoing Ozbek, Erol Kesici, a leading Turkish expert on water issues, warned that "there is not a single lake left in Türkiye that we can point to as being in good condition."

"The problems are dire, with water levels, surface areas, pollution and oxygen depletion worsened; unfortunately, many of our natural lakes, formed millions of years ago, have suffered from severe drying in the past few decades," Kesici said.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting Konya, Türkiye.
(XHTV)