TR067
Beyşehir Lake This is an IBA in Danger! 


Country/territory: Türkiye

IBA criteria met: A4i, A4iii, B1i (2004)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 91,947 hectares (919.47 km2)

Doga Dernegi
IBA conservation status
Year of assessment (most recent) State (condition) Pressure (threat) Response (action)
2016 poor very high medium
For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here


Site description (2000 baseline)
The largest freshwater lake in Turkey (max. depth 10 m), 75 km west of Konya. Fluctuating water-levels give a surface area of between 60,000 and 73,000 ha; the lake is fed by mountain streams and several springs. To the north is the Kýzýldað Cedrus forest; to the east the land is under agriculture. Three of the 30 islands are inhabited, others are farmed, the majority are deserted. Narrow reedbeds (Phragmites) fringe the shores with extensive tracts in bays in the east and south-west. Human activities include reed-cutting (`Other' land-use).

Key biodiversity
The site is important for large numbers of wintering wildfowl. Breeding colonies of Phalacrocorax carbo, Pelecanus crispus, Nycticorax nycticorax and Egretta garzetta were formerly present on the islands.


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Beyşehir Lake (Türkiye). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/beyşehir-lake-iba-türkiye on 26/12/2024.