Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
Situated at the junction between the Büyük Menderes river and the Aegean, the delta comprises lagoons (separated from the sea by a narrow sandbar), extensive salt-steppe and mudflats. A north-south running motorway forms the eastern border of the IBA; west of this salt-steppe has been partially converted to arable land. To the north the delta is bordered by the hills and mountains of the Dilek peninsula. Human activities include cattle- and sheep-grazing.
The area is important for breeding and wintering waterbirds.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Irrigation projects, including 13 reservoirs, have been and are being developed on the Büyük Menderes river with severe consequences for large tracts of natural habitat. Industrial and untreated urban waste enters the lagoons via the river, and, along with water-level fluctuations and over-fishing, has caused fisheries to collapse. There is considerable pressure to build holiday homes. From 1991 to 1995 DHKD ran an education project both in this site and Bafa lake (site 021), and have assisted the National Park authorities in drawing up a management plan.
National High
International None9,800 ha of IBA covered by National Park (Menderes Deltasý, 27,675 ha). 9,800 ha of IBA covered by SÝT (Menderes Deltasý, 9,800 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Büyük Menderes Delta (Türkiye). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/büyük-menderes-delta-iba-türkiye on 22/11/2024.
