Current view: Text account
Site description (2000 baseline):
Site location and context
An extensive coastal wetland situated 25 km north-west of Ýzmir. Shoals and islands separate four saline lagoons (totalling 3,450 ha) from the sea. The site also includes 5,000 ha of saltmarsh and 650 ha of freshwater marsh. Dry grassland and arable land occur north of the commercial saltpans. A fishing cooperative operates in the çilazmak lagoon; the IBA is a popular weekend destination from Ýzmir.
The IBA is important for breeding and wintering waterbirds.
Sterna sandvicensis bred in 1996 (53 pairs)˜the first Turkish breeding record.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
The Gediz river is heavily polluted by industrial and household waste. Ýzmir is encroaching upon the area. Lorries cause disturbance to the
Phoenicopterus ruber colony; repairs to the saltpans may delay breeding. Plans exist for a 2,000 ha sewage treatment plant, a new seaport, and the dumping of 7,000,000 m
3 of polluted mud within the IBA boundary. Fish catches have declined, possibly due to increasing salinity in the lagoons as a result of reduced freshwater inflows.
National Partial
International Partial8,000 ha of IBA covered by Permanent Wildlife Reserve (Gediz Deltasý, 8,000 ha). 8,000 ha of IBA covered by SÝT (Gediz Deltasý, 8,000 ha). 15,000 ha of IBA covered by Ramsar Site (Gediz, 15,000 ha).
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Gediz Delta (Türkiye). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/gediz-delta-iba-türkiye on 22/11/2024.
