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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2004 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax	LC	breeding (1989–1996)	250 breeding pairs	B2
Pygmy Cormorant Microcarbo pygmaeus	LC	breeding (1989–1995)	30 breeding pairs	A1

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2004. The most recent assessment (2016) is shown below.

State (condition of the key species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Wetlands (inland)	good (>90%)	moderate (70–90%)	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Natural system modifications	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Pollution	happen­ing now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A manage­ment plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1990	Iznik Golu	SIT (Law on Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets No. 2863) (-)	79
2018	İznik Gölü	Wetland of National Importance (-)	100

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Wetlands (inland)	95	Standing freshwater; Water fringe vegetation
Artificial/Terrestrial	5	Perennial crops, orchards and groves

Land use	% of IBA
water management	95
urban/industrial/transport	25
fisheries/aquaculture	10
tourism/recreation	10
agriculture	5

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: İznik Lake (Türkiye). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/iznik-lake-iba-türkiye on 08/01/2025.