Key Biodiversity Areas

Lesser Menderes Delta (761)
Turkey, Europe

Site overview

KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2016
National site name: Küçük Menderes Deltası
Central coordinates: Latitude: 37.9667, Longitude: 27.2833
Elevation (m): 0 to 180
Area of KBA (km2): 77.75389
KBA classification: Regional
Legacy site: Yes

Site details

Site description: A wetland complex comprising çakal lake (a 74-ha, 4-m-deep freshwater lake), Gebekirse lake (a 75-ha, 5-m-deep brackish lake) and marshes on the alluvial plain north of the Küçük Menderes river. The former Ceva°ir lake floods only in winter.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that was identified using previously established criteria and thresholds for the identification of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) and for which available data indicate that it does not meet global KBA criteria and thresholds set out in the Global Standard. KBA identified in the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the Mediterranean Hotspot (2017). Taxonomy, nomenclature and global threat category follow the 2016 IUCN Red List.
Delineation rationale: Area changed from 1,500 ha to 4,440 ha (Kilic & Eken, 2004). Area changed from 4,440 ha to 6,706 ha (Eken et al. 2006).

Habitats

Land use: agriculture (5%) | fisheries/aquaculture (5%) | not utilised (90%)
IUCN HabitatCoverage %Habitat detail
Marine Coastal/Supratidal60
Artificial - Terrestrial10
Marine Neritic30

Threats

Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: DSÝ plans to construct four dams on the Küçük Menderes river and its tributaries for irrigation purposes. This will greatly reduce inflows to the wetland and may lead to the drying up of the Elaman and Akgöl marshes. Coastal tourism developments are encroaching from the north and south. The effects of the airstrip are unknown.
Threat level 1Threat level 2Threat level 3Timing
Natural system modificationsDams & water management/useAbstraction of surface water (commercial use)Ongoing