Lake Van is becoming more endangered day by day. Roads built around the lake are disrupted ecological system on the shore of the lake. Ecologist Fatih Şahin stressed that the sewage of Van's 136 villages and 9 districts is drained into the lake without proper filtering. He said some of the animals are extinct now.

More than 1 million lives in Van city center. The wastewater of Van is drained into Lake Van. Sahin says no filters are setup or no clarification treatment is done to the wastewater.

Şahin pointed also out that the roads built around the Van Lake are shortening the lifespan of the creatures living there and continued: "There were also reeds around the lake. Lake Van had great potential concerning the tourism industry and could have become a birds' paradise. Around 427 bird species are living here, of which 256 species live around the Van Lake itself. In this region, there are also some special types of flies. Thousand of birds feed on these flies. If you wipe out these flies, you destroy the food resource of the birds as well. And by doing so you will also wipe out the birds that live on those insects. Finally, you will also cause the decline of the reptile population."

"THE SEWAGE WASTE IS FLOWING DIRECTLY INTO THE LAKE"

Şahin stated that because of the wastewater the ecosystem has been negatively effected and many living beings are now extinct. "The roads are polluting the Van Lake. The parched reeds are also causing an ugly sight. According to the law of 1990 nobody is actually allowed to fence in the shore of Lake Van. The Lake Van has been rendered to the most polluted lake ever. The sewage waste of 136 villages and 9 districts are directly running into the lake without any prior clarification process. Even though Van's dumpsite might be located a bit afar on the Qelqeli road, the garbage is still being blown into the lake by the wind and heavy rainfall. As a matter of fact, Lake Van is getting polluted fast." Sahin said.

Şahin explained that during the period the Democratic Regions’ Party (DBP) was still in charge, they were making great efforts to protect Lake Van and said: "The DBP took action to fulfill our requests. But because the budget was not sufficient, the biological refinery could not be realized. Back then we had a municipality that was the holder of a democratic, ecologic and women's liberty protective paradigm. But now Lake Van has been turned into the pool of dirt. Dirt is piling up from the Iskeley coast to Artemêtan. When you look at the coastline of the Van Lake, you will see an entire queue of cement plants, HES (hydroelectric power plants) and industries. The chemical waste of those is flowing straight away into Lake Van. If it goes on like this, there is a very short time left for Lake Van."