Türkiye declares Nemrut Caldera protected national park
BİTLİS
Türkiye has designated the Nemrut Caldera in the eastern province of Bitlis as a national park, marking a decisive move that drove a 64 percent surge in the nation’s protected areas over just four days.
According to a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Aug. 19, the vast caldera spanning Bitlis’s Tatvan, Ahlat and Güroymak districts near Van Lake has been officially designated to safeguard its biodiversity and encourage sustainable tourism. The decision follows the declarations of the Fethiye-Kaş and North Aegean marine national parks, pushing the total number of protected zones to 1,791 across 62,403 square kilometers.
Erdoğan Özel, the founding head of the Vangölü Activists Association, thanked the president and Bitlis Governor Ahmet Karakaya, saying the new status will end the previously uncontrolled use of the remote area.
