First lady Emine Erdoğan thanked institutions, organizations and environmental volunteers supporting efforts to protect the Lake Van basin, calling on the public to safeguard one of Türkiye's most valuable natural treasures for future generations.
In a social media post on Friday, Erdoğan described Lake Van as one of the country's most precious natural assets and stressed that protecting its waters and surrounding ecosystem is "no longer a choice but a shared responsibility toward future generations."
"I sincerely thank all our institutions, organizations and environmental friends whose efforts have strengthened this great environmental mobilization. Let us protect it together, let us preserve it together," she wrote.
Erdoğan shared the message while reposting the Zero Waste Foundation's update on ongoing conservation efforts in the Lake Van basin.
The basin has been the focus of the Lake Van basin Protection Action Plan and Implementation Program, launched in 2021 under Erdoğan's leadership and coordinated by the Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry. The initiative aims to tackle wastewater pollution, remove lake-bottom sludge and combat illegal construction while protecting the basin's ecological future.
The project covers a wide range of environmental measures, including lake-bottom sludge removal, integration of wastewater treatment facilities, restoration of shorelines and streambeds, and improved water management.
The latest phase of the initiative follows the "Future for the Lake Van basin – Common Mind Platform" Sustainable Future Workshop held between July 20 to 21 in Van, eastern Türkiye, jointly organized by the Zero Waste Foundation, the governorates of Van and Bitlis, universities and provincial environment directorates.
The 2-day workshop brought together 325 participants, including representatives from 14 ministries, 40 general directorates, local administrations, universities, civil society organizations and the private sector, to develop a long-term vision for the basin's environmental, economic and social sustainability.
The workshop concluded with a declaration proposing a comprehensive governance model for the basin, including the establishment of an autonomous Lake Van basin Digital Management Center, stronger legal and planning frameworks, expanded environmental monitoring through digital technologies and greater coordination among institutions.
The recommendations also called for investments in sustainable tourism, green infrastructure, modern irrigation systems, wastewater treatment, biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.