An aerial photo taken on Sept. 25, 2024 shows a part of Lake Kulu in Konya, Türkiye. Lake Kulu, by which Uludag grew up, is located some 5 km east of Konya Province’s Kulu district. Once a haven for rose flamingos and other migratory birds on their way to Africa, it has already dried up due to groundwater overuse and climate change. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua) by Burak Akinci KONYA, Türkiye, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — When Murat Uludag was a teenager about 40 years ago, there was so much water in central Türkiye’s Lake Kulu that it was dangerous to swim in it. “This region used to be a sanctuary for 186 species of birds. Compared to the past, we only have a handful of birds left,” lamented Uludag, a man in his mid-50s who now heads a local wildlife conservation group. “If there’s no water, there’s no life,” the ex-farmer told Xinhua, pointing at a small flock of flamingos and ducks stubbornly packed together in the middle of a tight shoal in the lake. Lake Kulu, by which Uludag grew up, is located some 5 km east of Konya Province’s Kulu district. Once a haven for rose flamingos and other migratory birds on their way to Africa, it has already dried up due to groundwater overuse and climate change. In the past, farmers in Kulu used to grow traditional crops like wheat and barley, but they later shifted to water-intensive crops like maize or beetroot, leading to aggressive use of groundwater which gradually dried up the creeks feeding the lake, Uludag said. Lake Kulu is not alone in facing an uncertain future. According to figures released by the Türkiye Nature Conservation Association on September 18, 186 out of 240 lakes in Türkiye have entirely dried up over the […]