The "Çıldır Lake Basin Protection Plan and Special Provision Determination Project", which will last 760 days and cost approximately 1.5 million TL, was announced to the public with a signature ceremony held at SERKA's service building.

Governor of Kars Rahmi Doğan, Governor of Ardahan Mehmet Emin Bilmez, Director of TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center Environment and Clean Production Institute Özgen Ercan, Assoc. Prof. Kemal Güneş from TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center Environment and Clean Production Institute, Ardahan Mayor Faruk Köksoy and SERKA Secretary General Oktay Güven attended the signing ceremony.

Making a statement to journalists before the signing ceremony, Governor Doğan said, "We came together within the scope of the Çıldır Lake Basin Protection and Special Provisions Determination Project. This project started last year, and with the signatures today, we will hopefully start it. As you know, the historical and natural beauties of both Ardahan and Kars are on the agenda of Turkey. Especially in the last winter, we hosted a very serious number of local and foreign tourists. Whether it was people coming by Eastern Express or people coming by air, they showed an extreme interest in Sarıkamış, Ani and Çıldır Lake. Of course, the fact that Çıldır Lake has been brought to tourism has also brought to the agenda that some work should be done here. Çıldır Lake is currently in a virgin structure and we have to preserve its natural beauties and transfer them to future generations. When it became clear that a study should be carried out on this subject, we developed a project together with Ardahan and Kars Governorships under the coordination of SERKA within the framework of the meeting with TUBITAK last year. What needs to be done here; We will prepare the basin conservation plan of Çıldır Lake. After the basin protection plan is prepared, all the preparations that need to be made around Çıldır Lake in terms of protection, construction and revealing its natural beauties will be made and the plan will be revealed. Within the framework of this plan, the activities in Çıldır Lake will be designed according to this plan."

LET'S NOT LET OUR ÇILDIR LAKE BE LIKE THE LONG LAKE

Governor Doğan stated that they wanted to take precautions from the beginning in order to avoid going down a path of no return and said, "There is a period of 760 days. During this period, TUBITAK and its experts will work and prepare the plan for us. After the plan enters into force, we will carry out the works here as both the Governorship of Kars and the Governorship of Ardahan within the framework of this plan. I hope it will be auspicious, because since the necessary measures were not taken from the beginning in different places such as Uzun Lake in our country with such natural beauty, irreversible situations have emerged. As of today, if you say let's go back to Long Lake, you will not be able to go back again. Therefore, we want to take precautions from the beginning. Within the framework of this measure, we want both the natural beauties there to be preserved and our people to benefit from it. I hope that this purposeful work will be auspicious for both Kars and Ardahan."

In response to a journalist's question that "Çıldır Lake Berthing Places Survey Project Works" will be announced tomorrow by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, 2 breakwaters will be built on both the Kars side and the Ardahan side of Çıldır Lake, could you give information about this work? Governor Doğan said, "As you know, there are both Ardahan Governorship facilities and Kars Governorship facilities, and our Minister gave us both a pier and a boat. However, due to the natural characteristics of the lake, we could not keep those piers on the water because as you know, the lake freezes in winter and all the material on it is removed and thrown away. As such, our Minister gave an instruction to build the piers in an area to be created there with a breakwater, and the work on it has been completed. It will be announced tomorrow. We cannot fully use Çıldır Lake right now. Here, as you know, we have installed the scaffolding we made and bought from the last plastics, but these scaffolds from last year will be reassembled. However, they will be taken under protection with the breakwater, and then we will have the opportunity to use the lake more in terms of water sports and boats. This is actually a great investment for Kars and Ardahan. After this breakwater is finished, we will use every area of the lake. Since the underwater situation will also be determined within this study, we do not know what is under the lake at the moment, how much, where and how deep it is, where there are rocks, they will be revealed within this framework."

Ardahan Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez thanked Ahmet Arslan, former Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications on behalf of the people of Ardahan for his interest and concern and said, "Çıldır Lake has recently become a serious center of attraction in Turkey especially after this Eastern Express. Hopefully, after this basin protection plan is made, the work of bringing our Çıldır to tourism and opening it to zoning will be carried out by SERKA again. However, I would like to thank all the officials of SERKA for this meaningful work."

Following the speeches, Governor of Kars Rahmi Doğan, Governor of Ardahan Mehmet Emin Bilmez and Director of TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center Environment and Clean Production Institute Özgen Ercan signed the "Çıldır Lake Basin Protection Plan and Special Provision Determination Project".