Lake Gala National Park 2.04

The Lake Gala National Park, established on March 5, 2005, is a national park located within Edirne Province in Marmara Region of Turkey.The national park covers an area consisting of Lake Pamuklu and Lake Küçük Gala within the boundaries of İpsala and Enez districts. In 1991, 2369ha of land was declared a nature reserve. In 2002, biologists from Trakya University in Edirne demanded transformation of the protected area into a national park status due to pollution of lakes by pesticide waste and fertilizer used in agriculture, as well as uncontrolled fishing activities and bird poaching that reach a level of massacre. In 2005, the area was enlarged to 6090ha, and it was established as a national park. Lake Gala National Park is an ecosystem of 3090ha wetland, lake and 3000ha forest. It is a habitat for various species of animal and plant.The protected area is administered by the Directorate-General of Nature Protection and National Parks of the Ministry of Environment and Forest.FaunaBirdsThe park is quite rich of bird genera. Some 163 bird species are observed in the area, of which 46 are resident, 27 winter migratory and 90 summer migratory birds. Best time to observe most of the bird species all together is between April and May in the spring, and September and October in the fall.