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Manyas (District Municipality, Turkey)

Flag of Manyas - Image by Jens Pattke, 29 April 2013

Presentation of Manyas
Flag of Manyas

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Presentation of Manyas

The municipality of Manyas (21,459 inhabitants in 2012, 6,466 in the town proper; 62,699 ha) is located 50 km north of Balıkesir.

Ivan Sache, 6 March 2016

Flag of Manyas

The flag of Manyas (photo) is white with the municipality's emblem in the middle. "Belediyesi" means "Municipality".
The emblem of the municipality features two flying birds, representing the Bird Paradise National Park, aka Manyas Bird Paradise Sanctuary, established in 1959 around Lake Manyas (16,600 ha).

Quoting the website of the Bird Paradise National Park:

At the end of the winter the level of water in Lake Manyas rises, which covers the small willow grove and reed beds at the north-west of the lake. By spring, migrating birds fly from the southern regions to the national park and nest, so their young are hatching and growing in the area. At the end of summer, they return to the warmer south. This area is a popular migrating spot for birds from Europe and Asia, who fly here for the nourishment of the lake water, making it a world famous bird watching area. More than 3 million birds pass through this conservation area every year.

Manyas is perhaps the most important of Turkey's wetlands as it is a home for various bird species, including cormorants, grey herons, dalmatian pelicans, squacco herons and wild ducks. Birds which have spent the winter in the warmer southern lands return to Manyas Bird Paradise Sanctuary in early spring. They arrive between mid-March and mid-April and nesting begins as soon as the weather is suitable. They lay their eggs in manmade nests, a practice which was first introduced in 1968.
[Hürriyet Daily News, 24 September 1998]

Lake Manyas is on the brink of disappearance, if adjustments are not made soon. Environmentalists say that the lake is highly polluted, mostly due to waste from factories. "Fishing is on the brink of extinction here. Sixty boats set off for fishing, but they return empty-handed. The number of fish has decreased due to pollution," Tok said. Gültekin Mutlu, the president of GÜMÇED's (Southern Marmara Natural and Cultural Life Protection Association) Bandırma branch, said pollution has increased since 2000 and threatens the population of lakefish and waterbirds. "Not just the factory runoff from within the Bandırma region, but the sewage from nearby buildings and houses worsens the situation. We are urging factories to establish treatment facilities, or use the available ones. Agricultural activities carried out around the lake must be controlled," Mutlu said.
[Daily Sabah, 22 February 2016]

Tomislav Šipek & Ivan Sache, 6 March 2016