clipped from www.earthtimes.org

Drought conditions are mainly to blame for the loss of half of Turkey's 650,000 acres of wetland during the last four decades, a report said.

Today's Zaman reported Wednesday that environmental data shows that during the last 40 years, Turkey has lost massive amounts of its available wetlands to a number of factors including drought and construction efforts.

The data from the Nature Association, the Ministry of the Environment and Forestry and the World Wide Fund for Nature's Turkish Branch, also shows that the loss of the wetlands has directly impacted the nation's bird species.

"We are witnessing the same patterns in Turkey as in other parts of the world," the group told the Turkish newspaper. "First the birds leave the region and then the people go too."