In the workshop within the scope of the project implemented with the collaboration of the European Union Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA II) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks (GDNCNP), participants will discuss efforts to be made to protect and ensure the long-term viability of this lizard species discovered in 2005.

In his opening speech, Mustafa Tuğrul Şahin, Director General of GDNCNP, stated that their objective is to conserve biological diversity and pass it on to future generations and manage the protected areas in a scientific and rational approach.

On the first day of the workshop, project expert Prof. Dr Mehmet Zülfü Yıldız stated that the Harran lizard makes its nests in the roots of the Peganum harmala, and as it is extremely sensitive to ecological factors, it is difficult to observe.

Osman Erdem, General Manager of the Nature Research Society, noted that 40 thousand species worldwide are facing the threat of extinction and that the project is significant in this regard.

Director of the 3rd Regional Directorate of GDNCNP Hacı Ahmet Çelik stated that the outputs of the workshop are very important for the conservation of the Harran Lizard, emphasizing the work carried out to protect the rich biodiversity of Şanlıurfa province.

Expert academics and students also participated in the workshop, and at the end of the first day, the participants went to the Harran Ruins and carried out a field study there.