An Assessment of Recreation Activities in Büyükçekmece Lake Watershed Protection Plan

Creative Commons License

Uygur Erdoğan B., Şahin G.

5th International Non-Wood Forest Products Symposium, Bartın, Türkiye, 27 - 28 Eylül 2023, ss.107, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Bartın
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.107
  • Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi-Cerrahpaşa Adresli: Evet

Özet

Introduction: Watersheds are very special areas due to the hydrological, ecological, and socio-cultural functions they provide. However, with population growth and unplanned urbanisation, pressure on the watersheds is increasing. Besides, the fact that the watersheds providing water supply function are forested areas bring out the demand for recreational use. Thus, the pressure of recreation should also be taken into consideration in watershed planning. This study aims to determine how recreational activities should be integrated into watershed protection plans.

Materials and Method: Büyükçekmece Lake Watershed (BLW) was selected as the study area because of being one of the important watersheds that supply water to Istanbul, and the intense recreational pressure based upon high population density districts of Istanbul is located in the watershed. In this context, BLW Protection Plan and related legislation were evaluated to analyse the current situation and create a framework for sustainable planning, in terms of recreational activities.

Results: The study results revealed that different levels of recreational activities are allowed in the critical protection zones of the watershed. While limited recreational activities are permitted in the green belt-1 area, hobby and children's gardens, hiking trails, and daily facilities are allowed in the green belt2 area, and some facilities for recreation and picnic purposes are permitted in the close-distance protection area.

Conclusion and Discussion: In BLW, recreational activities should not be allowed in green belt zones. If recreational activities are to be carried out in these zones, carrying capacity should be determined differently from the whole area, much more limited uses should be allowed, and facilities should not be allowed. In the close-distance protection area, facilities should be kept to a minimum and made of natural materials. To ensure the sustainability of watersheds’ functions, all activities should be carried out in a conservative approach by watershed scale, and monitoring processes should be carried out effectively.