Monitoring Urban Development Near a Protected Area

Kusadasi is one of the prominent touristic and agricultural areas of Turkey. Kusadasi has grown exponentially for over 45 years due to domestic immigration and tourism. As a result urban sprawl occurred in the form of summer houses and touristic establishments. The development not only impinges on agricultural areas, but also it pressures the nearby national park system. Dilek Peninsula-Big Meander Delta National Park, in spite of its conservation status, faces significant challenges such as fire, water pollution, over grazing and hunting, exceeding visitor capacity during summer months, and thus the management actions focus on the interior dynamics. However, a greater threat is generated by the anthropogenic factors in the landscape context in which the parks are embedded. In a larger landscape scale, the interaction between the Kusadasi urban area and natural systems could be critical for the successful management of the resources. Thus, the purpose of this study is to detect the magnitude of urban growth in Kusadasi area by using remote sensing and GIS technology. The initial findings indicate the loss of olive plantations due to expansion of summer houses and touristic establishments. Most of the settlements take place on coastal areas and prime agricultural soils. Once small villages of Kusadasi expanded spatially and emerged with neighbor villages hence leaving scarce amount of large open spaces in the landscape matrix. The edge effect increases on the national park due to unsustainable urban development in its close vicinity.