Environmental effects of recreational activities in rivers

Key Words: Recreational Activities, River, Water Quality, Environmental Influences The need of people for outdoor recreation increases from day to day with the development of technology and increase of population and urbanization. The environmental influences arising from various recreational activities and awareness of the possible influences of such activities shall lead to the introduction of measures against such influences and development of environmental awareness by people. In this study, we have focused on the influences of recreational activities on river ecosystems. The recreational activities to be carried out in rivers, the quality standarts for swimming water and mechanical forces arising out of recreational activities have been defined. Many adverse effects appear on water, earth, plants and wild life as a result of recreational use. Especially intense recreational use gives rise to irrepairable damages in the environment. The inspections should be strict and new and effective solutions should be introduced and most importantly environmental awareness should be developed against the adverse effects of recreational activities.