Industrial Water Discharge Into the Izmir Bay: Environmental Threats to the Local Ecosystems

The region of Izmir is a particular coastal part of western Turkey: it has unique landscapes with variety of vegetation types, diverse relief and natural reserve areas. At the same time, Izmir Bay is one of the most contaminated estuaries in the Mediterranean Sea. Polluted by chemical from agricultural activities and other sources, the region gradually change its natural local landscape structure and biodiversity level. The paper gives a review of current emerging ecological problems of the study area.