Intervention to the Misuse of Land by the Forest Villages: A Case Study from Turkey

Abstract

A major part of the Anatolian mountains, are located in the coastal belt of Anatolia, and are rich in terms of biodiversity. Some species of plants have vanished or were destroyed due to human interference since the neolithic period which started 9 000-10 000 years ago. When the Celali Rebellion began between the years 1550-1600 during the Ottoman Empire, many people wanted to settle in safe regions, so they selected the forest areas for settlement. The forest areas were cleared for building small houses as well as for agricultural use and raising domestic animals and grazing them in the forests. Due to an increasing population and indiscriminate cultivation of agricultural land, most of the land became less productive. This kind of pressure on forestland resources threatens the stability of forest land and land use management. Misuse of land in forest villages is the main factor for the increase in rural poverty and the degradation of forests. Problems are encountered when it comes to the use of natural resources in the forest villages of Turkey. And therefore, it is necessary to intervene to end this misuse of land. An intervention should be made under the following headings to prevent further misuse: problems regarding in-forest settlements should be solved; practices providing income generation and food security should be carried out; farm forestry and community forest applications should be developed; and undamaged forest resources should be protected with buffer zone forest management applications.