Reflections of stakeholders on the forest resources governance with power analysis in Turkey

Abstract

Conflicts among stakeholders may arise during the provision of ecosystem services in a forest landscape. Forest policies, regulations and stakeholders’ behaviors have different effects on the governance and delivery of ecosystem services. The interests of actors for ecosystem services were mapped, potential conflicts between interest groups were identified and power resources of actors were examined. The potential effects of change and power shifts in forest governance on the power relations of actors were analyzed both at a typical management unit level in Turkey and national level with a combination of qualitative interviews, document analysis and participatory observations. Variations exist in the power relations between state, market, and non-industrial actors. However, not much variations were observed between case study results and national level results. State actors are commonly the most powerful ones to lead forest management due to ownership structure and historical legacy of management practices. However, an apparent shift is observed in power relationships from state actors towards others in forest governance. While conflicts exist, actors focusing on wood supply are still the more influential ones than the stakeholders involved in other ecosystem services. Overall, actors appreciate the design and implementation of ecosystem based forest management concept across the country with different preferences and priorities. Considerable emphasis may be channelled to the power relations of actors as multiple ecosystem services are demanded by various actors questioning the traditional perspective of forest management and governance structure.