Plateaus and transhumance activities in the center and immediate vicinity of Hakkari province

Transhumance is a traditional way of life based on seasonal migration to highaltitude areas in mountainous regions such as Hakkâri in order to sustain livestock activities during the summer months. However, as a result of social, cultural and economic changes in Turkey, transhumance activities have lost their importance and the population in rural settlements has continuously decreased. This has led to a decline in the importance of traditional transhumance and highland migration. The decline in traditional transhumance and highland migration has also led to changes in Turkey' s cultural and social fabric. Highlands have traditionally been the center of social relations and cultural interaction. However, with the decline of transhumance, this traditional social structure has also been affected and replaced by different lifestyles. Transhumance is a traditional way of life in mountainous regions such as Hakkâri, where people migrate to highlands (high altitude pasture areas) in the summer months to continue their animal husbandry and transhumance activities. This study aims to understand how traditional transhumance activities in Hakkâri province have changed over time and their impact on today' s society. A total of 150 questionnaires and 15 interviews were conducted. The questionnaires were administered to randomly selected respondents to answer specific questions. The interviews were conducted with different groups, such as people directly involved with transhumance, people living in plateau regions, or village residents affected by plateau bans. The results of the research will provide important information about how the transhumance tradition, which formed the basic economy of the region in 1990, changed due to increasing terrorism and security problems after 1990, the effects of the bans imposed on the plateaus, and the role of transhumance in society. In this study, itwastried to raise awareness on this issue by focusing on the negative effects of the bans applied to the plateaus in question on the local economy as well as the negative effects on animal husbandry activities.