Solving forest property problems by digital photogrammetric method in cadastral works (Eastern Black Sea region case study)

Solving Forest Property Problems by Digital Photogrammetric Method in Cadastral Works (Eastern Black Sea Region Case Study) In Turkey, while cadastral works have been largely completed in urban areas, it is continuing in rural areas Forest-property conflicts have a considerable role in delaying of cadastral works in villages and towns. In 1945, with the law No 4785, excluding some exceptions, the forests owned by legal and private entities were nationalized. Therefore, in settlement areas related to forest, most of the lots covered by wood were registered as national forest in cadastral works. On the other hand, at first, used as agricultural fields in the former nationalization period, and then having forest cover, some parcels are registered as national forest during cadastral works. For this reason, people in the region have serious reactions against cadastral works. Because of these problems, in some settlement areas where cadastral works have not been started yet, it is observed that some people try to remove the forest cover on their lands to guarantee their properties. So, the most serious damage happens to forests from the legal or illegal struggles for having property of woodlands. In this study, in the region, after determining some settlement areas where cadastral works were completed and there are intensive property lawsuits, encountered problems related to cadastral works were determined in the land by applying questionnaire to the people in the region. On the other hand, questionnaires were applied to land registry and cadastre and forestry officers. Property analyses were realized in three problematic pilot areas determined previously. For this purpose, aerial photographs concerning the years 1955, 1973, 1982 and 2002 of the pilot areas were processed using digital photogrammetry techniques. As a result of these processes, in different dated aerial photographs, boundaries of forest areas were determined with an accuracy of ±1-1. 5m. Forest cover changes on the lots registered as state forest due to the temporal cover changes and registered as private property with disputes were determined. Then, the problems caused by delaying cadastral works were evaluated. With this study, it is emphasized that converting of some agricultural areas to forest areas and nationalization of these forest areas have negative effects on forests, lands, environment and socio-economic structures. These effects lead to intensive property suits. In this thesis, it is proposed that digital photogrammetric techniques are used to process aerial photographs for solving such property problems in the areas where cadastral works have not started yet. Key Wordss Cadastre, Forest property and Cadastre, Land use, Digital Photogrammetry.