Buffer zone forest management in protected areas

People around the world have been seeking to protect certain areas for many years for various reasons. However, reasons of the development of industry and technology, population growth and urbanization, natural resources necessary for life are being destroyed and consumed rapidly. These negativities have attracted the attention of the relevant circles and in some areas like scientific, cultural, educational, visual and ecological aspects have emerged for the necessity of idea of protection. However the emergence of absolute protection negatively affected local people negatively, whose lives depend on these resources and it has caused various conflicts and disagreements between protected area managers and local people. Buffer zone management is one of the tools developed to solve the problems. In this study issues related to the determination and management of buffer zones were investigated for protected areas. For this purpose, the data obtained by survey and interview method with experts working in the field and the selected sample area of Kovada Lake National Park residents were analyzed with using SPSS 20 statistical package program. The obtained data were checked by Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests and then it seemed that the data were not normally distributed. Therefore, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal Wallis H tests were used in the analyzes for obtained data. In addition, frequency and percentage values were used to explain the subject. According to the results of the study, all factors to be taken into consideration in determining the buffer zone, which consists of 35 indicators and evaluated by experts, received a score above 3.5 points on average and were found important by the experts. In these evaluations made by experts, the highest scores were obtained from ecological and biological factors. In the assessments made by the local people, issues related to environmental protection (protection of plants and animals, prevention of poaching) and administrative matters (legal regulations, participation, information provision) were found important. In addition to these findings, experts believe that ecological and biological processes in the ecosystem should be well observed, buffer zones are a utility application for protection and should be supported by other applications, the environment of the protected area should be taken into consideration when determining the buffer zone, it should be cooperation with local people and other stakeholders in buffer zone management, the activities to be allowed and prohibited in the buffer zone should be determined with the participation of local people and these activities should be selected in accordance with traditional land use forms. In other evaluations made about the perception and expectations of the local people in the national park, the local people want to be informed about the national park and they think that their gains can be increased by the national park. Contrary to the previous studies, the residents of the national park think that the area should be protected and they should have a say in the management of the area. Based on these findings, the determination and management of buffer zone evaluated by experts depended on effective factors and the conditions of the study area, it is thought to be convenient and useful. Also, experts in social and cultural issues should be included in the determination of buffer zones and management plans of these areas. As in the case of Kovada Lake National Park, the use and effects of areas such as Lake Eğirdir and Kovada Canal, which are outside the national park area but directly affect the national park area, should also be considered in the studies. Protected areas are important resources that need to be transferred to future generations, and buffer zones are good application to help protect these areas for both inside and outside of protected areas. Key Words: Protected areas, Sustainable management, Buffer zone, Indicators, Kovada Lake National Park