A study on the application and results of the forestry act no.4785 in Turkish forestry (A case study in Eastern Blacksea region)

SUMMARY A Study on the Application and Results of the Forestry act no. 4785 in Turkish Forestry (A Case Study in Eastern Blacksea Region) One of the main problems of Turkish forestry is the forest ownership conflict. Few years after the establishment of the Turkish Republic, it was assumed that the forested areas were to be under the direct control of the state to be better protected and managed for the benefit of the people. Therefore, necessary steps were taken and forestry act no 4785 was put into force in 1945, through which all ownership rights of forested areas were taken over by the state. This act is one of the most important factors still remaining at the roots of the ownership problems. The Eastern Blacksea Region was chosen as the study area because forest ownership problems have intensively been experienced in the region. In the study area, a total of 66 settlements for which cadastral work had been completed were selected, and observations and investigations carried out on documents and in the field, and questionnaires were used to conduct the survey. The data gathered from questionnaires and documents were evaluated to determine the magnitude of the problem and the effects of the forestry act no. 4785 on forest ownership problems in the region. According to the results, about 12 % (160 500 ha) of the total forest area in the Blacksea Region is conflicted in terms of ownership between state and people. Although, according to the land register or tenure ownership documents, 45 % of these areas (72 000 ha) was claimed as private forest, private forest ownership claims are not accepted based on the fact that these areas are nationalized by the law 4785. Majority of the public (87.2 %) feel that the state take over is unjust and about half of them (47.4%) thinks that it has increased the damage caused to forests. Court decisions mostly were in favor of the state (72 %). Although the residents in the region complain about the ownership problems, they abstain from going to state courts. Ownership problems causes delays in forest and cadastral studies in the region and therefore, forests and forest sustainability are negatively affected. In view of current laws, the solution of the ownership problems seems impossible. In order to solve the ownership problems, a new law should be put into force, in which, private forest ownership conditions are considered in a broader context and opinions of former owners of these lands should be taken into account. Key Words: Forest Ownership, Forest Cadastre, Forestry act, Nationalization, Forest Protection. VII