Research of socio-economic structure, forest and environmental relations in the forest and forest adjacent villages in Antalya province

Forests have a very important place in our lives both in terms of economic value and natural life. Public authorities have established institutional structures to protect forests and provided various aids and support to forest villagers in order to reduce the pressure on the forest. In the historical process, it is seen that the state and forest villagers are in constant competition, the laws that have been enacted restrict the activities of forest villagers, but forest villagers are dependent on forest resources to ensure their livelihood. In the study, it is aimed to determine the socio-economic conditions of the forest villagers living in the borders of Antalya province and the level of benefit from the forest, to understand the contribution of public supports to household income, and to suggest solutions for the forest villagers to protect and develop the forest. The primary material of the study consists of the data from questionnaires with 110 forest villages in 41 Antalya Forest villages. During the preparation phase of the survey questions and fieldwork, interviews were held with the engineers of Antalya Regional Directorate of Forestry, and general information about Antalya forests and forest villagers and ORKOY supports were obtained. In order to determine the infrastructure possibilities of the villages, an introductory village information form was prepared, and a survey was conducted with ORKOY engineers in order to benefit from expert opinions. Among the reasons for migration in forest villages, economic reasons are in the first place. It has been seen that 53.1% of the surveyed households are retired and 32 (68.1%) of 47 households who are retired cannot live on a pension and continue to work to provide additional income. It has been determined that the forest utilization level of Antalya forest villagers is very low. While 81.9% of the households stated that they did not benefit economically from the forest, it was determined that 3.6% of the households who stated that they benefited from the products grown in the forest (mushrooms, bay leaves, cones, etc.). It has been observed that the income of households benefiting from government loans and supports to expand their business or establish a new business has increased, and the households benefiting from ORKOY loans have increased in satisfaction, but 75% of the forest villagers have no information about ORKOY. It has been determined that the forest villagers have a negative attitude towards the mining enterprises and they do not provide any benefit from the mining enterprises apart from providing very little employment, on the contrary, they see negative effects in many ways. It has been observed that the forest villagers have a high environmental awareness and are aware of the ecological importance of the forest as well as the natural beauty it provides. It is necessary to develop education, cooperative and environmental protection activities in order to develop the forest villagers on-site, to increase their welfare, to prevent migration, to use forest resources efficiently, to establish forest villager-environment relations on a healthy basis. There is a need for studies that will increase social opportunities, forest utilization and forest income in forest villages. ORKOY organizational and financial structure should be strengthened and cooperatives should be taken care of. Considering the environmental sensitivity of the forest villagers, it should be taken into account that the sensitivity of the forest villagers, who integrate with the forests and obtain sufficient income from the forest, in protecting the forests will increase. Measures should be taken to eliminate the dissatisfaction of the forest villagers with the drought and floods, as well as with the mines, and the forest villagers should be included in the forest-related decisions and policies to be implemented.