Effects of some hydroelectric power plants in Artvin, Rize and Trabzon provinces on forest areas

Increasing need for energy and energy deficit in Turkey has brought forth the search for new energy sources. In this context, the rapid and unplanned applications in the field of hydro-energy have caused great damage to natural resources, especially forests, unfortunately. This result, unlike what is known, makes it difficult to accept Hydroelectric Power Plants (HEPPs) as sustainable energy. With this study, the effects of the demands of HES especially on forest resources and the attitude of the local people of this subject are evaluated. In this context, a case study was carried out related to the HEPP located in the county of Şavşat in Artvin province, Cansu HEPP located in the county of Murgul in Artvin province, Kalkandere HEPP located in the county of İkizdere in Rize province and Çambaşı HEPP located in the county of Çaykara in Trabzon province; and a questionnaire was administered to a total of 160 people. According to the result of this survey; 76% of the people do not want HPP to be built on the river in their region, 46% do not want HEPP to be built in Turkey. In addition, it was tried to determine the sizes of the forest areas that HEPPs are built on and the sizes of the forest areas that was destroyed during the construction of the power plants. The reforestation fees paid for the forest areas in response to the permission were evaluated and it was determined that the average cost per hectare is 0,69 TL. Moreover the inadequacies of the EIA reports prepared for HEPPs are tabulated. In this study, it has been concluded that HEPPs cause adverse effects on forest and river ecosystems, especially during the construction phase; and the negativity continues to increase on the river ecosystem during the operation phase. It was also thought that these negativities were caused by lacking control mechanism and the failure of the execution of HPP procedure. Lastly, proposals have been made for the construction of HEPPs without causing these adverse effects. Keywords: HEPP, EIA, HEPP destruction, Forest, Artvin, Rize, Trabzon.