Local people's approach to forest crime according to regional differences (Devrek, Marmari̇s, Kanlica Forest Management Directorates)

The aim of this research is to reveal the legal foundation of forest crimes, to determine the differences or similarities of forest crimes in regions with different features over the years, and finally to make suggestions according to regional characteristics in order to take the necessary measures to prevent these crimes. Ultimately, the protection and development of forests will be achieved by their protection. Even well-prepared legal regulations to protect forests depend on the people who will apply those rules to know the laws and to avoid its effects. For this reason, however; the rules are perfect, the result can be affected according to the consciousness and needs of the society. There are necessary conditions for an act to be considered a crime. The most important of these is the legal element, that is, the crime must be written in the law. A sanction cannot be applied for any act that is not written as a crime in the law. In this context, first of all, which actions written in the forest legislation are accepted as forest crimes, together with the special appearances of these actions are revealed. Then, the types and numbers of forest crimes detected in the last 10 years in three forest regional directorates (Devrek Forestry Management Directorate, Istanbul Forestry Operations Directorate, Marmaris Forestry Operations Directorate) from different regions of the geography of Turkey with different selected features were used as data. These data were obtained from the crime reports and crime charts kept in the forest management directorates, by making the necessary explanations to the relevant units. The hypothesis of the thesis is based on the fact that the amount of forest crime types varies according to the various features of the forests and their environment in the selected regions (tree species, forest existence, number of forest villages, population, cultural and socio-economic conditions, climate, etc.). Then, taking into account the crime types and rates, a special questionnaire was created for this thesis study, and interviews were made with both authorized persons and local people. The survey aimed to develop various measures in the prevention of these crimes by taking advantage of regional features if there is a tendency to different types of crime in different regions, if there is a relationship between regional differences and types of crime. The purpose and objectives of this research, the theory(s) and model(s) it is based on, and the research hypotheses it predicts are presented in separate sections in short and clear sentences. Care has been taken to ensure that the goals and objectives are clear, measurable, realistic and attainable within the thesis period. Since the public in the regions to be investigated has a high level of awareness about forest crimes and sanctions, if the crime rate is low, it can be considered that the law is applied effectively. The result will be a decrease in forest crime numbers, forest protection, sustainable forestry policy and the transfer of forests to future generations. If the people in the investigated areas have a sufficient level of knowledge about forest crimes, but the number of crimes is high, different measures will have to be applied to prevent crimes because the law cannot be used effectively.