Landscape planning and rural development relationship: Bartin Arit Stream watershed case

Signatory countries of European Landscape Convention are supposed to accept the responsibility of classifying their landscape and integrating it with their environmental, cultural and economic policies. Moving from this principle, landscape units based on ecological criteria are determined in Arıt Stream Watershed. Integrating ecological process analysis and sectoral landscape analysis, goals are developed for the rural development of the area. Existence of such significant social problems as unemployment, education, economic difficulties and migration in Arıt Stream Watershed, which is still a rural area and underdeveloped in terms of infrastructure services, shows that the issue of rural development is still important for the area. Rural development studies towards ensuring the sustainability of natural and cultural resources should be supported with landscape planning studies at watershed level. Since watershed is a management boundary that could enable holistic assessments in the process of planning, it is accepted as the boundary of the working area. Definition of upper scale plan decisions to be taken at watershed level at micro watershed and landscape units level in more detail will guide local people, local and national administrative authorities and planners working in this field in implementing rural development strategies to the area. In this study, the economic sectors that will guide the process of rural development are evaluated at the smallest ecological unit level. Decisions towards identifying and protecting critical landscapes are prioritized and a participatory management framework from a whole watershed towards a micro watershed level is formed in ensuring economic development. Decisions taken within this context cover the principles to be implemented at the whole watershed scale, micro watershed scale and landscape units scale. The study includes 4 phases which are data collection, landscape analysis, development strategies and landscape guides assessment, landscape plan and management. In the data collection phase of the study, the natural and cultural potential of the area, its infrastructural, socio-economic, sectoral problems and rural development expectations were discussed during Rapid Rural Apraisal meetings and the local people were also included in the process through questionnaires implemented and information provided to them. In the landscape analysis phase of the study, the collected map data were transferred to the digital media and analyzed with a holistic approach by supporting them with field surveys; and micro watersheds and landscape units were formed. In order to identify and control the environmental effects that could arise on the natural and cultural resources of the working area, the water and erosion function of the landscape were assessed and the process of protection at landscape units level was analyzed. Within the scope of sectoral landscape analyses, settlement-together with agriculture, forestry and ecotourism sectors- was evaluated in terms of the process of protection and development potential. Within this scope, development focuses and development networks were identified. In the result, sectoral development strategies and landscape guides were formed; and development strategies at micro watershed level were identified. Rural development plan concerning Arıt Stream Watershed was formed and the general goals actions and stakeholders in the whole watershed were identified. Taking ecological borders into consideration, 10 micro watershed were determined in the study. It is projected that Kaşbaşı, Akpınar Dere, Kışla Dere and Acısu Dere watersheds will contribute to the rural development of Arıt Stream Watershep via agricultural while Kayadibi, Çöme-Karadere, Zoni, Arıt-Aydınlar and Küre watersheds will contribute via ecotourism. Although the forestry sector, which is considered within the scope of the utilization of forestry by-products, is not economically enough by itself, it has the potential to be utilized with other sectors in all watersheds. Particularly, utilization of forest by-products is seen in Mevren Dere and Arıt-Aydınlar Watersheds. Although the decreasing population poses an obstacle to the development of economic sectors, it is projected that Kaşbaşı, Kayadibi, Arıt-Aydınlar watersheds will serve as a locomotive in the process of rural development and support the development of micro watersheds in the environs.