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The Action Plan for the Rehabilitation of Degraded
Oak Areas aimed to rehabilitate 20,000 ha of degraded
oak forests per year and the Action Plan for the
Rehabilitation of Degraded Cedrus Areas, which is
intended to rehabilitate about 10,000 ha of degraded
cedrus forests, was prepared and implemented for the
period 2005-2014.
Utilization of forest resources
The productive areas of Turkey’s forests account for
10.7 million ha and the annual increment obtained
from these areas is 37.4 million m³ (coppice forests
cover 1.6 million ha). In Turkey, 18.5 million m³
industrial wood and 6.5 million m
3
fuelwood are
consumed, and 70 per cent of industrial wood and
85 per cent of fuelwood are derived from the State-
owned forests. The supply deficit is met through
private sector production and imports. State-managed
forests produce 10 million m³ industrial wood and 5.8
million m
3
fuelwood per year.
4
Over 90 per cent of the industrial wood produc-
tion from non-state forests derives from poplar
production. However, there is no reliable figure for
production and consumption of fast-growing planta-
tions such as poplar and
eucalyptus
, since there is no
A project on Development of Forest Management Planning and
Resource Information Systems in Turkey led to the establishment
of a foundation for Forest Resource Information Systems and a
model for Geographical Information Systems (the latter still in
development). Additionally, several studies have been launched,
such as a forest state assessment with satellite photographs and
appropriate forest inventory, definition of protected areas and
development of a digital map archive system, including prepa-
ration of maps for different purposes. Turkey began to share its
knowledge and experience with many countries, especially its
neighbours, such as Syria.
The maintenance and rehabilitation of forests
Throughout the country, silvicultural activities are being carried
out to ensure forest health and maintenance, with a view to
improving ecological and economic balance. In accordance with
the management plans, which are developed based on age clas-
sification, regeneration has become an important subject of forest
management.
Rehabilitation of forest areas, approximately half of which are
degraded, is the main priority for forestry activities in Turkey. In
the framework of action plans prepared since 2004, activities have
been carried out to preserve and restore the existing forest areas by
conserving resources in burned or destroyed areas as well as protect-
ing biological diversity.
Almost half of Turkey’s forests are coniferous
Image: Aykut Ince