THE ECONOMICAL REASONS

BEHIND
DEFORESTATION
 Outline :
• Introduction : Defining the Environmental
Problem
• Reasons of Deforestation
– Population Growth
– Climate
– Agriculture
– Logging
– Fuel
– Burning and Grazing
• Policy Implications and Forest Management
– Turkey Case
• Conclusion
 World Forest Region Map

Ormanlık Alanlar
Odunsu Bitki Alanları
Diğer Alanlar
Su Alanları

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 The paper aims to…
• Emphasize “deforestation” as a
global environmental problem.

• Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to

non-forest land for use such as arable land, pasture,
urban use, logged area, or wasteland. Generally, the
removal or destruction of significant areas of forest
cover has resulted in a degraded environment with
reduced biodiversity.
 Deforestation…
• Results from removal
of trees without
sufficient
reforestation, and
results in declines in
habitat and
biodiversity, wood for
fuel and industrial use,
and quality of life.
 Causes of Deforestation
• Population Growth
– It is clear now that the role of population factors in
deforestation varies considerably from one setting to another
depending on the local patterns of human occupancy and
economic activity.

– Population (especially rapidly increasing or dense

population) can increase demands for land and wood,
eventually exceeding the carrying capacity of forests that are
expected to supply wood fuels , food, and environmental
protection for local people.
 Causes of Deforestation
• Climate
– Forest disappear naturally as a result of broad climate
changes or catastrophes such as fire and landslides.
• Agriculture
– Growing populations need expanding food supplies, so
forests are cleared by shifting cultivators for annual or
permanent crops. Rates of clearing are likely to be higher
in countries where little or no progress has been made in
agricultural productivity or where land productivity falls
rapidly after the natural forest cover is removed.
 Causes of Deforestation
• Logging
– Commercial logging operations deplete forest stocks. Regulated timber
extraction should not permanently damage the forest, but when it is not
controlled, mechanized logging or even selective timber harvesting may
severely alter the character of the forest

• Fuel
– Forests in developing countries provide wood fuels for local populations.
Fuelwood and charcoal are widely used for domestic cooking and heating.

• Burning and Grazing

– Deforestation may occur in ways other than outright clearing or wood removal.
The practice of annual burning in many areas prevents forest regrowth , and
grazing by sheep, goats and cattle has much the same effect.
Reasons of Deforestation
 Forest Management
• Forestry departments in developing countries in many cases are not
equipped to deal with deforestation and its consequences. The
principles of forest management, especially extensive forest
management for sustained yields, are unfamiliar to many developing
countries where the policy emphasis has been on protection rather than
production. Even where forest management practices are well known,
institutions for forest management are poorly supported or nonexistent.

• The problem is compounded when local people for various reasons do

not cooperate with forest management schemes. Lack of local
cooperation may be a symptom of poorly designed policy or an
indication that rural people have other development priorities.
 Turkey Case
• In the world, the sufficient rate of forest areas is about 30 percent for
each country. In Turkey 27,2 percent of all land is forest areas and it is
close to world aggregate forest rate. But 49 percent of our forest is
non-productive. So, forest areas are not sufficient for Turkey.

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 Turkey Case
What Have Been Done?
• 1839 (Tanzimat Fermanı) – Management of Forests
• 1937 – 3116 Numbered Law
• 1963 – Planned Development Period
• 2008 – Forestation and Erosion Control Mobilization
Action Plan 2008-2012 (Ağaçlandırma ve Erozyon
Kontrolü Seferberlik Eylem Planı)
– Planned to realize 2.300.000 hectares forestation
– Total cost: 2.702.100.000 YTL
 Conclusion

• Deforestation is one of
the major
environmental
problems that the
world is facing.
 Cont’d…
• This is a descriptive study rather than an empirical
one. The significance and causes of the
deforestation is tried to be explained.

• The history and current condition of the problem

tried to be shown with a selected country -Turkey-
case.