Negative Impacts of Forest Fires on Ecological Balance and Environmental Sustainability: Case of Turkey
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18690/rg.5.1.3794Keywords:
ecological balance, environmental sustainability, forest fires, TurkeyAbstract
Forests are a vital element in the Earth’s ecological balance, economy, biodiversity, water resources and air purity. On the other hand, forests are confronted with various threats – one of them being fires. Its distinctive geographical features provide Turkey with rich plant diversity along with an imbalance in the dispersion of forested land. 27% of Turkey’s surface area is covered by forests, most of which are concentrated on the coastal lands and their hinterlands. 2.135 forest fires were recorded in Turkey in 2008, resulting in a loss of 29.749 ha of forest. Although this figure translates into a decrease of 25% in the number of fires, the amount of destroyed forestland increased by 155% with respect to the previous year. This paper questions the incendiary causes and negative effects of fires in the case of Turkey.
References
DPT (State Planning Organization of Turkey) 2000: Sekizinci Beş Yillik Kalkinma Plani (2001-2005). İklim Değişikliği Özel İhtisas Komisyonu Raporu. Ankara.
DPT (State Planning Organization of Turkey) 2006: Dokuzuncu Kalkinma Plani (2007-2013). Ormancilik Özel İhtisas Komisyonu Raporu. Ankara.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) 2006: Fire Manage-ment-Global Assessment. FAO Forestry Paper. No. 151.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) 2009: State of Wold Forests 2009.
Konukcu, M. 2001: Ormanlar ve Ormanciliğimiz. DPT Publication No: 2630. Ankara.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry 2004: Türkiye Ulusal Ormancilik Programi. Ankara.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry 2007: Türkiye İklim Değişikliği Birinci Ulusal Bildirimi. Ankara.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry 2007a: Ulusal Biyolojik Çeşitlilik Stratejisi ve Eylem Plani. Ankara.
Ministry of Environment and Forestry 2008: İklim Değişikliği. Ankara.
OGM (General Directorate of Forests of Turkey) 2006: Orman Varliği Envanteri. Ankara.
OGM (General Directorate of Forests of Turkey) 2007: Stratejik Plan 2010-2014. Ankara.
OGM (General Directorate of Forests of Turkey) 2007: Orman Atlasi. Ankara.
OGM (General Directorate of Forests of Turkey) 2008a: Orman Yangin Yönetimi ve Yangin Silvikültürü. Ankara.
OGM (General Directorate of Forests of Turkey) 2009: Orman Köyleri. Available at http://www2.ogm.gov.tr/ormistatistik/ORKOY/ormankoyleri.xls ( 6th May 2009).
OGM (General Directorate of Forests of Turkey) 2009a: Türkiye Orman Yangini İstatistikleri. Available at http://www.ogm.gov.tr/koruma/istatistik/yang3706. htm (19th February 2009).
OGM (General Directorate of Forests of Turkey) 2009b: Türkiye Orman Yangini İstatistikleri. Available at http://www2.ogm.gov.tr/istatistikler/istatistik.aspx. (6th May 2009).
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2010 Muzaffer Bakirci
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.