109,000 hectares of forest land granted for mining permits in 10 years

According to the official statistics of the General Directorate of Forestry, a total of 109,884 hectares of forest land were granted mining permits between 2012 and 2022.

Forest fires, which are increasing in Turkey due to the impact of the climate crisis, are among the most significant threats to the future. However, the spatial extent of mining permits, which lead the way among forest permits granted in areas considered forest land, is rivaling that of forest fires.

According to the official statistics of the General Directorate of Forestry, a total of 109,884 hectares of forest land were granted mining permits between 2012 and 2022. In the same period, the area burned in forest fires was 236,425 hectares. During this period, the year with the largest forest fire in terms of spatial size was 2021, with 139,503 hectares.

The period in which mining permits covered a much larger area than forest fires was 2015. While 3,219 hectares of forest burned in 2015, the total area granted for mining permits in the same year was 8,743 hectares.

WE ARE FOREST-POOR COMPARED TO RUSSIA, FOREST-RICH COMPARED TO KUWAIT

Turkey is considered to have significant forest assets compared to many countries, but it could be described as "forest-poor" compared to others. According to 2023 data, Turkey's forest area covers 23 million 245 thousand hectares. This figure accounts for 29.8 percent of the country's surface area.

However, 41 percent of these forest areas consist of sparser forests described as 'open-canopy' forests.

The countries with the most forest assets in the world relative to their surface area are in South America, Asia-Pacific, and Central Africa. However, in terms of total forest area, Russia, Brazil, Canada, the USA, and China occupy the top 5 spots. Turkey ranks 27th on this list. The countries with the least forest are Mauritania in North West Africa, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iceland in Northern Europe.

ANTALYA RANKS FIRST IN FOREST ASSETS

Antalya is Turkey's richest province in terms of forest assets. Antalya has 1,177,241 hectares of forest area.

More than half of Antalya's 2 million 61 thousand 764 hectare surface area, or 57 percent, consists of forests. Antalya is followed by Kastamonu with 876,314 hectares, Mersin with 835,534 hectares, Muğla with 832,896 hectares, Kütahya with 646,552 hectares, Konya with 643,068 hectares, and Balıkesir with 632,405 hectares.

Provinces such as Adana, Bolu, Kahramanmaraş, Sivas, Manisa, and Denizli are also prominent cities with forest areas exceeding 500 thousand hectares. 

OUR FORESTS PLUNDERED FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS

Anatolian forests are among our natural heritage that has been plundered for thousands of years. The famous geographer of the Ancient Age, Strabo of Amasya, states in his book 'Geography' that timber, mostly cedar, taken from the port of the city of Hamaksia (Sinekkalesi), located in today's Antalya-Alanya, was used in shipbuilding: "This region is much more productive than others in terms of the cedar wood necessary for ships, and for this reason, Antonius gave this region to Cleopatra as it was suitable for the construction of her fleets."

THE NAME OF THE FIRST GENERAL DIRECTOR OF FORESTRY IS 'ARISTIDI BALTACI'

The ministry responsible for forests, established in 1872 during the Ottoman period, was called the "Ministry of Forests and Mines" (Orman ve Ma’âdin Nezareti). As the name suggests, forests and mines were under the responsibility of the same ministry. The first administrator appointed to head the General Directorate of Forestry (Orman Müdüriyeti Umumiyesi), established in 1869, was Aristidi Baltacı, of Greek descent. The fact that the first general director of forestry bore the surname 'Baltacı' (meaning 'ax-man' or 'woodcutter') almost underscores that the first button was wrongly fastened in the process leading to forests, which should be crowned, being viewed as mere woodlots.

MINES AND FORESTS WERE UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SAME INSTITUTION

Among the names who served as ministers of forests and mines are the Armenian Bedros Kuyumcuyan in the 1878-1880 period and the Armenian Kirkor Sinapyan in the 1911-1912 period. In the Republican era, forestry policies brought about revolutionary practices in many respects. Forest Protection Officers (Ormancı), who were the subject of folk songs, were among the most well-known public officials among the public.

ENTRY OF ANIMALS INTO THE FOREST IS PROHIBITED, ENTRY OF HEAVY MACHINERY IS PERMITTED

However, while even the entry of animals into the forest was prohibited with a legal regulation issued in 1956 to protect the forests, the presence of heavy machinery in forest areas today is met with reaction, especially in forest villages. While astronomical fines are imposed on villagers whose goats enter the forest, the destruction of thousands of trees in forest areas where mining permits are granted creates a major contradiction.

SECTOR GROWING WITH CHEAP IMPORTS TURNED TO DOMESTIC FORESTS

Turkey's forest assets are also under threat due to the increasing wood production in recent years. The wood industry, which previously obtained cheap timber by importing from countries such as Russia and Bulgaria, turned to domestic resources due to the rise in foreign exchange rates and the export restrictions imposed by these countries.

THE INCREASE IN WOOD PRODUCTION IS AT A FRIGHTENING SCALE

According to the statistics included in the 'Turkey Forestry' report (book) published by the Turkish Foresters Association in 2020, wood production, which was 20 million 500 thousand cubic meters in 2017, was recorded as 36 million cubic meters in 2021. This figure was at the level of 10 million cubic meters in the early 2000s.

The report notes that the increase in wood production between 2012 and 2021 was 65 percent, while the current growth rate in forests in the same period was 16 percent.

The report, which includes information that the current growth in forests between 2005 and 2021 was 31 percent, emphasizes that wood production in this period was 130 percent, indicating a fourfold increase.

ACCORDING TO OGM DATA, MINING PERMITS TOTAL 109 THOUSAND HECTARES IN 10 YEARS

Parallel to the increase in wood production in forest areas, mining permits also occupy an important place. According to the official statistics of the General Directorate of Forestry (OGM) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the total of 28,355 mining permits granted from areas considered forest land in the 10-year period between 2012 and 2022 covers an area of 109,884 hectares.

During this period, the highest number of mining permits was granted in 2021. The total area of the 4,401 mining permits granted in 2021 is 16,461 hectares. In 2017, a total of 13,092 hectares of forest land were allocated to mining activities with 2,776 forest permits.

MINING PERMITS RIVAL FOREST FIRES

Mining permits also rival forest fires. According to OGM data, 10,454 hectares of forest burned in 2012, 11,993 in 2017, and 5,604 in 2018. In 2021, when the largest forest fires in the history of the Republic occurred, 139,503 hectares of forest burned. While 12,799 hectares of forest burned in 2022, the total forest area burned in the 2012-2022 period is 236,425 hectares.

MORE THAN TWICE THE BURNED AREA WAS GRANTED MINING PERMITS IN 2015

While 3,219 hectares of forest burned in 2015, the total of mining permits granted in the same year was 8,743 hectares. While 11,332 hectares of forest burned in 2019, the total of mining permits granted in forest areas in the same year was 11,345 hectares. In 2017, 11,993 hectares of forest burned, and the surface area of mining permits granted from forests in the same year was 13,092 hectares.

COURT OF ACCOUNTS: 'EFFECTIVE AUDITS ARE NOT CONDUCTED IN MINING AREAS'

Mining permits also reveal a dimension of deforestation that is not sufficiently discussed. The inclusion of findings in Court of Accounts audits that sufficient inspections regarding forest permits are not carried out reveals that problems such as waste dumping area and license boundary violations, as well as unauthorized construction in mining license areas, are also ignored. The report dated September 2020 by the Court of Accounts, which audits the activities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, summarizes the following findings:

“In the physical inspections carried out on-site, as well as through the GIS (Geographic Information System) for some, of 687 mining permit areas selected by sampling method from the mining permit areas located in the jurisdiction of 28 Regional Directorates of Forestry that make up the OGM provincial organization and permitted in accordance with Article 16 of the Forest Law; boundary violations, unauthorized structures, and uses outside the purpose of the permit were detected, and it was observed that an effective audit regarding the controls of mining permit areas could not be carried out by the Institution.

In the examination, it was observed that out of 687 mining permit areas with .kml extensions selected as samples from files whose map entries for mining permit approvals were completed, there were 330 boundary violations in 497 areas, unauthorized structures were built in 49, there were uses outside the purpose of the permit in 31 areas, both unauthorized structures and uses outside the purpose of the permit in 78 areas, and the coordinates of 20 areas were problematic…

The issue that control audits in mining permit areas could not be carried out sufficiently has been included in the Court of Accounts Audit Reports of previous years, and it has been evaluated that despite the instructions and warnings given by the institution, the necessary results regarding the improvement of controls have not been achieved at the point reached.”

News Source: 12punto