Conflict Analysis of Turkey’s Protected Areas

There are various conflicts in the use, conservation and management of natural assets such as forests, water, wildlife, pasture etc. in protected areas in our country as well as in the world. Conflict management in protected areas was first discussed at a meeting of international importance in the "IV. World Congress of National Parks and Protected Areas" held in Caracas, Venezuela in 1992. In the process, various methods for conflict management have been implemented and different steps have been taken to solve the conflict. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the issues, parts and the results of conflict by identifying the causes of conflicts in protected areas in Turkey. For this reason, what the conflicts in protected areas in Turkey are, the areas in which these conflicts came to the fore and the ways in which they were managed were examined. Within this scope, the news on the websites of the 15 regional directorates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry between the dates 2012-2017 and the news in the national and local media were examined between 18 April 2007 and 22 December 2017 and various data about the conflicts in the protected areas were obtained by the method of Document Analysis and analyzed with Content Analysis. According to the findings, it was determined that the conflicts in the protected areas in Turkey were particularly prominent in wildlife, sharing of forest and water resources, and tourism. It is noteworthy that the conflicts about wild animals have took place more in the news. While the conflicts about forest resources are mostly focused on bio-trafficking issues, situation of the water resources and the conflicts about hydro-electric power plants (HEPPs) are gaining importance in terms of water resources. It was determined that the conflicts in the field of tourism took place during field guidance and planning of tourism activities