Forest111 / Forestry Policies in Turkey and the EU

Forestry policy is a discipline that includes the relations between forest resources and society, determines the forestry objectives at the country level within the framework of these relations and takes the necessary measures to achieve these objectives.

The foundation of Turkey’s forestry and forestry policy was laid in the 1800s, the first educational institution was founded in 1857 (İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Forestry), the first legal regulations were made in 1870, and since the first years of the Republic, forests and forestry have been a priority in the country’s governance. First of all, it was aimed to protect the forests effectively, having the forests as state property and the state forest management were taken as the basis.

The most important objective is to protect existing forests and increase forest assets by re-growing forests.

Europe is one of the most forest-rich regions in the world, with forests and other woodland covering more than 40%. It is home to a large part of Europe’s biodiversity and many ecosystems.

The EU Forest strategy is based on the European Green Deal and the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, which set out a vision and concrete actions to increase the quantity and quality of EU forests, protect, restore them and strengthen their resilience. This strategy is expected to contribute to the achievement of the greenhouse gas emission reduction target of at least 55% by 2030 and a climate-neutral EU target by 2050.