Local reflections of forestry policies in the early years of Turkish republic (The case of Bartin Newspaper)

Abstract

In order to better understand the present situation of forestry, we need to know about experiences of the past well enough. Through two different forestry laws that came into effect in our country in 1937 and in 1956, important reforms were attempted in forest policies and applications. It is possible to say that, these applications have laid the foundations of the Republic era forestry policies, and their significant reflections have reached the present day. There are various studies that explain the forestry practices in the first years of the Republic. These studies mainly approach the subject matter with a general perspective. How the forestry policies and applications have been perceived and evaluated outside the major cities, have not been studied adequately. This article attempts to study how the forestry policies in the first years of the republic have affected the daily life outside the major cities. In doing so, a local newspaper Bartin, which has a long and uninterrupted publishing history, was selected. In this study, the period between 1933 and 1961 was examined under four headings: forestry laws, forestry organization, forest protection, and problem of fuel wood. The findings were compared with the current literature.