How can Turkey's forest cooperatives contribute to reducing rural poverty?

Abstract

Forest cooperatives have been established primarily to improve the income and living conditions of people living in forest villages in Turkey. There are 2 123 forest cooperatives in Turkey, with 290 000 members. Most of them focus on the production and marketing of wood. Forest cooperatives distribute among their members such jobs as timber harvesting, debarking, removal and transport, under the supervision of the local forest authority. However, the forestry cooperatives in Turkey have contributed less than expected to reducing rural poverty, decreasing illegal activities in forests, balancing income distribution, training villagers or raising economic, social and cultural levels. Forest cooperatives are administered under three different laws and two ministries, with conflict sometimes resulting. Although the national forest program states that priority will be given to increasing the capacities of forest cooperatives, about three-quarters of the cooperative presidents felt that the government neither sets policies in favor of the cooperatives nor provides them with sufficient support. © 2010 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.