Turkish Journal of Forestry (Jun 2021)
Perceptions and expectations of forestry cooperatives: The case of Yenice Forest Enterprise
Abstract
Forestry cooperatives have an important role in rural development and sustainable management of forests in Turkey. The aim of this study was to examine and evaluated the perceptions and expectations of forest villagers who are important stakeholders towards forestry cooperatives in the example of Yenice Forest Enterprise and thus to increase the efficiency of forestry cooperatives and to reveal the necessary measures. The study was carried out in the 9 forest villages within the boundaries of the Göktepe and Kayadibi Forestry Chieftaincies affiliated to the Yenice Forest Enterprise Directorate. The data were obtained via a face-to-face interview with 123 forest villagers. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis H-Test, and nonparametric correlation analysis were used to evaluate the data. As a result of the evaluations; it was determined that the total perception level of forest villagers towards forestry cooperatives was “moderate” (132.27 points), the perception of “expectation” and “awareness” was very high, whereas the perception of “management mentality” and “adequacy” of cooperatives was very low. It was found that the total perception level of cooperatives was not different according to the age, gender, marital status, education level, and the number of individuals in the family, but according to the surveyed forest villages, the relationship of forest villagers with the cooperatives (member, not member, manager) and the amount of monthly income of the family showed differences. In addition, the problems and solution proposals of forestry cooperatives were put forward and some suggestions were developed in order to be more effective and successful, thus contributing to the sustainable management of forests and rural development.
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