Nowadays, great emphasis is placed on the relationship between forest and water because forests are considered as substantial sources of many water ecosystem services. The aim of this paper is to analyze the stakeholder opinions towards the relationship between forests and water and the potential development of water-related payments for ecosystem services (PES) schemes. The study is developed in the context of COST Action CA15206–PESFOR-W (Forests for Water) aimed at synthesizing current knowledge about the PES schemes across Europe. The stakeholder opinions were mapped out using a structured questionnaire consisting of 20 questions divided into four thematic sections. The data were collected through an online survey. The results showed opinions of 142 stakeholders from 23 countries, mainly from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. In order to analyze the collected data, the stakeholders were grouped in buyers, sellers, intermediaries, and knowledge providers. The survey results indicated that the most important category of water ecosystem services according to our sample of stakeholders is regulating services followed by provisioning services. Further findings pointed out the highest importance that shared values and direct changes in land management can have when designing water-related PES schemes. The role of public authorities and collective collaboration of different stakeholders, with emphasis on local and expert knowledge, are also identified as of crucial importance. The results show that stakeholder opinions can serve as a starting point when designing PES schemes.

Forest certification is a tool contributing to the achievement of sustainable and responsible forest management. It also presents consumers with a market to purchase products coming from responsibly managed forests and provides forest managers with improved market access for their products. Even if forest certification incurs higher costs that affect the sale price, consumers generally have a greater willingness to pay more for certified products than for uncertified products. The objective of this study is to analyze the changes in the sales prices of oak and beech log in auction sales occurring during certified and uncertified periods at Demirköy Forest Enterprise, which received an FSC Certificate in 2014. For this aim, the Chow test was used and linear regression models were developed. It was found that the log sales prices of certified and uncertified periods are statistically different from each other at p = 0.05 significance level. As a consequence, it was determined that there was an increase in price of approximately 12% for oak and 19% for beech at log sales after certification. This study deals with only part of the economic impact of certification. The results can contribute to the forest certification database in order to support the decision-makers (managers and wood manufacturers) in their strategic decisions. The study will enable the forestry sector to see the possible reflections of certification practices in the country and the world markets. The effect of certification should be further investigated by including other factors (supply-demand situation of the forest industry, sales of neighboring enterprises, market conditions, etc.) affecting log sales prices.

Protected areas are important for education and scientific research, in addition to making a significant contribution to the economy in terms of tourism and recreation. One of the most important factors in the effective management of these areas are the visitors. In this article, the effect of visitors on the effective planning and management of arboretums, which is one of the protected areas used for scientific research, education, and observation concerning various species of plants, was investigated. This study focused on the visitors to Atatürk Arboretum, segmented into specific subgroups by applying cluster analysis according to their activities. The data were obtained via conducting face-to-face questionnaires with the visitors (n = 383) in the area. The cluster groups were characterized by the perceived importance of their desired benefit, and socio-demographic and behavioral characteristics. The socio-demographic characteristics of the visitors were determined using descriptive statistics, and the relations among visitor characteristics were determined through linear regression analysis. The visitor segments which differed from each other significantly were identified as recreationalists and photographers and learners. This study has practical and managerial implications for understanding the role of visitors in the management of the arboretum. The study revealed that the arboretum was visited for reasons outside of its establishment purposes. These findings might directly help the arboretum managers in improving more effective visitor and resource management strategies.

Valuation analysis in erosion control activities

Non-wood forest products (NWFPs) are collected or harvested for commercial and medical purposes from forests. These plants can be diversified into wild food plants, medicinal and aromatic plants, bulbous plants, mushrooms, dye plants and honey. The aim of this study is to assess the demand of consumers who buy medicinal plants in Istanbul and to reveal the relationships between the variables affecting the demand. For this purpose, face-to-face interviews were conducted with consumers (n=384) who purchased medicinal plants in 20 randomly selected districts of Istanbul. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and Chi-square independence test were used in data analysis. These analyses were carried out with the SPSS 22.0 statistical package program. According to the results, the most demanded medicinal plants are linden, mint and ginger, respectively. People buy medicinal plants mostly for the treatment of respiratory system and digestive system diseases and the demand is generally high in winter and autumn. The most important factor affecting the purchasing preferences of consumers is freshness. The consumers mostly buy the medicinal plants from herbalists. According to the Chi-square analysis findings, there is a significant relationship between the gender of consumers and the purpose of using medicinal plants. In addition, while there was no relationship between gender and price, brand, quality, there was a statistically significant relationship between expiration date and visuality.

Bu çalışmanın amacı, son yıllarda önemi gittikçe artan pazarı olmayan orman mal ve hizmetlerinin değerlerinin belirlenmesinde sıklıkla adı geçen ve çoğu zaman tam karşılıkları anlaşılmayan bazı terimleri tanımlamak, orman kaynaklarıyla ve arazi kullanım değişiklikleriyle ilgili karar süreçlerinde bu kavramlara yer verilmesi hususunda orman kaynak yöneticilerinde farkındalık yaratmaktır. Bu kapsamda öncelikle, ekonomik ve çevresel anlamda değer ve fayda terimleri tanımlanmış, daha sonra bu terimlerle yakından ilişkili değer belirleme, toplam ekonomik değer, dışsallık, çevresel maliyet ve çevresel muhasebe terimlerinin İngilizce ve Türkçe karşılıkları ile tanımları verilmiş ve aralarındaki ilişkilere değinilmiştir. Fayda kavramının değer olgusunu yaratan unsurlardan birisi olduğu, değer kavramının ise fayda düzeyindeki değişimlerin bir karşılığı olduğu vurgulanmıştır. Sonuç olarak, bu kavramların orman kaynaklarının yönetiminde ve arazi tahsis kararlarında dikkate alınmadıkları takdirde, ekonomik kayıpların oluşabileceği ve kaynak yönetiminde etkinsizliğe yol açılabileceğine değinilmiştir. Ayrıca, ormancılık sektörünün toplumun refah düzeyine olan gerçek katkısını ortaya koyabilmek için bu kavramların da göz önünde bulundurulduğu bir orman kaynak yönetiminin önemi ortaya konulmuştur