Table 2 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis of Turkish legislation and administrative practices related to forest fires from our review in 2019 comparing Turkish legal regulations and administrative practices with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guide’s criteria
Factors | Current state of affairs |
|---|---|
Strengths | • The presence of a constitutional guarantee on the reforestation of burned forestlands • The State’s control of the management of the forestlands • The presence of a strong forestry organization • Having a sufficient number of staff and a sufficient technological infrastructure for combating forest fires • The fact that the penalty for the crime of setting forests on fire has been clearly regulated under the Forest Law • The deterrence provided by the sanctions determined for crimes against forestlands |
Weaknesses | • The lack of a definition of forest fires in the law and regulations • The granting of licenses for long-term (not longer than 49 years) activities such as tourism, mining, defense transportation, training, and waste facilities on forestlands. • The lack of preventive provisions for forest fires under related laws • The lack of legislation on efficient training for and awareness raising about forest fires |
Opportunities | • The increasing interest of society in forests and natural habitats • The fact that the press and, particularly, social media actively call attention to forest fires • The technological developments that lead to the immediate extinguishing of fires • The possession of manageable resources for precautionary measures against fires by the Forest Administration • The fact that forest fires caused primarily by energy links and garbage dumps can be controlled by the State with good planning |
Threats | • The fact that the most widely spreading species are the ones most vulnerable to fire • The fact that humans are the most important factors in forest fires • The increase in changes to forestry law that can cause a reduction in forest assets • The increase in the number of licenses granted for mining, tourism, and energy investments on forestlands • The fact that energy links and garbage dumps are the leading causes of fires and the increase in the subvention, particularly in energy investments |