Full Length Research Paper

Economic valuation of externalities linked to Turkish forests

Atakan Öztürk^1*, Mustafa Fehmi Türker¹ and Mehmet Pak²

¹Artvin Çoruh University, Faculty of Forestry, Artvin, Turkey.

²Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University, Faculty of Forestry, Kahramanmaras, Turkey.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: atak08@hotmail.com.  Tel: + 90 466 212 69 49. Fax: + 90 466 212 69 51

Accepted 18 September, 2009

   Abstract

The estimation of economic values for forest externalities that markets may not incorporate plays a key role in formulation of a successful forest policy and determination of the real contributions of forest resources to sustainable development. Both in Turkey and worldwide, determination of negative and positive externalities of forests and forestry is essential for promoting sustainable forestry development. The purpose of this study is to theoretically examine positive and negative externalities related to forest resources and forestry. Then, threshold values for possible externalities in national level of Turkish forests and forestry will be estimated in conservative manner to find out how important are the externalities of forests and forestry in Turkey. Accordingly, we addressed policy measures for sustainable forest management.

Key words: Externalities, total economic value, Turkish forests, sustainable forestry.