Forest fire risk management at the country scale: The case of Turkey

Abstract

Forest fires cause hazards and damage to both ecosystems and humans increasing attention in the globalizing world. Forest fire risk analysis and management issues cover the prevention of forest fires, response to forest fires and what to do after the forest fires. This chapter is focused on the evaluation of forest fire risk management from socio-economic, landscape planning and risk management perspectives at the country scale. In this context, national policies, strategies, documents and practices are scrutinized in terms of forest fire mitigation acts in Turkey. As a result of the examination policy makers and decision-makers should increase pay attention to their primary stakeholders for better engagement in forest fires. There is an urgent need to obtain an annual forest fire risk assessment report from public institutions. Participatory approaches need to be applied through good governance to mitigate forest fires and decrease forest fire risks in Turkey.