forestry maps will be produced by surveying engineers.
We may say that, by also making use of photogrammetric
and remote sensing techniques, successful results will be
achieved in ensuring the security of forests.
3. DOCUMENTS TAKEN AS A BASIS IN
DETERMINING THE BOUNDARIES OF FORESTS
IN TURKEY
3.1 Procedure of Demarcation and Documents used
In areas where forestry demarcation has not been
realized, the forestry characteristics and legal status of a
particular piece of land must be decided on in accordance
with the Laws No. 3116, No. 4785, and No. 5658. The
Law No. 3116 dated 1937 had defined only the forests
belonging to the State. Then all forests were nationalized
by Law No. 4785 dated 1945, but by a subsequent law,
namely the Law No. 5658 dated 1950, some of the
nationalized forests were returned to their former owners.
The Law No. 3116 was the first law stipulating the
realization of cadastral works for state forests, while a
number of laws introduced later, namely the Laws No.
4785, No. 6381, dated 1956, No. 2896 dated 1983 and
No. 3302 dated 1986, enabled the remaking of forestry
cadastre in a study area (SINMAZ and KARATAS, 1995:
50).
With every change of law, a redetermination of areas
qualified as a forest land or not we carried out. The lack
of maps and aerial photographs at the time of these works
hindered the cadastral activities. The forestry cadastral
studies were traced back down to the year 1937, trying to
determine wheter a particular area was qualified as a
forest land or not starting from that date, and this practice
had an unfavorable effect on demarcation works.
Before starting to carry out the forestry cadastre of a
particular area, the necessary information and documents
are obtained from the following organizations and
authorities:
1. State Forestry Enterprise Directorships,
2. Cadastre and Land Registry Directorships, and,
3. Highest Civil Authorities in Provinces and Townships.
After obtaining the necessary information and
documents, the documents furnished by relevant persons
for areas within the forests or in the neighborhood are
examined. The examination of these documents fornished
by individuals for determination of ownership is another
factor causing a delay in realization of furestry cadastral
works. The maps of forests whose cadastral works have
been completed are then signed by the Chairman of the
Committee, and the protocols prepared are announced to
the public for a period of 6 months. An application may
be made to the appointed Court within 6 months from the
date of said announcement, to raise an objection to the
protocols and decisions taken with regard to demarcation.
Said period is defined as the “period of forfeiture”. The
cases of objection are brought against the Ministry of
Environment and Forestry and the General Directorate of
Forestry. Following the completion of cadastral works,
the files relevant to these works are forwarded to the
General Directorate of Forestry for correction of any
“formal and legal shortcomings”, and after such
International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol XXXV, Part B3. Istanbul 2004
corrections are made, the decisions taken are put into
implementation with the approval of relevant Governor.
The forests belonging to the State, whose ownership has
become final by completion of their cadastral works, are
then registered into the land registry in the name of
Treasury, by the Cadastre and Land Registry
Directorships without collection of any fees, taxes or
duties.
In the Forestry Law, Implementation Regulation and
judicial ^ decisions, the "base maps” “aerial
photographs" and *Amenagementplans" are considered
as final evidence in disputes related to forests.
3.1.1 Base Maps
The term defined in the Forestry Law as base maps with a
scale of 1/25 000 and larger means “the maps having a
scale of 1/25 000 and 1/5 000, because when we examine
the mapping services in our country with respect to scales
and purposes, we observe that two series of maps are
produced as based on our national geodetic network.
These are 1) maps with a scale of 1/25 000 and 2) maps
with a scale of 1/5 000.
e Maps with a scale of 1/25 000: Upon declaration of
Republic of Turkey (29 October 1923), these maps
were started to be produced by the General Command
of Mapping, with the purpose of first the defense of
the country, and were completed with the production
of 5547 maps covering the whole Turkey.
e Maps with a Scale of 1/5 000: These maps are
produced by the General Command of Mapping and
the General Directorate of Land Registry and
Cadastre using the photogrammetric method, to cover
a targe area of 500 thousand square kilometers.
3.1.2 Aerial Photographs
The term defined as “aerial photograph” in the Forestry
Law and judicial decisions means “the photographs used
in the production of maps with a scale of 1/25 000 and
1/5 000".
3.1.3 ‘Amenagement’ Maps
The term ‘amenagement’ is specific to the forestry sector.
The process of planning the operations of forestry
enterprises is called the *"amenagement' plan" in the
language of forestry (SINMAZ and KARTATAS,
1995:83) The use of an ‘amenagement’ plan, will ensure
the proper organization of forestry enterprises so that they
will operate according to a plan.
3.2 Evaluation of Documents used in Determining the
Forest Boundaries
In disputes related to forests in Turkey, an'amenagement"
plan alone is not sufficient to indicate whether an
immovable is qualified as a forest or not. In addition to it,
an old dated base map or aerial photographs must also be
used. The term “base map” , which is considered as a
final evidence in the Forestry Law and relevant
Regulation as well as in judicial decisions, is not used
correctly. The judicial decisions stating that the forest
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