Purpose This is a descriptive analysis, of victims of Turkey's October 23, 2011 and November 21, 2011 Van earthquakes. The goal of this study is investigated the injury profile of the both earthquakes in relation to musculoskeletal trauma.Methods We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 3,965 patients admitted to in seven hospitals. A large share of these injuries were soft tissue injuries, followed by fractures, crush injuries, crush syndromes, nerve injuries, vascular injuries, compartment syndrome and joint dislocations. A total Conclusions The results of this study may provide the basis for future development of strategy to optimise attempts at rescue and plan treatment of survivors with musculoskeletal injuries after earthquakes.

Global forest ecosystems are under the threat of illegal logging. In this article, illegal logging activities and the principal causes of such violations are discussed in view of the available data and case studies from the Turkish forestry sector. A brief discussion of the importance of illegal logging within a global context, along with a description of Turkish forestry and deforestation activities, is provided. Underlying causes of illegal logging are discussed, and some solutions are recommended. It is concluded that illegal logging is a serious worldwide problem that exploits all forests. Turkish forests have suffered their share of such destructive illegal practices, although the range of impact varies from one period to another, depending upon the circumstances. The underlying causes of illegal logging activities derive from the economic, political, and cultural structures of Turkish society.

Dealing with environmental problems, "participation" has emerged as a central theme. There has, for some time, been a growing recognition within the government and society at large that the future of Turkish environmental protection depends on more effective participation of multiple stakeholders. Along with growing appreciation of the potential benefits has come more systematic understanding of the factors that currently inhibit wider and more effective use of participatory techniques in Turkey. Over the last decade, there has been a succession of studies pointing to the conclusion that current environmental practices, entrenched institutional arrangements and attitudes, and poorly adapted laws are major constraints on participatory approaches. With specific reference to the legal framework, there is a growing consensus that Turkish legislation falls short in comparison to those in most developed countries and acts as a constraint on participation because of its command and control approach, in which most decisions are made by the state and the principal role of law is to ensure compliance and penalise non-compliance with those decisions. The law does not fully reflect current social, economic and environmental realities. The purpose of this study is to focus on the strengths and weaknesses of Turkey's environmental law per se, by highlighting some international lessons and practices that might be useful to Turkey as it considers what future steps to take in improving the legal framework for participation. The 1998 case in which the environmentally damaging activities of the Eurogod Mining Company at Bergama, Western Turkey, were stopped following a petition by local people to the Appeals Court is cited as an example. This case study reflects the people's participation in environmental issues and supports the main argument of this article, from which recommendations are made for improving the legal outline for participation.

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