Identifying and prioritising traditional knowledge-related strategies within Turkish forest policy: the perspective of forest managers

Abstract

Forests are an essential part of the lifestyle and income of forest villagers in Türkiye. This interaction between forests and rural society offers considerable potential for the generation of traditional knowledge (TK). However, most of this knowledge is in danger of extinction. This study pursued qualitative and quantitative research methods: a SWOT analysis was created by utilising the related components of current national forest policy documents and sought to create basic strategies which were then prioritised using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) rating approach. The findings showed that TK is tied directly to the main objectives of forestry policy. Social strategies were viewed as the highest priority, emphasising the improvement of local living standards and increasing local awareness and loyalty to their regions. These strategies were followed by organisational and legislation-policy-related issues. However, the close scores of the strategies proved that all are interdependent and have relations with each other, and a holistic approach is required.