The panel on "The Future of Our Forests in the Process of Climate Change," hosted by the Faculty of Forestry of our University, was held on March 26, 2024, at the Central Library Cemil Meriç Hall. Opening speeches were made by Dean of the Faculty of Forestry Prof. Dr. Erol Akkuzu and Kastamonu Regional Director of Forestry Fahri Sönmezoğlu.
The event's dean, Prof. Dr. Akkuzu, took the first floor and spoke about how forest ecosystems, which comprise a large portion of the planet's surface, are essential to biodiversity. He also mentioned how climate change hurts these processes: forest fires, the carbon cycle, the water cycle, rising temperatures, and drought.
The event's dean, Prof. Dr. Akkuzu, took the first floor and spoke about how forest ecosystems, which comprise a large portion of the planet's surface, are essential to biodiversity. He also mentioned how climate change harms these processes, as well as forest fires, the carbon cycle, the water cycle, rising temperatures, and drought.
Prof. Dr. Akkuzu stated that global climate change has significant ecological and socioeconomic consequences for forest ecosystems, adding that "forests are a source of livelihood, water, medicine, and food for many people." Therefore, the protection and sustainable use of forest ecosystems is an essential strategy in the fight against climate change."
Prof. Dr. Akkuzu was followed on the floor by Fahri Sönmezoğlu, the regional director of forestry for Kastamonu, who emphasized the need to increase the nation's forest assets while recalling that there have been drought and flood disasters in different parts of the country in the past and that afforestation work has been done to minimize them. Stating that afforestation and protection of tree assets are essential for solving environmental problems, Regional Director Sönmezoğlu concluded his speech as follows: Not only plants, trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are all very valuable. All of them need to be carried into the future. But not only plants, dear friends, but animals also significantly contribute to this ecosystem. Their existence must also be maintained. In other words, foresters need to carry out forest management with an understanding that supports all elements within the structure we call the forest ecosystem and contributes to the development of all elements."
After the opening speeches, Prof. Dr. Alkan Günlü, Vice Dean of Çankırı Karatekin University Faculty of Forestry, took the floor in the panel moderated by Prof. Dr. Fatih Sivrikaya and shared his presentation titled "Climate Change in Terms of Planning of Forests" with the audience. In his speech, Prof. Dr. Günlü gave general information about climate change and pointed out that forest ecosystems are essential components of global climate change and carbon change in the atmosphere in this context. Prof. Dr. Günlü underlined that when planning the utilization of forest ecosystems, that is, when making management plans, it should be aimed not only at obtaining specific amounts of forest products but also at providing various services provided by forests, such as water production, biodiversity protection, and carbon storage, in a holistic manner.
After Prof. Dr. Alkan Günlü, Assistant . Prof.Dr. Alper Bulut made a presentation on "International Legislation on Climate Change and Forests,". In his speech, Assistant . Professor Dr. Bulut said that it is possible to mention the existence of four international legal documents that aim to combat global climate change, namely the Vienna Convention and Montreal Protocol (1985), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992), the Kyoto Protocol (1997), and the Paris Agreement (2016). In these protocols, decisions have been taken on issues such as carbon emission and greenhouse gas emission reduction, regulation of the use of resources, sustainable forest management, energy efficiency, recycling processes, and environmental awareness education. Assist. Prof.Dr. Bulut said that Turkey abstained from these protocols but officially ratified the Kyoto Convention on August 26, 2009.
Lastly, Assistant . Prof.Dr. Özkan Evcin presented the Evaluation of the Effects of Climate Change on Fauna on the panel. In his speech, Assistant . Prof.Dr. Evcin said that the temperature of the earth's surface has increased by 1.1 °C in recent years, which has caused negative consequences. He also underlined that among the at least one million species estimated to live on the earth, the sensitive ones are at risk of extinction. "Climate change causes changes in the physical conditions as well as the functions of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems and can lead to climate-induced extinctions by causing the loss of local species, an increase in diseases, and mass deaths of plants and animals."
After the speeches, the panel continued with a question-and-answer session. At the end of the panel, plaques were presented to the panellists who participated as speakers. The panel ended after a collective photo shoot.
