‘Luxury tent’ arrangement is contrary to the Constitution: Professor warns, trees will be cut down

The forests have now been plundered for ’luxury camping’. Moreover, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will also provide a ‘tourism certificate’ to create a legal basis for this to be done.

A professor from the Faculty of Forestry of Istanbul University explained how dangerous this move was.

The professor underlined that the regulation change was contrary to the constitution and said it was a ‘looting’ project: “Someone is going to make money. The forests will be disgraced. While digging holes in the forest, roots will come out and they will cut them. Trees will not receive water and nutrients from the cut roots. Therefore, they will dry out.“

The General Directorate of Forestry (OGM) published the Forest Parks Regulation on May 28, 2022. Accordingly, the existing forest parks and the new park areas to be established will be leased for 20 years and tent, luxury tent and caravan areas will be created. Four months after the OGM published this regulation, namely on September 23, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued a ‘luxury tent’ regulation. After all these developments, the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities was published in the Official Gazette on January 10th. It was stated that a ‘tourism certificate’ could be issued to the camps with luxury tent facilities.

VIOLATES THE CONSTITUTION

Forestry engineer professor said that ‘some wopeopleuld make money’ with the change in the regulation: “Forests will be disgraced. So the forest will come out of the forest. It is not possible by law. Article 169 of the Constitution, paragraph 3, states that work that will damage forests cannot be carried out. They abide by neither the constitution nor the law. They’re not listening to anything. They are after the plundering of Turkey.”