Factors affecting women's participation in forestry in Turkey

This study analyses women's participation in forestry. The study was carried out with 270 women in the Bartın province, located in the West Black Sea Region of Turkey. By employing a Principal Component Analysis it was found that the most important factors affecting women's participation are women's perception related to (1) forest dependence, (2) quality of cooperatives, (3) quality of Forest Organisation, and (4) forest quality. These four factors explained 58% of women's participation. These factors need to be taken into consideration to enhance women's participation in forestry and to achieve sustainable forestry in Turkey.Regression analyses indicate that age, marital status, the rate of population increase and wealth are important variables for explaining variation in levels of participation. The estimated game theoretic model on women's participation indicates that the sharing of forest benefits among women in Turkey is considerably harmonious, while there is scope for improving the Forest Organisation, namely by stimulating participation towards a more effective management of the Turkish forests.