Factors affecting forest cooperative's participation in forestry in Turkey

This study analyses forest cooperative's participation in forestry in Turkey. The study was carried out with 71 forest cooperatives in the Kastamonu province, located in the Western Black Sea Region. By using a principal component analysis it was found that the most important factors affecting forest cooperative's participation in forestry are: (1) member involvement, (2) forest ownership and administration, and (3) harmony within cooperatives and between cooperatives and the state. These three factors explained 59% of participation within a cooperative. Regression analyses indicate that active members, sufficiency of work, use of published material, and the availability of capital and credit are important variables to explain variations in participation. A game theoretic model indicates a positive link between a cooperative's wood production (payoff) and levels of participation as derived from the principal component analysis, indicating that a productive forest goes hand in hand with high levels of forest cooperative's participation in forestry.