Page 297 - 7. State Of Environment Report Of Türkiye

tures, but also in natural areas such as forests, wetlands, steppes and maquis/heathery, there is
a decrease or loss of productivity biologically/ecologically and economically. This situation has
negative effects on the living conditions and livelihoods of the population, especially women
and youth, who live dependent on natural resources, especially in areas affected by desertifica-
tion/land degradation.
In Türkiye, 642 million tons of soil is displaced each year as a result of water erosion, and this va-
lue corresponds to an average of 8.24 tons of soil per hectare per year. In terms of water erosion
severity classes, 60.28% of the country’s surface area is very light, 19.13% is light, 7.93% is mode-
rate, 5.97% is severe, and 6.7% is very severe.

When water erosion is evaluated in terms of land use in Türkiye, it has been determined by
ÇEMGM that it occurs mostly in pastures with 53.6% and in agricultural areas with 38.7%, the rest
in forests and other areas. When the continuity of agricultural activities and animal production
for human life is evaluated and the formation process of the soil is considered, it will be better
understood how important a natural resource it is when it is considered that it takes approxi-
mately 400 years for the formation of 1 cm of top soil.

Other effects can be summarized as follows;

y Warmer and less rainy climate conditions,

y Increase in extreme meteorological events,
y Increase in hydrometeorological disasters (floods, avalanches, landslides),

y Decrease in water resources,

y Increase in drought severity,

y Increase in forest fires,

y Deterioration of water and soil quality,

y Deterioration of ecosystem and decrease in biodiversity,

y Shift in ecological areas,
y Food supply and security are encountered.

For this reason, Türkiye, which is under the threat of desertification, is among the countries that
have to carry out the fight against desertification and erosion most seriously.

ÇEMGM monitors and evaluates changes in erosion with the “Dynamic Erosion Model Monito-
ring System (DEMİS)”. As a result of monitoring activities, it was determined that the most erosi-
on occurred in agricultural and pasture areas. For this reason, it is necessary to prevent incorrect
land use and techniques in agricultural lands, to increase awareness activities, and to prevent
early and excessive grazing in pasture areas.

Türkiye has gained significant success and experience in combating desertification/land deg-
radation since 1946, primarily in afforestation, erosion control, rehabilitation of degraded forest
areas and pasture reclamation. In this context, afforestation, erosion control, rehabilitation of

296