EGE BÖLGESİNDE JEOTERMAL ENERJİ KULLANIMININ TARIMSAL ALANLAR VE ORMAN KAYNAKLARI ÜZERİNE ETKİLERİNE YÖNELİK TOPLUMSAL GÖRÜŞLERİN BELİRLENMESİ

: The aim of this study is to determine social views on the effects of geothermal energy use on agricultural areas and forest resources in the Aegean Region. In this context, the perspectives of people living in Denizli, Manisa, Uşak and Aydın provinces were presented. The main material of the study is survey data. The survey data was obtained by applying the face to face interview technique and applying it to 401 people between 01 April 2019 - 01 September 2019. Likert scale with 5 answer options was used in the questionnaire questions. SPSS 20 statistics package program was used to evaluate the obtained data. Descriptive statistics were used in data analysis. As an important finding in the study, the participants stated that “The extraction and operation of geothermal energy resources causes changes in the ripening periods of the vegetables and fruits grown in the Aegean Region”, with a rate of 91.3% the most, of the participants. In addition, the participants stated that “The extraction and operation of geothermal energy resources negatively affects the forest cover of the Aegean Region”, with the highest rate of 81.3%. On the other hand, the participants stated that they agree with the proposition “Extracting and operating geothermal energy decreases the groundwater in the Aegean Region and causes desertification” with a rate of 64.1%.