Honey Forests In The Context Of The Social State Principle And The Protection Of Forest Villagers (Observations And Suggestions Specific To Erzincan)

One of the requirements of being a social state is that the state takes measures to increase the economic levels of its citizens. In our country, especially according to the 45th article of the 1982 Constitution, providing resources for bees to collect honey in terms of beekeeping activities constitutes compliance with the expression “other inputs”. In addition, according to Article 170 of the Constitution titled “Protection of forest villagers”, taking measures for the development of wellfare the people of the villages located in and adjacent to the forest is among the duties of the state. Honey forest is the cultivation of plants that provide the pollen and nectar source that bees need in order to make honey, according to the principle of maximum efficiency. The vegetation period of each plant varies depending on the season. Honey flow in Erzincan which starts from the middle of June, lasts for about 1-1.5 months. The scarcity of flowering plants in June leads to a lower amount of honey. In order to increase honey yield, it is vital to popularize the Güvey Kandili (Koelreuteria spp.) tree which blooms during the honey flow period, and the Hungarian Acacia (Sophora japonica) tree which blooms in the first week of July and remains flowering until mid-August. As a result, honey forests cannot be established on a single type of tree. In order to make honey forests fully functional and to ensure the continuity of honey flow, honey forests should be established by diversifying from the necessary trees and forest plants.