Forestry and Other Permitting Services

Legal Importance of Forest Management and Permitting Processes 

Forest management is a critical discipline that ensures the sustainable use and conservation of forests. This process includes permitting processes, which aim to ensure that forest resources are used in a balanced manner and protected for future generations. Correct implementation of forest management and permitting processes, management of other permitting processes such as pasture due to land characteristics as required by mining law; forestry, pasture activities are vital for sustainability in many environmental and social issues. 

MEDESA has made it a principle to provide the forest, pasture, treasury land or private land use permits required for the operation permit, the issuance of the business opening and operation license and the issuance of exploration drilling permits as soon as possible.

FOREST PERMITS 

Forest permit is a permit that will be granted upon completion of the documents required for preliminary permit and final permit based on Articles 16, 17 and 18 of the Forestry Law No. 6831, together with the price required by these documents. While the permit to be obtained is evaluated by the authorities, the suitability of the area to be permitted is determined. Afterwards, the condition of public benefit is sought for the permit. The works and procedures regarding the permits to be granted under the aforementioned article of the Law shall be carried out in accordance with "Articles 17 and 18 of the Forestry Law". 

Implementation Regulation".

REHABILITATION PROJECT 

The project to be prepared in order to restore the topography disturbed as a result of mining activities to nature is defined as a rehabilitation project. 

Rehabilitation, on the other hand, is the process of rehabilitating the permitted area from the beginning of the permit period until the end of the permit period, ensuring environmental safety, rehabilitating it in accordance with the rehabilitation project, restoring it to nature and making it compatible with the environment by using afforestation and silviculture techniques in order to establish the forest ecosystem. 

The legal provisions regarding the rehabilitation project and rehabilitation process are included in the Implementation Regulation of Article 16 of the Forest Law. 

Throughout the life of a mining operation, it is inevitable that there will be some changes in the land, especially topography, flora and fauna, surface and groundwater, in the areas where mining operations are carried out, especially due to open pit mining operations. The aim of rehabilitation projects is to minimize these changes throughout mining operations through appropriate environmental management. 

In order to reorganize the natural structure of the area where mining activities are carried out, to establish its natural balance, to ensure that the area can be safely used by humans or other living things again, a Rehabilitation Project is prepared by taking into account the issues given in Article 18 under the rehabilitation title of the Implementing Regulation of Article 16 of the Forest Law No. 6831.

GRADUAL CLOSURE PLAN 

Gradual closure plan is a plan that shows the closure of the permit area in accordance with the afforestation and silviculture techniques for the purpose of establishing forest ecosystem in the dumping areas such as waste and waste dams, in the period from the beginning of the permit to the end of the permit, in accordance with the final state envisaged following the closure of the permit area and to be restored to nature. The upper layers of the piles are shaped in such a way that they have a slope that will allow the drainage of water by gravity and at the same time provide protection against water erosion. In such piles, in addition to the rehabilitation project, a gradual closure plan is also organized.

 PASTURE PERMITS 

Pursuant to the Mining Law No. 3213, if the area where the activities are planned to be carried out in an area where an operating license has been obtained is a pasture, a "Pasture Quality Change Requested Operation Project" and a "Pasture Recycling Project" shall be prepared in accordance with the Pasture Law No. 4342 and its Regulation.

WORKPLACE OPENING AND WORK LICENSE 

A license to open and operate a workplace is a permit issued by the authorized administrative units for the opening and operation of workplaces within the scope of the Regulation on Workplace Opening and Operation Licenses. A workplace cannot be opened and operated without a license duly obtained from the competent authorities. Real or legal persons who want to produce based on mining production activities and temporary facilities related to these activities apply to the Special Provincial Administration and the Investment Monitoring and Coordination Presidency in metropolitan cities. The license to open and operate a workplace, which is issued jointly or separately for mining production activities within the scope of non-sanitary establishments and temporary facilities based on these activities, covers the area within the EIA coordinates for mining activities within the scope of EIA, and the entire mining license area and temporary facilities for mining activities other than this. Mineral exploration activities are not subject to a license to open and operate a workplace. However, in case of production within the exploration license period, it is obligatory to obtain a license to open and operate a workplace.

DRILLING PERMIT 

The processes carried out to drill wells in order to collect information about geological formations and underground riches (coal, metallic mines, natural gas, oil, etc.) and to start production in enterprises are called mine drilling.

Drilling Activities in Forest Areas 

Drilling permits are divided into two as hand core and drilling that does not require excavation. 

In the drilling permits to be obtained for hand core, the application petition and 1/25.000 scale maps, site plan and mescere map will be included and permission is obtained by depositing a guarantee fee. In exploration projects that do not require excavation, 1/25.000 scale country map topographic map satellite map mescere map cadastral map and site plan maps are provided together with the application petition for forest areas. By determining the drilling areas as 15 m and 10 m, a total drilling area is determined as 150 m2. If there are no existing roads in the drilling permits, the roads leading to the drilling should be determined. The width of the road should be determined as 6m in accordance with the topography.

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Drilling Activities in Pasture Areas 

The mineral exploration license holder shall apply to the Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Livestock with a petition to the Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Livestock with the necessary documents before carrying out mineral exploration activities that require physical intervention such as drilling in areas where pastures, pastures and winter pastures are located. 

Within thirty days from the date of application, as a result of the evaluation made by the Provincial Directorate of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, the principles to be followed are determined and permission is granted without changing the purpose of pasture allocation.

Drilling Activities in Agricultural Areas 

Mineral exploration activities are permitted in agricultural areas regardless of land class. The mining license holder applies with a petition to the governorship or the General Directorate or the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry with the necessary documents before conducting mineral exploration activities such as drilling in agricultural areas. Permission may be granted according to the result of the evaluation to be made by the relevant Ministry within two months from the date of application. 

The mining license holder is obliged not to damage agricultural structures such as irrigation, drainage, soil conservation facilities during exploration activities and to harmonize the areas where they operate with the environment after the exploration activity.

Drilling Activities on Treasury Property

Rent and ecrimisil are not charged for drilling activities carried out in the private property of the Treasury or in the areas under the provision and disposal of the State. These areas are deemed to be reserved for mining activities as long as mining activities are carried out. If the area where drilling activities are carried out is on the private property of the Treasury or under the dominion and disposal of the State, permission is not required within the scope of land ownership. However, a document showing the ownership status is required for this area.

Drilling Activities on Private Lands

Permission must be obtained from the General Directorate for mining activities within a distance of 60 meters from places and facilities such as schools, hospitals, libraries, highways, railways, etc. that are reserved for public service or public benefit. In order to carry out activities within a distance of 60 meters from buildings and 20 meters from privately owned lands and these lands, the written consent of the property owner must be obtained. These horizontal distances may be determined separately for each activity by the General Directorate if necessary, taking into account the size of the mining activities, the method of operation, safety measures and the topographic and geological structure of the land.

Application Documents

An application shall be made to the Governorate or the General Directorate with the following documents for the necessary permission to carry out exploration activities: 

a) Sample exploration license,

b) Drawing the coordinates of the area to be explored with the license on the appropriate scale topographic map,

c) Information on the exploration activities to be carried out,

d) Site plan if there is a building and facility.

In addition, relevant ministries and public institutions and organizations may request additional information in accordance with their own laws. 

For drilling permits that do not require excavation, first of all, the 'Law No. 7061 on the Amendment of Certain Tax Laws and Certain Other Laws' entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette dated 05.12.2017 and numbered 30261. Article 48 of the aforementioned law stipulates that "...no environmental impact assessment decision is required for activities involving geological mapping, geophysical survey, seismic, core, crumb and sampling and surface preparation operations for these." In this context, an out of scope letter is obtained from the Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization. Institutional opinion application is made for the drilling works to be carried out in the field. These institutions are DKMP, DSI, Regional Board Directorate for the Protection of Cultural Assets and Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization.