Investigation of mining-access roads within the general concept of forest roads

Abstract

Forest resources serve the communities in various aspects, such as raw timber production, recreation, aesthetic, hydrological assurance, health of societies, wildlife management and sustainable management of biodiversity. One third of our country is covered with forest, and the majority of the mining endeavors also exist underneath these forests.  Issues regarding the governance of forest resources are regulated under the constitutional act #6831, while the article 16 explains how mining endeavors are allowed within the forest lands. Unless accessible via forest or village roads, access to the mining side and accompanying installations can only be granted with additional linkage and new road layout projects. Since they will also be used as forest roads in the long run, forest service asks from the mining license holders to construct them according to the standards dictated in the notification 292. Although crucial for any type of operation, roads might jeopardize the ecosystem services and cause irreversible harm to the habitats, so utmost importance must be shown while placing them over pristine topographies. In the context of this study, one of the foremost detrimental environmental effects of mining endeavors, access roads were evaluated in terms of the compliance with the notification 292 standards, which stated that any additional non-forestry related road should be constructed according at least to Type-B style forest road.