An aerial tour of Istanbul’s disappearing forests
▻http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/an-aerial-tour-of-istanbuls-disappearing-forests.aspx?pageID=238&
What happened to Istanbul’s forests?
Istanbul’s population is rapidly increasing, and consequently, residential settlement is widening. The 36,000 hectares of settlement in the 1970s, has now surpassed 110,000 hectares, an increase of over 400 percent. The same period has also witnessed an increase in the city’s population of around 370 percent. This is the main reason why the forests—Istanbul’s life source—are being destroyed. The change is so severe that Istanbul’s forestland is down to 240,000 hectares from 270,000 hectares in the 1970s. The reduction is roughly the equivalent of 60,000 football fields
