Türkiye’s eastern Black Sea region — long known for its emerald-green mountains and year-round rainfall — faces mounting ecological pressure as climate change disrupts weather cycles, necessitating faster reforestation to protect its vulnerable forests.
While the Black Sea coast is celebrated for its lush woodlands, traditional villages and popular high plateau tourism, officials caution that the landscape is far more fragile than it appears.
Rising temperatures, sudden downpours and intermittent drought are accelerating the decline of several native tree species in Rize, one of the country’s rainiest provinces, receiving around 2,400 kilograms of precipitation per square meter annually.
Older pine stands in higher elevations are drying out, while linden and chestnut trees, essential for biodiversity and central to the region’s famed “honey forests,” are becoming increasingly scarce.
"Honey forests” are specially designated forest areas planted with trees and plants that provide nectar and pollen for bees.
Their decline, experts say, signals deeper ecological stress.
Forestry authorities estimate that 174,297 hectares of forestland in Rize are now considered at risk, affected by erratic rainfall, heat stress and the long-term effects of uncontrolled tree cutting.
In response, forest directorates have intensified reforestation programs, replacing aging or dying trees, reinforcing forest density and regenerating degraded stands in high-risk areas.
Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş warned that the region’s lush appearance can mask underlying threats.
Many slopes, he noted, are covered not by mature forest but by tea plantations, grasslands and naturally spreading alder.
“As far as forest assets go, we are not the region in Türkiye with the largest forest coverage. Eastern Black Sea forests are viewed as tree-covered areas at risk,” he said. “We must pay particular attention to linden and chestnut trees — their numbers must not be allowed to decline.”
Baydaş added that abundant rainfall should not create complacency.
“Our trees are aging. As each one is lost or turns into timber, we may need to plant ten more to preserve the ecological balance,” he said. “We inherited this landscape thanks to heavy rainfall and humidity, and we must pass it on intact to future generations.”
Through robust replanting and renewal, the region aims to both strengthen its iconic green belt and secure the natural environment vital to Black Sea tourism, simultaneously creating sustainable support for local communities.
