March 21, marked as ''International Day of Forests,'' is also accepted as the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This year it is being marked with low-key activities in Türkiye, in a manner to commemorate those who lost their lives in the recent earthquakes that rocked the southeastern part of the country, the general manager of the forestry directorate noted Monday.
Türkiye, which overall places significant importance on reforestation, marked this year's day of forests by establishing a "February 6 Earthquake Martyrs Forest" in 81 provinces, Bekir Karacabey, the general manager of the Forestry Directorate, said in his interview with Anadolu Agency (AA).
Noting that since 1973 the week in which International Day of Forests has been celebrated as "Forest Week," Karacabey stated that various activities are organized every year for tree planting sessions during the week; and this year, due to the earthquakes, afforestation will be carried out in a mournful ambiance.
Expressing that they will carry out sampling works on Tuesday on behalf of the citizens who were lost in the earthquakes, Karacabey explained that after conveying the organization's request to Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirişci and receiving his support, it was decided to mark the occasion by establishing "February 6 Earthquake Martyrs Forest" in 81 provinces across the country simultaneously.
"People from all professions lost their lives in that earthquake. We invite all our citizens, from all professions, to the sapling planting activities in these provinces on behalf of them,'' Karacabey said.
''While each of our citizens exhibited his/her best effort and contribution in this disaster, many aids came from abroad,'' he added. ''We invite the ambassadors of these countries to join our activities and ask them to plant their samplings in these areas,'' Karacabey emphasized.
Elaborating on the country's ongoing reforestation efforts regardless of whether its "a good day or a bad day," Karacabey stated that Türkiye ranks first in Europe and fourth in the world when it comes to the increasing forest cover and afforestation.
Afforestation efforts
He also noted that during the course of last year, more than 647 million saplings were planted across the country in addition to special afforestation within the scope of forest development and expansion, and noted that most saplings are used for combating erosion as well as improving degraded forest areas.
Pointing out that they are decisive in meeting afforestation targets set for 2023, Karacabey said that by the end of 2023, the goal of planting 7 billion seedlings, equaling the world's population, was set by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is a strong advocate of afforestation and participated in several sapling activities personally and declared Nov. 11 as National Forestation Day, as part of the country's determination to expand forest cover at a time of global climate change.
''By planting 6.5 billion saplings in 2021, 647 million last year, and with 600 million saplings, which we aimed (to plant) throughout this year, we will have achieved the 7 billion target set for us by our Presidency and may even exceed the target," Karacabey noted.
Fight against forest fires
Karacabey underscored that the fight against forest fires, which broke out owing to various reasons across the nation in previous years, continues strongly, emphasizing that the main goal of the organization is to focus on the afforestation of areas that were gutted during the fires.
"We experienced one of the biggest fires in history in 2021. As a result, 139,500 hectares of land were damaged,'' he noted.
Declaring that some of the areas were unusable and inadequate for afforestation, Karacabey indicated that on an area encompassing approximately 108,000 hectares, some 25 million saplings have been planted since.