Türkiye to Plant 1.8M Saplings as COP31 Leaders Join Olive Planting
(MENAFN) World leaders will plant olive saplings at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye on Nov. 11 to mark National Afforestation Day, while new peace forests will be created in all 81 of the country’s provinces, a senior forestry official said.
Bekir Karacabey, director general of forestry, told a state-run news agency that Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared National Afforestation Day in 2019 and that hundreds of millions of saplings have been planted nationwide since. This year’s events will run under the slogan “Breath for the Future, Peace for the World,” he said, and carry added weight because they coincide with the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31).
“On Nov. 11, our president, together with the UN secretary-general and the Australian prime minister, will plant olive saplings at the COP venue,” he said.
“The peace forests to be established in all 81 provinces will mark the first step toward creating carbon sink forests,” he added.
Free sapling adoption open to citizens
Karacabey said the public can take part in planting drives in every province, with locations to be posted on the “Gelecege Nefes” (Breath for the Future) website. He stressed that those unable to attend in person can still contribute.
“I invite all our citizens in 81 provinces to the sapling planting sites that we will announce on our Gelecege Nefes website. We look forward to seeing them plant saplings,” he said.
“Those who cannot personally attend the planting events can also adopt a sapling free of charge through our website. One of the saplings to be planted can be theirs, or they can make a sapling donation.”
‘Everything is in our hands’
Karacabey said the success of afforestation hinges not only on how many saplings go into the ground but on how many survive. Field inspections track their growth, he said, with maintenance and replacement planting carried out where needed. Ecological suitability and biodiversity are also factored into projects, he added.
He tied forest protection to individual behavior and urged the public to help prevent forest fires.
“We say that everything is in our hands. We can plant a sapling with our own hands, or unfortunately turn a planted sapling into ashes with a fire we light,” he said.
“So everything starts with us. We ask all our citizens not to say, ‘What can I do on my own?’ Yes, they can do a great deal. If they protect our forests, our forests will not burn.”
By current figures, 1,855,735 saplings are expected to be planted across 2,301 hectares (5,686 acres) at 756 locations nationwide, with roughly 301,000 people anticipated to take part.
Bekir Karacabey, director general of forestry, told a state-run news agency that Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared National Afforestation Day in 2019 and that hundreds of millions of saplings have been planted nationwide since. This year’s events will run under the slogan “Breath for the Future, Peace for the World,” he said, and carry added weight because they coincide with the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31).
“On Nov. 11, our president, together with the UN secretary-general and the Australian prime minister, will plant olive saplings at the COP venue,” he said.
“The peace forests to be established in all 81 provinces will mark the first step toward creating carbon sink forests,” he added.
Free sapling adoption open to citizens
Karacabey said the public can take part in planting drives in every province, with locations to be posted on the “Gelecege Nefes” (Breath for the Future) website. He stressed that those unable to attend in person can still contribute.
“I invite all our citizens in 81 provinces to the sapling planting sites that we will announce on our Gelecege Nefes website. We look forward to seeing them plant saplings,” he said.
“Those who cannot personally attend the planting events can also adopt a sapling free of charge through our website. One of the saplings to be planted can be theirs, or they can make a sapling donation.”
‘Everything is in our hands’
Karacabey said the success of afforestation hinges not only on how many saplings go into the ground but on how many survive. Field inspections track their growth, he said, with maintenance and replacement planting carried out where needed. Ecological suitability and biodiversity are also factored into projects, he added.
He tied forest protection to individual behavior and urged the public to help prevent forest fires.
“We say that everything is in our hands. We can plant a sapling with our own hands, or unfortunately turn a planted sapling into ashes with a fire we light,” he said.
“So everything starts with us. We ask all our citizens not to say, ‘What can I do on my own?’ Yes, they can do a great deal. If they protect our forests, our forests will not burn.”
By current figures, 1,855,735 saplings are expected to be planted across 2,301 hectares (5,686 acres) at 756 locations nationwide, with roughly 301,000 people anticipated to take part.
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