World leaders will plant olive saplings at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye on November 11 to mark National Afforestation Day, while new peace forests will be established across the country’s 81 provinces, a senior forestry official said.
Bekir Karacabey, director general of forestry, told Anadolu on Monday that National Afforestation Day was declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2019 and that hundreds of millions of saplings have been planted across Türkiye since then.
Karacabey said this year’s events will be held under the slogan “Breath for the Future, Peace for the World,” noting that the occasion carries special significance as it coincides with the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31).
“On November 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 towards creating carbon sink forests,” he added.
Citizens can adopt saplings free of charge
Karacabey said citizens will be able to actively participate in afforestation activities across all 81 provinces, with planting locations to be announced on the “Gelecege Nefes” (Breath for the Future) website.
He stressed that people unable to attend planting events in person could still contribute to afforestation efforts.
“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 emphasised that the success of afforestation efforts depends not only on the number of saplings planted but also on their survival rates.
He said the development of saplings is monitored through field inspections, while maintenance and replacement planting are carried out where necessary.
Ecological suitability and biodiversity are also taken into account in afforestation projects, he added.
Karacabey stressed that protecting forests is closely linked to individual behaviour and urged citizens to take responsibility for preventing 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.”
According to current figures, a total of 1,855,735 saplings are expected to be planted across 2,301 hectares (5,686 acres) at 756 locations nationwide, with approximately 301,000 people expected to participate in the events.
