Reforestation

The Istanbul Governor's Office has initiated a reforestation campaign with the aim of restoring forested areas damaged by wildfires in the city this year.

New forests will be established in all 81 provinces in the country as part of a nationwide large-scale afforestation effort on the occasion of the National Afforestation Day on Nov. 11, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has announced.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı has announced that 1.5 million saplings will be planted by the end of 2024 to reforest the areas damaged by the wildfires in the northwestern province of Çanakkale.

Despite some efforts to downplay the Rhodes wildfire disaster, the 20,66 hectares of forest and farmland that burned have left an indelible mark on the island.

After the destructive wildfires on Evia in August 2021, the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis passed a legislative act by which public or private forests destroyed by fires must be earmarked for reforestation within 30 days. 

The provision was aimed at discouraging encroachers and leading to the summary demolition of all buildings erected on burnt land.

Some 88 percent of the forest fires break out due to human-induced reasons, while the number of such incidents has risen significantly in the last two decades, says a prominent environmental organization.

Following the discovery of a 766-year-old chestnut tree in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, the General Directorate of Forestry has initiated a tree planting project in which saplings from the seeds collected from the tree will be planted throughout the province.

Authorities on Friday presented a plan for the restoration and recovery of forest areas on Mount Penteli that were devastated by a wildfire in July 2022. The plan was unveiled by Deputy Minister of Environment George Amyras and Mayor of Penteli Dimitra Kechagia at the local municipality.

Some 600 volunteers of all ages joined foresters in five locations around Slovenia to plant roughly 6,000 saplings of trees as part of the annual reforestation campaign on 25 March.

The rehabilitation works of some 90 percent of the 139,500 hectares of land damaged in forest fires last year have been completed, the head of the General Directorate of Forestry has said.

Noting that the rehabilitation works will be completed by the end of the year, Bekir Karacabey said, "The methods to rehabilitate these lands were determined under the guidance of technical teams."