Climate change, along with its negative impact, is affecting the world with disasters such as droughts, forest fires, and floods, both last year and this year.
Experts predict that these adverse conditions will have an even greater impact in the coming years. Each country is striving to strengthen their teams and technical capabilities to combat these disasters as much as possible.
In Türkiye, the fight against forest fires is carried out through three strategies: prevention, suppression, and rehabilitation. Prevention efforts focus on education, awareness, and technical measures, while suppression and rehabilitation activities encompass the actions during and after the fire.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry conducts continuous activities to instill love for nature and raise awareness about forest fires, especially during Forest Week and National Afforestation Day on November 11. Over the past 20 years, they have planted 7 billion saplings.
With 25,000 personnel and 120,000 volunteers, the fight against forest fires continues. Despite all the educational and technical efforts, forest fires are still occurring and increasing in impact. As of July 31st this year, Türkiye has experienced 1,060 forest fires, causing damage to 7,190 hectares of land.
The most significant number of forest fires occurred in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions this year. Among the affected areas, Izmir suffered the most, with 1,550 hectares of forest area damaged.
During this period, the investigation into the causes of forest fires revealed that 509 (48%) were due to negligence, carelessness, and accidents, 33 (3%) were intentional, 92 (9%) were caused by lightning, and 426 (40%) could not be definitively determined.
