Turkey’s efforts to mobilize the public to protect the environment culminated in June 1-7 being declared Environment Week, with Environment Day observed on Sunday for the very first time.

A number of activities took place during the day and across the week to highlight different aspects of the issue, especially the importance of keeping waste at a minimum and promoting a healthier lifestyle that also contributes to cutting down harmful gas emissions.

As part of Sunday’s events, a large number of people came together in all 81 provinces for a march. The "81 Billion Steps in 81 Provinces" march organized by the Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change is part of a campaign by the ministry. Every person who downloads an app developed by the ministry can join the campaign which enters the user into a lottery once they have registered 10,000 steps on Environment Day. Winners of the ministry lottery will be given free bicycles.

Bicycles play an important role in the promotion of healthier transportation, serving as an alternative to gasoline-guzzling vehicles that pollute the air. The country seeks to encourage their use by building more and wider bicycle lanes though it is still a fledgling way of travel, especially in big cities.

First lady Emine Erdoğan was among the participants in the marches. She joined Minister of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change Murat Kurum and ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chair Çiğdem Karaaslan for a march in the capital's Kızılcahamam district alongside a group of children and youth.

Erdoğan, the architect of the "zero waste" campaign to promote recycling, told reporters on the sidelines of the march that she became emotional when she saw how aware the youth was of the environment. "It gave me more hope for the future. Next generations will continue our zero waste efforts and I am grateful to them," she said.

The theme of Environment Week is "zero waste" and various campaigns were held throughout the week to highlight it. The Ministry of Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change delivered "zero waste bags" to 10 million people on the occasion. The bags are made of recycled material and the campaign is supported by major supermarket chains and e-commerce websites, which are among the main users of shopping bags. Turkey introduced a paid plastic bag scheme a few years ago to curb the use of plastics in shopping and in three years managed to decrease their use by 65%.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports, meanwhile, organized a "plogging" event with the participation of young volunteers. Derived from a Swedish word, plogging combines jogging and litter-picking and became famous after the first mass event was organized in Sweden in 2016.

Throughout the week, several activities were held, including sapling planting and cleanup campaigns to keep the land and seas clear that continued into Sunday with the participation of thousands of volunteers across the country.

Issuing a written message on the occasion, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that "every step aimed at protecting the environment, one of the greatest blessings given to us, is of utmost importance in terms of the future of humanity."

"Unfortunately, the proliferation of industrialization, advancement of technology and human-related reasons have destructive effects on nature and the environment. Yet, no one should ever forget that excessive consumption habits and insensitive approaches towards the environment and nature will do the greatest harm to humanity in the long term. Therefore, we as the entire humanity have to take urgent action, address the issue with a multifaceted approach and produce solutions. With the sensitivity taught us by our civilization, we as Turkey have and will continue to take steps to prevent the destruction of nature and have a much more sensitive relation with nature," he said.

Erdoğan said Turkey made significant investments in the past 20 years to protect the environment and implemented regulations within that scope. "We always supported environment-friendly practices and pioneered the construction of more livable cities. We prioritized renewable energy and the diversification of energy resources. We started the biggest mass planting campaign in the history of the Republic of Turkey," the president also said in his message. He noted that efforts are being made to expand the number of "Public Gardens," massive urban parks whose number will reach 450 when completed.