Attending the forum organized in northern Samsun province on Wednesday, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Ibrahim Yumaklı urged citizens to exercise caution and avoid behaviors that could lead to causing fires in agricultural lands highlighting the sector's strategic role worldwide.
"If we consider that a tree develops in 20 years, it is necessary to avoid behaviors that will turn all those years into waste. It does not need to be only a forest. Let's avoid any behavior that could cause fires in agricultural lands," he said.
"This could be throwing a cigarette butt on the edge of the forest or in the middle of the field. It could be a small fire originating from a picnic. Please, let's avoid any of these," Yumaklı added.
Emphasizing that forests are "a green homeland," the minister highlighted the capabilities and intervention competence that have improved day by day in Türkiye, noting that the country "remains on alert until the end of August."
"As of today, we can respond very quickly to a certain number of medium and high-scale fires at the same time, but we have to hold back from the fight, even if we obtain this capability," he underlined.
Further, he called on citizens to inform the nearest security forces or call the health emergency line – 112 in case of seeing any signs of fire, emphasizing it's not only the state's but everyone's personal duty to protect the green homeland.
Raging wildfires that have been effective in several Turkish provinces over the last week and weekend left vast swathes of the country's forests in ashes, with several individuals being apprehended by authorities due to negligence that resulted in causing fires.
Ahead of summer, Türkiye has bolstered its firefighting air and land fleets. It has increased the number of personnel crews on the ground to tackle any eventuality originating from wildfires, mostly common in the southern and western provinces.
