More than 255,000 hectares of Turkish forests have been destroyed by wildfires (between 2012 and 2023), making Turkey one of the world’s most vulnerable to forest fires. However, at the same time, it has increased its forest area 7-fold over areas burnt, adding 1.7 million hectares of reforestation, with extensive tree planting a key plank in its long-term management of forest resources.
That is according to data produced by the General Directorate of Forestry, which is busy preventing, extinguishing, and building climate resilience across its forest stock. In May, Wood Central revealed that Turkey and the World Bank had launched the Türkiye Climate Resilient Forests Project, a US $400 million plan to bolster the country’s capacity to protect forests and communities to become a global leader in fire management.
According to Bekir Karacabey, Director General of Turkey’s General Directorate of Forestry, the new project is an essential step in modernising the country’s forest fire management system:
“Our nation stands at the forefront, pioneering advanced technologies and holistic approaches to both prevent and suppress wildfires.”
Can Turkey provide a case study for other at-risk countries to follow?
In November, Wood Central reported that more than 25 million timber-producing forests, an area equal in size to Great Britain, were lost to climate-induced fires between 2003 and 2022 – with fire (and the bark beetle) threats to the long-term viability of timber milling and paper manufacturing.
As it stands, 28% of Turkey’s land mass is covered by forests, with forest fires the most significant risk to the Turkish government, now looking to build up its forest economy (which makes up just 0.003% of its GDP) to reduce it’s 30 million cubic-metre dependence on roundwood imports.
“While the forest assets across the World have decreased (despite the fire threat), the area of forest in Turkey has increased by 2.5 million hectares since 1973,” according to a 2020 report produced by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which reports that Turkey now has strong apolitical consensus for reforestation.
And the results speak for themselves – with the General Directorate of Forestry reporting that forest area is increasing despite the elevated risk of climate-induced fire:
- In 2012, Turkey’s forest area stood at 21.6 million hectares, with 2,450 fires burning 10,454 hectares.
- In 2015, Turkey’s forest cover increased to 22.3 million hectares, and 2,150 forest fires burned 3,219 hectares.
- In 2018, the Turkish forest area reached 22.6 million hectares, with 2,167 fires burning through 5,644 hectares.
- In 2019, Turkey’s forest area reached 22.7 million hectares, with 2,688 forest fires damaging 11,332 hectares.
- In 2020, the forest area reached 22,9 million hectares, with 20,971 hectares of forests damaged by 3,399 fires.
- In 2022, the forest area hit 23.2 million hectares, with 2,160 forest fires burning through 12,799 hectares.
- Finally, last year, the forest area reached 23.3 million hectares, while 2,579 forest fires damaged 15,520 hectares of forests.
“Fire crews have fought 32,000 fires in Turkish forests,” according to the General Directorate of Forestry. “About one-third of fires (or 11,357 fires, burning through 105,675 hectares of forests) were caused by negligence, accidents and human roles.” Meanwhile, “3,992 forest fires erupted because of natural causes, damaging 2,699 hectares of land,” they said, with “89,502 hectares of forests and 14,934 fires caused by unknown causes.”
