President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a stark warning to the public during his address at the “Yeşil Vatan Kahramanları Görev Başında” (Green Homeland Heroes on Duty) program held at Etimesgut Airport in Ankara on Monday.
Speaking as Türkiye braces for a hotter-than-average summer in 2025, Erdoğan emphasized the urgent threat of forest fires and the critical importance of preventive action.
“The weather is getting hotter, humidity is dropping and the winds are stronger,” stated Erdoğan. “In these conditions, starting a fire even in an open field near a forest is a catastrophic mistake. This is not mere negligence. If it's not carelessness, then it is a clear betrayal.”
As part of the ceremony, newly acquired aircraft were dispatched to their designated bases, further strengthening Türkiye’s aerial firefighting capacity. Erdoğan used the occasion to express his gratitude to those safeguarding the country’s forests, known as the "green homeland," and paid tribute to forestry workers who lost their lives battling natural disasters.
Highlighting the global climate crisis, Erdoğan drew attention to Türkiye’s vulnerability as a Mediterranean country increasingly affected by prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall. He warned that the rising temperatures are accelerating the risk of large-scale wildfires.
“In the last 10 years alone, the forest area lost to fire has doubled compared to the previous decade,” Erdoğan stated. “2024 went down in history as the hottest year of the last 145 years. July 23, 2024, was the hottest day ever recorded globally.”
He pointed out that today's wildfires are not only more frequent but also more destructive, threatening not just trees but also ecosystems, agricultural land, and entire communities. The environmental and economic losses, he warned, are compounding and becoming harder to reverse.
Erdoğan presented data showing that Türkiye’s total forest area has increased from 20.8 million hectares in 2002 to 23.4 million hectares today, covering 30% of the country’s total surface area. “With the help of our mass planting efforts under the ‘Breath for the Future’ campaign, we’ve planted over 7.5 billion saplings,” he said.
Forest regeneration efforts, especially in areas damaged by fire, are prioritized and typically completed by the end of the following year, Erdoğan added.
He also took a firm stance against misinformation following wildfires, condemning what he described as manipulative and misleading images circulating online. “These photographs are often taken from unauthorized zones or from illegal constructions by opposition-run municipalities near the coast,” Erdoğan claimed. “They have nothing to do with the Forestry Directorate’s official areas. Such propaganda is a grave insult to our firefighters risking their lives.”
The president highlighted how forestry efforts are also boosting rural development. By planting productive species like walnuts, almonds and lavender, the government has helped create economic opportunities in forest villages. Erdoğan said the state offers zero-interest loans and grant support for villagers, helping over 285,000 families and more than 230 cooperatives with a total of TL 35 billion ($893,481.75) over the past two decades.
In 2025 alone, TL 2.6 billion will be distributed to 12,000 families living in rural forest areas.
He emphasized the importance of forest-based livelihoods, including harvesting resin, mushrooms and medicinal plants. “We are helping people stay in their villages and continue production, preserving our land and boosting regional development,” he said.
Erdoğan also underlined the significant investments made in modernizing Türkiye’s firefighting infrastructure. In 2002, the country had only 637 fire trucks. Today, the fleet includes 1,786 vehicles, 831 heavy machines, 27 firefighting aircraft and 105 helicopters with a combined water-carrying capacity of 438 tons.
“In 2002, we had no aircraft capable of water drops. Now we are among the top nations globally,” Erdoğan noted. Türkiye ranks first in Europe and second in the world for drone-assisted fire detection and response. The country operates 14 drones and 776 surveillance towers, 184 of which are powered by artificial intelligence for early detection.
In a strong rebuke of spending priorities, Erdoğan criticized some local administrations for allocating more funds to concerts, festivals and leisure than disaster preparedness.
“There can be no justification for spending more on advertising or entertainment than on protecting lives and nature from fires and earthquakes,” he said.
Concluding his speech, Erdoğan called on all 86 million citizens of Türkiye to show vigilance and personal responsibility. “May God protect our homeland from all disasters,” he said. “But each of us must do our part – starting with not striking a single match when the risk is high.”
