Forest Cleaning Event in Mersin

In Mersin, soldiers and police officers supported students who cleaned up the forested area within the campaign ‘Forest is Mine’. Within the framework of the ‘Forest is Mine’ campaign organized simultaneously in all 81 provinces of Turkey, waste that could cause fire in the forested area in Kuyuluk Mahallesi, a district of Mezitli, was collected with the participation of Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan. The cleaning activity, carried out with the participation of students from various schools, was supported by soldiers and police officers.

Governor Pehlivan’s Warnings

Speaking at the event where the Forestry Regional Directorate teams were also present, Governor Pehlivan stated that extreme temperatures occur in the world due to climate change, which increases the risk of fire. Pehlivan, mentioning that according to statistics, 87% of forest fires are caused by humans, added, ‘When you add global warming and extreme heat to your technical capabilities, no matter how intense they are, the intervention opportunities, both by air, land, with machinery equipment or personnel, are increasing day by day. However, these fires that occur are referred to as mega fires by our foresters. Very large fires can occur. That’s why we need to take precautions before fires occur.’

Combatting Forest Fires

Pointing out that one of the best methods against forest fires is to eliminate the factors that cause fires, Pehlivan explained what should be done to fight against forest fires.

‘Mersin’s forest area is approximately 53% of its surface area’

Pehlivan, giving warnings and advice to children, stated: ‘Mersin’s forest area is approximately 53% of its surface area. That is, more than half of our 16 thousand square kilometers of surface area is covered with forests. 57% of these forests consist of easily flammable Turkish red pine forests. Therefore, our sensitivity increases even more. Although our forest assets are abundant, the presence of Turkish red pine and similar easily ignitable trees within the forest assets requires us to show much more sensitivity, dear children. We have now reached May, we are about to enter the summer season. Temperatures have increased and are starting to rise. We need to be very sensitive. Once again, we invite all our citizens, all our fellow citizens to be sensitive, to act with maximum sensitivity regarding the forest-related issues.’