ANKARA 

Turkey's success in increasing its forest assets was certified by the UN, with the country ranking first in Europe and sixth worldwide for realizing afforestation work the most extensively, according to a recent report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) covering the period between 2015-2020. 

The Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) report is produced every five years in an attempt to provide a consistent approach to describing the world’s forests and how they are changing.

"In the last 18 years, we have increased our forest areas by 2.1 million hectares. Our 2023 target is to reach 23.4 million hectares of forest area, which corresponds to 30% of the country's surface area," Bekir Karacabey, head of the General Directorate of Forestry, told Anadolu Agency.

He said Turkey is one of the rare countries that is increasing its forest area.

The acknowledgement in the FRA report of Turkey's success in increasing the forest presence and reforestation is welcome and very gratifying and rewarding, he noted

"All of this means the international recognition of the increase in forest assets in our country," he added.

*Written by Aysu Bicer