Türkiye celebrated a major environmental milestone on Nov. 11 during the seventh National Forestation Day, with more than 1.28 million citizens planting nearly 15 million saplings across 1,391 locations nationwide. This marks the largest participation and highest sapling count since the campaign began in 2019.
The nationwide effort, part of the Green Homeland initiative, saw saplings planted in all 81 provinces and 922 districts, reflecting the country’s growing commitment to expanding forest areas. Participation and planting numbers broke previous records, surpassing the inaugural event where 1.2 million people planted 13.8 million saplings.
Türkiye has significantly increased its afforestation goals, raising its national target from 550 million to 600 million saplings and seeds. Since 2000, the country has planted 7.5 billion saplings and seeds, expanding forest coverage to 23.4 million hectares—around 30% of Türkiye’s total land area. Between 2020 and 2025, Türkiye advanced from sixth to fourth place globally in expanding forested land and now ranks third in annual tree-planting efforts.
This year’s campaign also included major contributions from several provinces. Notable efforts included the planting of thousands of saplings in areas affected by wildfires. The initiative further honored the memory of 160 forestry workers who lost their lives while battling fires.
With rising targets and sustained nationwide participation, Türkiye continues to strengthen its role as a global leader in afforestation and environmental restoration.