NEWS CENTER - Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı spoke at the "Forest Fires 2026 Evaluation Meeting" held in Istanbul, including Milliyet.com.tr Editor-in-Chief Uğur Kurban.
Minister Yumaklı underlined that reducing and managing risks before a fire breaks out, preventing fires, detecting them early, intervening as soon as possible and reforesting fire-damaged areas are the basic complementary stages of this fight and gave the following information:
"The first phase of our work consists of education, awareness-raising and preventive measures. We make all segments of the society a part of this struggle within the understanding of Green Homeland Mobilization. One of our greatest sources of power in this struggle is our forest fire volunteers. We increased the number of our volunteers, which was 13 thousand in 2021, to 142 thousand in 2026. With our Forest is My Campaign, before the summer starts, we will eliminate glass, plastic and similar waste that will cause fires together with our youth and children." By opening new fire safety roads and lanes, we both reduce the risk of fire spread and make it easier for teams to reach fire zones. This year, we increased this number to 4 thousand 852 in total. These pools play a critical role in our aircraft's access to water in difficult geographies. Today, 194 of them serve as smart observation towers.
Stating that they improve manpower, land-air fleet, technological infrastructure and intervention plans every year, Yumaklı said, "We increased the number of personnel fighting forest fires, which was 25 thousand in 2025, to 28 thousand 65 in 2026. We increased the number of water sprinklers to 1,953, the number of first response vehicles to 2 thousand 766, and the number of work machines to 878. These teams were deployed at 1,600 different points." he said.
Minister Yumaklı emphasized that they have facilitated access to fires in remote areas with the regional response centers they established for the first time, and said, "We increased the number of our aircraft to 28 and the number of helicopters to 119 in 2026. We increased our instantaneous water throwing capacity, which was 73 tons in 2002, to 462 tons in 2026. We monitor our forests with our 14 Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles and detect fires early. The aircraft determines our location, "With the addition of 11 new points, we increased the number to 69 in 2026." he said.
“WE USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SUPPORTED SYSTEMS”
Stating that 64 percent of the forests in the country are located in first and second degree fire sensitive areas, Yumaklı pointed out that they planned the intervention organization by analyzing meteorological data, the structure of the forests and regional risks.
Minister Yumaklı continued as follows:
"We implemented our Enhanced Fire Risk Map for the first time this year and it gave us a great advantage. With these maps, where more than 40 parameters were evaluated, we sent special warnings to our forest management chiefs 7 days in advance on high-risk days. We also directed our air vehicles and land teams to the areas where the risk was concentrated. We enabled the sprinklers to reach the fire areas faster with the newly developed forest roads navigation system. We instantly monitored the temperature, humidity and wind data with the sensors we integrated into our sprinklers and water supply vehicles. "We have installed safe driver recognition systems in our vehicles, we have distributed location tracking devices for security purposes to our personnel in fire-sensitive areas. We have gathered all these different software and tracking systems I mentioned under the umbrella of the Forest Fire Management System. This year has been a year in which we implemented many innovations in artificial intelligence-supported systems, software and technological infrastructure and benefited from them in the fight against fire."
THERE WAS A 35 PERCENT DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF FOREST FIRES
Yumaklı, who also shared data on forest fires occurring in 2026 at the meeting, said:
"In 2025, a total of 7,509 fires occurred in our country, 3,224 of which were in forests and 4,285 in rural areas. This year, we responded to a total of 6,219 fires, 2,111 of which were in forests and 4,108 in rural areas. Compared to the previous year, there was a 35 percent decrease in the number of forest fires and a 21 percent decrease in the total number of fires. "75 of them started in non-forest areas, 24 thousand 527 hectares of our forest area was affected by fires. There was an approximately 68 percent decrease in the burned forest area compared to the previous year. 1,766 of the 2,111 forest fires that occurred in 2026 were controlled in areas smaller than one hectare. We took 96 percent of them under control in areas smaller than 10 hectares."
86 PERCENT OF FIRES ARE HUMAN-CAUSED
While giving information about the causes of forest fires, Minister Yumaklı pointed out the following.
"86 percent of the fires occurred due to human causes. 67 percent occurred due to negligence and carelessness, 16 percent occurred due to accidents, 3 percent occurred due to intentional actions, and 14 percent occurred due to lightning. In 2026, we had acute periods in two time periods. The first of these occurred between July 29-31. During this three-day period, we intervened in 260 fires. We took 255 of these fires under control before they grew larger." 5 fires were on the public agenda. Similarly, we experienced an intense fire process in two days. The most difficult factor in the fires was the wind, which reached 63 kilometers per hour. In Aydın Çine, only 12 percent humidity accelerated the fire spread. The area damaged by the fires in these two acute periods was 80 percent. created.”
Stating that a total of 692 thousand 419 hectares of forest area in EU countries will be affected by fires in 2026, Yumaklı stated that there is a 33 percent decrease in the burned area in these countries and a 68 percent decrease in Turkey.
Minister Yumaklı stated that the ratio of areas affected by forest fires to total forest assets in 2026; 1.24 percent in Canada; 1.23 percent in the USA; 1.09 percent in Spain; 1.06 percent in Portugal and Italy; Stating that it was 0.56 percent in France and 0.54 percent in Greece, he said, "Our country is at the level of 0.1 percent, which is much less than all these countries." he said.
Underlining that they are also fighting disinformation while fighting forest fires, Yumaklı emphasized that Turkey's experience is important in this field and that they sent planes and helicopters to Spain and France, which were exposed to severe fires this summer.
Pointing out that there is constant disinformation about the burned forest areas, Yumaklı stated that according to the constitution, it is not possible to open the burned forest areas to development and that reforestation is mandatory, and they did this.
11 NOVEMBER NATIONAL AFFORDATION DAY
Minister Yumaklı reminded that the task of establishing carbon sink forests belongs to the General Directorate of Forestry and said:
"In this context, we are starting to establish new carbon sink forests without delay. We have been celebrating November 11 as National Afforestation Day since 2019.
This year, on November 11, at the COP31 summit in Antalya, our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Australian Prime Minister Mr. Albanese and United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Guterres will plant saplings together.
While the leaders plant their saplings in the Peace Forest that we established in memory of COP31, we will plant our saplings together with our citizens in 81 provinces with the slogan "Breath for the Future, Peace for the World". On November 11, we welcome all our citizens, from ages 7 to 70, to the sapling planting areas in our provinces. Our citizens can also easily adopt or donate saplings from our website Breathe for the Future this year, as every year. "Under the leadership of our President, we will continue to work to increase greenery and entrust our forests to future generations in the strongest possible way."
COP31 SUMMIT TO BE HELD IN ANTALYA
Referring to the activities they will carry out as the Ministry at COP31 to be held in Antalya, Yumaklı made the following evaluations:
"At the summit, we will make the issues of making agriculture and food systems resilient to the climate crisis, efficient management of water resources and protecting forest sink areas that support biodiversity, as the main agenda of the negotiations. As the Ministry, we will have a very strong participation in COP31 with 5 main events and more than 30 side events. Our pioneering approach, which centers on water, is closely followed and taken as an example by many countries. In this context, we will hold a Round Table with the participation of international organizations and guest Ministers "At the meeting, we will officially introduce the Turquoise Connectivity Initiative (TNI). With this vision based on water, energy, food and ecosystem connectivity, we will present a global model that addresses crises as a whole and produces solutions."
Minister Yumaklı stated that food safety, protection of rural supply chains and zero waste targets are among the topics that will be discussed at the highest level at the summit and said:
"In this context, we will host the international launch of the report 'Rural Supply Chains Under Pressure: Integrated Solutions for Food Security and Resilience' prepared in cooperation with IFAD. We will share with the world public integrated solution models that will increase the resilience of rural communities against climate and market shocks. We will transform our deep-rooted experience in preventing food waste into a global action plan that will spread all over the world. With the Regional Center of Excellence to be established, Türkiye will keep food waste data, provide policy and measurement guidance. "In order to strengthen the role of women and young farmers in agriculture, we will activate international dialogue mechanisms in Antalya with the 'High Level Women Farmers Dialogue' and 'High Level Young Farmers Dialogue' events. We will lead the Integrated Fire Management High Level Dialogue within the scope of the global fight against forest fires. We will once again announce our country's global leadership in sustainable agriculture, water and forest management to the whole world with our solution-oriented agriculture diplomacy at COP31."
