World leaders to plant olive saplings at COP31 on Türkiye’s National Afforestation Day

World leaders will plant olive saplings at the COP31 climate summit in Türkiye on Nov. 11 to mark National Afforestation Day, while new peace forests will be established across the country's 81 provinces, a senior forestry official said.

Bekir Karacabey, director general of forestry, told Anadolu that National Afforestation Day was declared by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2019 and that hundreds of millions of saplings have been planted across Türkiye since then.

Karacabey said this year's events will be held under the slogan "Breath for the Future, Peace for the World," noting that the occasion carries special significance as it coincides with the 31st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31).

"On Nov. 11, our president, together with the UN secretary-general and the Australian prime minister, will plant olive saplings at the COP venue," he said.

"The peace forests to be established in all 81 provinces will mark the first step toward creating carbon sink forests," he added.