An ex-forest management chief of the Forestry Operations Department in northern Turkey has transformed a barren land into a lush green forest with the help of local residents. Hikmet Kaya began his career in the Boyabat district of Sinop province of Turkey in 1978 and is known for his afforestation endeavours.
Throughout his tenure as a forest management chief, he along with his team planted over 30 million saplings with the help of villagers.
These trees continued to grow after his retirement and today the region has witnessed an amazing transformation. Hikmat never stopped working during his 25 years of service to accomplish this mission, according to Anadolu Agency (AA), a state run news Agency of Turkey.
Kaya said that he feels happy to turn these areas into forests through his hard work. While appreciating the help from the villagers Kaya said that he devoted himself to planting saplings during his tenure as the forest management chief and the transformation of the area has been his biggest source of price, reported AA.
According to the Global Forest Watch, an application that keeps track of global forests in real-time, the green cover in Turkey has decreased by 5.4 per cent since 2000.
In India also, last year a tribesman from Assam, Jadav Payeng came into the spotlight as a reforestation hero who single-handedly grew a forest, spanning 1360 acres in the Jorhat district of the state.
Payeng was informed about his significant achievement in an exclusive conversation with News18.com last year. The man is also frequently credited for creating the largest man-made forest on Majuli Island in Assam.
What’s surprising is that his endeavour was unknown even to the forest department of Assam till 2008. The forest officials only realised the existence of the forest after locals complained that elephants from the forest had damaged their homes and crops.
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