Turkish president marks World Environment Day

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday marked World Environment Day, highlighting the importance of global efforts to resolve environmental problems.

“Humanity today strives for a greener and more liveable world where sustainable use of resources is adopted, biodiversity is preserved, hunger and poverty are minimized, and environmental pollution is prevented," Erdogan said in a statement ahead of the day.

Stressing the solution of environmental problems requires the cooperation of all countries at the global scale and the implementation of long-term policies through joint efforts, he stated that Turkey fulfills its responsibility on environmental problems as part of international agreements.

He went on to say that Turkey has made "significant progress" toward waste management, climate-friendly technology, use of energy resources as well as improving water and soil quality across the country.

"With the knowledge that only afforestation is not enough to have a greener, cleaner country, we also prioritize works that will prevent environmental pollution, waste, based on planned urbanization and spread environmental awareness to our people," he added.

Erdogan also urged the nation to be sensitive to the protection of nature as well as to take individual measures in this regard, on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Organized by the UN Environment Program, World Environment Day is celebrated annually on June 5 in over 100 countries, to encourage global awareness and action for the protection of the environment.

The theme of this year's day is "Time for Nature" which focuses on the role of nature in providing the key infrastructure that supports sustainable life on the planet.