Heading to Turkey where a nature lover managed to create a forest in an inhospitable area, by planting trees for four decades.
It is with pride that Hikmet Kaya looks at the fruit of his labor today!
This Turkish ranger, now retired, has helped to create a veritable forest on what was once barren soil.
With the support of some of his colleagues and local residents, he has planted no less than 30 million trees in the Sinop region since 1978. And when you look at what the land looked like when he started this vast undertaking, one wonders how this brave man succeeded.
Retired since 1997, he was able to appreciate the change and saw these trees grow into a lush forest.
44 years after the launch of this somewhat crazy project, he now poses proudly in front of this ocean of greenery, which contrasts with the aridity of yesteryear.
A real feat when you know that Turkey has suffered deforestation for years. Thus, between 2000 and 2022, the country lost 5.4% of its forest area, according to data collected by the Global Forest Watch website .
Planting new trees is a sustainable solution to counterbalance this phenomenon and the example of Hikmet Kaya reminds us that this is not a utopia.
In the space of 40 years, this man has indeed managed to sow a real forest on a land that is nevertheless hostile.
There is no doubt that his work, which is not yet complete, will be emulated.
