FAO transfers Turkey’s forest fire expertise to Central Asian nations

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is sharing Turkey’s forest fire management expertise with Central Asian nations, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, through joint training programs. This South-South cooperation initiative utilizes satellite-based early warning systems and fire behavior analysis provided via the Global Fire Management Center, a partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Ayşegül Selışık, Deputy Representative of the FAO in Turkey, noted that while the number of forest fires in Turkey decreased in 2025, the total area burned increased approximately threefold to 81,473 hectares. This shift indicates changing fire behaviors driven by climate conditions, particularly as the Mediterranean Basin warms faster than the global average.

Human factors accounted for nearly 90% of fires in Turkey last year, with negligence affecting over 40,000 hectares. FAO and UNEP assessments suggest that the frequency of extreme fire events could increase by 30% by mid-century and up to 50% by the end of the century, threatening biodiversity and critical carbon sinks.