Most of 11m trees planted in Turkish project 'may be dead'

Up to 90% of the millions of saplings planted in Turkey as part of a recordbreaking mass planting project may have died after just a few months, according to the country’s agriculture and forestry trade union.

On 11 November last year, which the government declared National Forestation Day, 11 million trees were planted by volunteers in more than 2,000 sites across the country, including by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and the parliament Speaker,

Mustafa Şentop.

The government-backed programme broke the world record for the most trees planted in one hour in a single location, with 303,150 saplings planted in the northern Anatolian city of Çorum.

The head of the union claimed, however, that 90% of the saplings his teams have inspected so far have died because of insufficient water. Speaking to the Guardian, Şükrü Durmuş attributed the deaths to the saplings being planted at “the wrong time” and “not by experts”, as well as a lack of rainfall.

Durmuş said the union has carried out research in six of Turkey’s 81 provinces, and further investigations are planned.

The ministry of agriculture and forestry denied the claim and said that “as of today, 95% of the more than

11 million saplings planted are healthy and continuing to grow”.

The union cast doubt on the government’s claims. “Even with normal time and preparation, the success rate is between 65 and 70%,” said

Durmuş. “The 95% rate given by the ministry is never true.”

The dispute adds to the global debate about mass tree-planting, with critics pointing out the sometimes poor survival rate of mass-planted saplings, and the use of such projects to “greenwash” states and companies with otherwise poor environmental records.

Both trees and the wider environment have emerged as particularly prominent in Turkish politics over the past few years, most notably during the months-long protests sparked by the government plan to redevelop Istanbul’s Gezi Park.

Erdoğan has declared that National Reforestation Day will be repeated every 11 November.

The ruling AK party claims it has planted more than 4.5bn saplings in its 17 years in power. However, its environmental policies continue to attract criticism, most recently over the razing of forests to build Istanbul’s new airport, and over plans to create a 45km (28mile) canal to divert shipping traffic from the Bosphorus.