Minister Murat Kurum participated in the work of the OECD Environment Ministers' Meeting on the second day of his visit to Paris and explained Turkey's struggle with marine pollution.
Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum participated in the work of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Environment Ministers' Meeting on the second day of his visit to Paris. During the "Benefiting from Policies for Sustainable Ocean Management" session, the Institution explained Turkey's efforts to prevent marine pollution and noted that the Mediterranean is one of the 25 hot spots affected by climate change in a world where more than 180 million people live under pressure.
"Marine Garbage Provincial Action Plans have been prepared in all provinces"
Stating that the amount of protected areas in Turkey has reached 11.91 percent as of today with the goal of being 12 percent of the country's surface area by 2023, the Agency emphasized that protecting the seas is about eliminating land-based sources of pollution. Stating that they are working to reduce marine litter through zero waste movement and waste management activities, the Agency said, "We are carrying out marine garbage provincial action plans in all our provinces in a comprehensive manner. In this context, since 2019, we have collected and disposed of a total of 130 thousand tons of marine garbage from the coast and sea. We will continue our national efforts to prevent marine litter at its source with determination."
Stating that Turkey, as a party to the Barcelona and Bucharest agreements, is ready to take the initiative in developing regional cooperation, it said that they will actively participate in the UN Ocean Conference and The Ocean Conference, which they see as a great opportunity for this.
