President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated, "On the one hand, we are fighting against the coronavirus pandemic, which is one of the biggest health crises of the last century; on the other hand, we are trying to manage the negative effects of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic, beyond being a health problem, is one of the consequences of the deterioration of the ecosystem."
President Erdoğan sent a video message to the Summit on Biodiversity held on the sidelines of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly.
Noting that we, as humanity, were going through a difficult and painful period on a global scale, Erdoğan said, "On the one hand, we are fighting against the coronavirus pandemic, which is one of the biggest health crises of the last century; on the other hand, we are trying to manage the negative effects of the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic, beyond being a health problem, is one of the consequences of the deterioration of the ecosystem."
Underlining the fact that the pandemic had also shown us the importance of protecting biodiversity and leaving a healthy and clean world for future generations, Erdoğan noted, “Nature, in which we pursue our lives, is not a legacy from our ancestors to us, but our legacy to our children. I believe that after the pandemic, humanity will draw the necessary lessons in this regard, along with achieving economic and social justice.”
Located on three different climate zones and three biogeographical areas, Turkey enjoys a rich diversity of natural habitats, Erdoğan said and added that Turkey was at the crossroads of not only continents and cultures but also of climates.
Indicating that with the steps taken in recent years, they further strengthened this wealth, President Erdoğan said they made significant investments to increase the forest area and tree heritage of Turkey, to improve biodiversity and to protect the environment.
"We are at the forefront in the fight against climate change"
Noting that with the Ancestral Seed Project, they had put under protection the plant varieties that constituted the country's gene resources, Erdoğan said, “By planting more than 4.5 billion saplings, we have increased our forest assets from 20.8 million hectares to 23 million hectares. Although we have an almost negligible historical responsibility, we are at the forefront in the fight against climate change. We also support global efforts for the conservation, sustainable use, and restoration of biodiversity.”
Stating that the next ten years would determine the fate of humanity, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continued as follows:
"In order for the Sustainable Development Goals to become real, we need innovative, effective and practical projects for the conservation of biodiversity. I believe that the Global Biodiversity Framework, which we are currently working on, will constitute a roadmap which includes effective and action-oriented targets in the process leading up to 2050.
We should never consider the conservation of biodiversity and its contribution to the economy as short-term goals. By raising awareness in all economic sectors, we should encourage the private sector to make investments in this field and transform the problems we are faced with into opportunities.
Turkey, which will host in 2022 the 16th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and assume its term presidency for two-years, will play a leading role in taking the necessary steps for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in this process. With these thoughts, I wish this Summit success and I respectfully greet everyone once again.”