Türkiye Climate Resilient Forests Project

active

Prospective

The project will support the Government of Turkiye in strengthening resilience against wildfires which are becoming more frequent and severe under climate change. The project seeks to increase institutional capacities for addressing the risk of large damaging wildfires that are on the rise due to demographic, landscape and climate changes. Institutional coordination for managing large wildfires in Turkiye is not fully established as identified during the 2021 forest fires. Other constraints exposed by the 2021 wildfires included the need for increased focus on risk reduction by addressing insufficient fuel management and buffer zone establishment, and the need to increase public awareness and local capacities for wildfire management. The project will contribute to climate resilient forests using a balanced approach between wildfire suppression and prevention (e.g., fuel management, buffer zones, access roads, together with equipment and technology), improved coordination for wildfires and appropriately skilled workforce capacity, along with restoration and risk reduction interventions that enhance local livelihoods and income generation. The project will apply the 5R principles of Integrated Fire Management (Review and Analysis, Readiness, Risk Reduction, Response, Recovery) as a framework for addressing the institutional, planning, and operational constraints for managing the increasing risk of large wildfires, through a coordinated set of Components aimed at: (i) increasing knowledge and technology on IFM through Review & Analysis; (ii) increasing Readiness for IFM through institutional coordination and capacity building; (iii) scaling-up wildfire Risk Reduction; (iv) strengthening operational systems for Response; and (v) resilient Recovery of landscapes and livelihoods affected by wildfires. These actions are expected to strengthen IFM at the national level and in targeted areas and increase resilience of the forests and rural communities to wildfires. These intermediate outcomes will help reduce Turkiye’s vulnerability to forest fires and climate change impacts, conserve and enhance forest carbon stocks, and protect and support the well-being and livelihoods of the rural population. The proposed project is well-aligned with the FY18-21 World Bank country partnership framework (CPF) for Turkiye (Report No. 11096-TR; discussed on August 29, 2017) that was extended through the Program and Learning Review (PLR) (Report No. 14253-TR; discussed on March 12, 2020) to cover the FY22-23 period. The proposed project is particularly well-aligned with the focus area of sustainability, and more specifically the CPF objectives of “increased sustainability of infrastructure assets and natural capital” and “increased sustainability and resilience of cities”.

FY17 - Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry

World Bank Group

Project

Road, Automotive, Commercial, Raw Materials, Government