TEMA reports on World Day to Combat Desertification

On 17^th of June, World Day to Combat Desertification (WDCD) Dr. Hikmet Öztürk, Department Head of Forests and Rural Development in TEMA Foundation attended EXPO 2016 to give a presentation on Desertification and Land degradation.

EXPO is an international event held to educating the public, share innovations, promote advancement and support cooperation. As the 2016 host the Turkish government invited other countries along with international organizations, private sector actors, non-governmental organizations and the public. On 17 June WDCD, Dr. Öztürk took part in the organization representing TEMA, to provide insights on causes and effects of desertification and to present what TEMA does in this regard. In this sense, the presentation included what TEMA does to raise public awareness about desertification and land degradation, further information about TEMA’s educational programs and advocacy activities. Young people, as the event’s main target audience, were informed about how they can take part in TEMA’s activities to combat desertification.

On 17 June, TEMA also published a WDCD Press Release titled “Protect Earth, Diminish Footprint”. The release invited the public to take protective action to restore degraded land by reconsidering and revising their consumption habits. Emphasizing the importance of individual actions the press release underlined the reciprocal relationship between land degradation and sociopolitical issues. Please view TEMA’s WDCD Press Release here (in Turkish).