100 trees chopped down for winter games
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 30, 2009 00:00
ERZURUM - To make way for five ski-jumps, local forestry department officials cut down 100 pine trees yesterday in the Kiremitli region of the mountainous Erzurum province in preparation for the UNIVERSIAD 2011 World University Winter Games.
While the governor, Sami Bulut, said they had no other option, the Turkish Foundation for Reforestation, Protection of Natural Habitats and Combating Soil Erosion, or TEMA’s, representative, Işıl Bedirhanoğlu, said those who had done nothing for three years had started their projects by cutting down trees.
An architect from the Youth and Sports Department said Universiad officials would be visiting the region in March and that they had to see the region cleared of all trees. The Forestry Department’s Erzurum branch Deputy Director Bekir Celal said they wanted to remove the trees and plant them somewhere else but the slope prevented any vehicles from accessing the area.
The local Youth and Sports Department Director Fatih Çintimar described the tree felling as normal for the preparation of a sports complex.
Governor Bulut said they replanted some trees elsewhere last year but none of them took root because they were too mature. "This doesn’t mean we will destroy the forest. Only in Erzurum, we planted 4 million trees last year. We had to do this for the 2011 Universiad games," he said.
TEMA’s Bedirhanoğlu cited a previous decision to uproot the trees and plant them elsewhere, adding: "I will not allow any more trees to be cut down. Some one has to put a stop to this. They argue that the trees here cannot be removed and planted somewhere else. That just doesn’t make sense." The Kiremitli region is located between the ski resort of Palandöken and the Erzurum University Campus.
An architect from the Youth and Sports Department said Universiad officials would be visiting the region in March and that they had to see the region cleared of all trees. The Forestry Department’s Erzurum branch Deputy Director Bekir Celal said they wanted to remove the trees and plant them somewhere else but the slope prevented any vehicles from accessing the area.
The local Youth and Sports Department Director Fatih Çintimar described the tree felling as normal for the preparation of a sports complex.
Governor Bulut said they replanted some trees elsewhere last year but none of them took root because they were too mature. "This doesn’t mean we will destroy the forest. Only in Erzurum, we planted 4 million trees last year. We had to do this for the 2011 Universiad games," he said.
TEMA’s Bedirhanoğlu cited a previous decision to uproot the trees and plant them elsewhere, adding: "I will not allow any more trees to be cut down. Some one has to put a stop to this. They argue that the trees here cannot be removed and planted somewhere else. That just doesn’t make sense." The Kiremitli region is located between the ski resort of Palandöken and the Erzurum University Campus.