The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry provides trainings for students in schools in order to ensure the efficient use of water and sustainability, which becomes more important with global warming.
Within the scope of the “Water Efficiency Mobilization” initiated by the Ministry's General Directorate of Water Management under the auspices of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wife, Emine Erdoğan, water efficiency trainings are held at schools. In schools visited by ministry experts, trainings are held for students and teachers to create a culture of water efficiency and turn water efficiency awareness into a lifestyle.
Education activities were first started on March 22, 2023 in a primary school in Kayseri, within the scope of World Water Day activities. Within the scope of the training activities, a total of 850 students and teachers came together in the provinces of Yalova, Kocaeli, Sakarya, Konya, Aksaray and Afyonkarahisar, respectively.
In these schools, theoretical and practical trainings and activities were organized by experts for 3rd and 4th grade students.
In the training activities, informative presentations on the importance of water resources, conscious use of water and water conservation, and educational videos on water efficiency were made.
In addition, aerators were installed on faucets in schools as an auxiliary equipment in ensuring efficient use of water. In order to raise awareness about the efficient and sustainable management of water resources, educational documents and materials such as informative brochures and water resources maps were presented to the students.
The 'Training Truck', which is prepared to be used in water efficiency mobilization activities in cooperation with the General Directorate of Water Management, General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, and the Department of Education and Publication, also affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, is also sent to the provinces. In the schools where education is given, visual studies are carried out by experts for the efficient use of water resources, with informative videos for students and a model of the basin in which the water cycle is depicted.
Theoretical and practical training activities carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education and school visits will continue in other provinces.
WATER EFFICIENCY MOVEMENT
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry launched a “Water Efficiency Campaign” in order to use water efficiently in all areas, especially for urban, agricultural, industrial and individual uses, to ensure its sustainability, to raise awareness of water efficiency among water users from all walks of life, and to leave a legacy for future generations.
As part of the mobilization, a Water Efficiency Mobilization Promotion Meeting was held on January 31, 2023, at the Presidential Complex, under the auspices of Emine Erdoğan, with the participation of agricultural, municipal, industrial and household water users, and the strategies to be implemented for taking action on water efficiency on a national scale were announced to the public.
In addition, the “Water Efficiency Strategy Document and Action Plan within the Framework of Adaptation to the Changing Climate (2023-2033)”, which was prepared within the scope of the National Water Efficiency Mobilization and which is a roadmap on water efficiency for all sectors and stakeholders operating in the country, was published in the Official Gazette on May 4, 2023. was published and entered into force.
Kirişci: “We do not tolerate the waste of even a single drop of our water resources”
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Prof. Dr. Vahit Kirişci stated that the efficient use of water is a national and even a global issue and emphasized that education and awareness activities are of great importance in order to raise awareness of future generations on the protection of water resources.
Pointing out that a more livable world can be left to children, starting from today, for water efficiency, Kirişci said, “It is predicted that it is possible to save up to 25 percent in the use of clean fresh water resources. We can eliminate the negative impact on water resources due to the changing climate with efficiency practices. We do not tolerate the waste of even a single drop of our country's water resources. For this reason, it is vital that we raise awareness of water and the environment for our children, who are the guarantee of our future. I believe that educational activities in schools will contribute significantly to the formation of this awareness.” used the phrases.