By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA

Turkey is a "world leader" in the fight against erosion and in increasing forest lands, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

"Turkey is a world leader in the fight against erosion and one of the rare countries that increases forest lands," Erdogan said at a tree planting event in capital Ankara.

Erdogan said Turkey planted 4.7 billion saplings in the last 16 years, adding: "We want to increase this number to 7 billion."

He added that Turkey gives priority to projects that aim to prevent pollution and waste and raise environmental awareness.

"We give priority to renewable energy resources. We cannot reach a more green and clean Turkey by just planting saplings," Erdogan said.