Turkey spent only fraction of forest protection budget before wildfires erupted
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Turkey's state forestry agency said that in the first half, it spent less than 2% of the 200 million lira ($24 million) it had set aside this year for construction, projects and equipment used to fight forest fires.
In contrast, Portugal budgeted 224 million euros ($265 million) to prevent and combat forest fires this year, and Spain's central government budgeted 65 million euros.
While countries may measure allocations differently, opposition politicians said the data published by Turkey's General Directorate of Forestry (OGM) showed Erdogan's government disregarded a predictable danger.
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The government has blamed the lack of resources on the Turkish Aeronautical Association (THK), saying it failed to maintain a fleet of firefighting planes despite generous funding.
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