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Princess Dana Firas of Jordan, who serves as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, praised Türkiye's Zero Waste movement at an international forum in Istanbul.
She called it inspiring and forward-thinking and encouraged other countries in the region to learn from it.
Princess Firas attended the Zero Waste Forum 2026, which was organized by the Zero Waste Foundation.
She told Anadolu Agency (AA) and TRT that one of the forum's most valuable features was how it brought together institutions, governments, and the private sector.
She said Türkiye has taken a leading role in building partnerships and cross-sector collaboration, which she sees as essential for advancing sustainable development goals.
She also believes the country's involvement in the Zero Waste movement reflects a strong link to ancestral knowledge, a tradition of resource stewardship that is now used to address today’s challenges.
Firas said the movement is about more than just waste management. She sees it as a broader change that asks societies to rethink how they consume, produce, and manage natural resources.
She added that the Middle East faces big challenges in this area, and Türkiye's experience provides a practical model that others in the region can follow.
At the forum, Firas highlighted the Global Zero Waste Zones Initiative and suggested expanding it to include heritage cities. She said UNESCO, with its focus on culture and heritage, is a natural partner for developing what she called 'zero-waste heritage cities.'
This idea would connect environmental responsibility directly to the preservation of historic urban sites.
Firas pointed to ancient water management systems built by the Nabataeans in Jordan about 2,000 years ago as evidence that earlier societies had already developed advanced methods of conserving resources.
She said this historical knowledge still offers important lessons for today’s sustainability policies.
Firas also spoke about gender representation in environmental leadership. She said women bring a unique perspective to sustainability discussions.
She supports increasing the number of women in leadership roles in the sector, saying it is essential to building healthier and more sustainable systems.
She also commented on the forum's opening address, saying it clearly explained how the Zero Waste movement uses traditional knowledge to solve modern challenges. She said she fully agrees with this view, and it was one of the reasons she attended the event.
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