It's International Day of Forests 🌳

 Photo credit: Artem Saranin from Pexels

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed this day to raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests.   

Did you know?

• Forests are home to 80% terrestrial species, with more than 600,000 tree species.
• Over 1.6 billion of the world’s population depend on the forest for energy, food, shelter and water.
• Ten million hectares of forests are lost every year.

Photo credit: Alexey Demidov 

Many aspects of our lives are linked to the forests, and our livelihoods depend highly on nature. 

Deforestation and severe forest degradation are the main reasons the world is losing forests for agriculture, unsustainable forest management, intense and increased forest incidences. Human impacts have led to a 40% loss of forests.

Photo credit: Mathew Montrone from Pexels 

Here are five reasons why we lose forests:

• Urbanisation is the permanent conversion of forests to urban cities and towns or urban infrastructure like roads.
• Commodity-driven deforestation is the permanent conversion of forests for other land uses such as mining or agriculture.
•  Forestry production - use of planted forests for timber, pulp and paper. These forests are logged periodically and might be allowed to grow.
• Wildfires destroy forests temporarily. However, if the land is left, the forests regrow and take back its growth.
• Shifting agriculture - cutting down forests for farming use which is later abandoned, and the farmers move to another piece of land.

Sustainable management of forests helps combat climate change, and contribute to the prosperity and wellbeing of current and future generations. Forests play a vital role in poverty alleviation and achieving the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) goals. They contribute to ecological, economic, social and health benefits. Additionally, It is essential to produce and consume forests in a more eco-friendly way for the planet and its inhabitants. 

Photo credit: Marcel Kodama from Pexels

We can’t underestimate the importance of forests, and we depend on forests to survive. Protecting and restoring forests has never been more urgent.  

March 21, 2022 2 min read