International Day of Forests – 21st March
International Day of Forests – 21st March
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests in 2012 to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. Countries are encouraged to undertake local, national and international efforts to organize activities involving forests and trees, such as tree planting campaigns.The organizers are the United Nations Forum on Forests and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with Governments, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and other relevant organizations in the field.
Forests cover one-third of the Earth’s landmass, performing vital functions around the world. Around 1.6 billion people – including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures – depend on forests for their livelihoods, medicines, fuel, food and shelter. Forests are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on land, home to more than 80% of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects. Yet, despite all of these priceless ecological, economic, social and health benefits, global deforestation continues.
As a global hub for environmental governance, Geneva and the organizations it hosts, plays a role in the protection of forests globally.The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) indicates in its 2022 Report “The State of the World’s Forests” that the total forest area is 4.06 billion hectares, covering 31 percent of the Earth’s land surface, not equally distributed around the globe.The area is shrinking despite efforts to halt deforestation and restore degraded lands, with 420 million ha of forest lost through deforestation between 1990 and 2020. Some 47 million ha of primary forests was lost between 2000 and 2020.Forests occur in the four major climatic domains (boreal, temperate, subtropical and tropical).More than half of the world’s forests are found in only five countries (the Russian Federation, Brazil, Canada, the United States of America and China) and two-thirds (66 percent) of forests are found in ten countries.
The theme for 2023 is ‘Forests and health’. Forests give us so much to our health. They purify the water, clean the air, capture carbon to fight climate change, provide food and life-saving medicines, and improve our well-being. It’s up to us to safeguard these precious natural resources.This 2023 calls for giving, not just taking, because healthy forests will bring healthy people.
– Source: Internet –