International Day of Forests

The United Nations has declared March 21 as the annual International Day of Forests.  The day has been celebrated since 2013.  An accompanying celebration called World Wood Day (not associated with the UN) occurs on the same day.

Forests, of course, are part of a sustainable earth.  About one-third of the earth’s land area is covered in forests (and the U.S. has about the same percentage of its land in forests).  More than 1.6 billion people—about 20% of the world’s population—rely directly on forests for their food, fuel, housing, medicine and jobs.  Included in that are 2,000 indigenous cultures.

Forests are biodiversity treasures.  About 80% of the earth’s terrestrial biodiversity lives in forests, a much higher concentration than any other terrestrial ecosystem.  Forests also serve as the lungs for the planet, breathing in carbon dioxide and breathing out oxygen.  They are enormous sinks for storing the greenhouse gases that modern human life emits into the atmosphere.  Through their metabolic activities, including evapotranspiration, forests drive the global climate system, directing wind and precipitation patterns.

The fish-bone pattern of deforestation in the Amazon (image by NASA)

Nonetheless, forests continue to decline in area across much of the earth.  About 14 million net acres of forest are lost annually, converted mostly to agriculture but also to urbanization and other human-related uses.  Almost all net forest loss occurs in tropical and sub-tropical regions, while forest area is actually increasing across North America and Europe (total forest area in the U.S. hasn’t declined in about 80 years).  The good news is that the rate of deforestation has slowed greatly over the last 25 years, and continues to drop annually.  In Brazil, for example, which had been a major location for forest loss, the rate is now near zero.

To say that forests and their products are important to human civilization is almost unnecessary.  Each day, people use massive amounts of forest products, including wood, paper and other biological resources, in every aspect of life.  World Wood Day goes on to recognize the cultural importance of wood and forests as well—wood is valued as art, for musical instruments, in architecture and elsewhere.  It is an eco-friendly product and, as the World Wood Day program emphasizes, “Wood is good!”

Photo by Larry Nielsen

The UN decided to celebrate the goodness of forests, trees and their many values by creating the International Day of Forests in a December, 2012, resolution.  Each year features a new theme; for 2023, the theme is “Forests and Health.”  As the official website for the day states, “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.”

So, as spring begins, so does a new year of life in forests and trees wherever they grow.  On March 21, say thanks to the forest—and go ahead, hug a tree!

References:

Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.  2016.  Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015—How are the world’s forest changing?  Second Edition.  Available at:  http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4793e.pdf.  Accessed March 19, 2018.

United Nations.  International Day of Forests, March 21.  Available at:  http://www.un.org/en/events/forestsday/index.shtml.  Accessed February 21, 2023.

World Wood Day Foundation.  About World Wood Day.  Available at:  http://www.worldwoodday.org/about.  Accessed March 19, 2018.

This Month in Conservation

February 1
Afobaka Dam and Operation Gwamba (1964)
February 2
Groundhog Day
February 3
Spencer Fullerton Baird, First U.S. Fish Commissioner, Born (1823)
February 3
George Adamson, African Lion Rehabilitator, Born (1906)
February 4
Congress Overrides President Reagan’s Veto of Clean Water Act (1987)
February 5
National Wildlife Federation Created (1936)
February 6
Colin Murdoch, Inventor of the Tranquilizer Gun, Born (1929)
February 7
Karl August Mobius, Ecology Pioneer, Born (1825)
February 8
President Johnson Addresses Congress about Conservation (1965)
February 8
Lisa Perez Jackson, Environmental Leader, Born (1982)
February 9
U.S. Fish Commission Created (1871)
February 10
Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet, born (1944)
February 11
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
February 12
Judge Boldt Affirms Native American Fishing Rights (1974)
February 13
Thomas Malthus Born (1766)
February 14
Nature’s Faithful Lovers
February 15
Complete Human Genome Published (2001)
February 16
Kyoto Protocol, Controlling Greenhouse-Gas Emissions, Begins (2005)
February 16
Alvaro Ugalde, Father of Costa Rica’s National Parks, Born (1946)
February 17
Sombath Somphone, Laotian Environmentalist, Born (1952)
February 17
R. A. Fischer, Statistician, Born (1890)
February 18
World Pangolin Day
February 18
Julia Butterfly Hill, Tree-Sitter, Born (1974)
February 19
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Established (1962)
February 20
Ansel Adams, Nature Photographer, Born (1902)
February 21
Carolina Parakeet Goes Extinct (1918)
February 22
Nile Day
February 23
Italy’s Largest Inland Oil Spill (2010)
February 24
Joseph Banks, British Botanist, Born (1743)
February 25
First Federal Timber Act Passed (1799)
February 26
Four National Parks Established (1917-1929)
February 27
International Polar Bear Day
February 28
Watson and Crick Discover The Double Helix (1953)
February 29
Nature’s Famous Leapers
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