The International Year of Forests was officially launched today (2 February 2011) at the General Assembly Hall in New York.
Following on from the success of the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010, the years theme is ‘Forests for People’, in celebration of the central role that humans play in sustaining the forests that are so vital to their interests and survival.
Forests are of great importance to the global economy
More than 1.6 billion people worldwide depend on forests for their livelihoods in some way, with forest industries turning over US$200 billion annually.
30 percent of the world’s forests – 1.2 billion hectares – are used primarily for the production of wood, including harvested timber, deadwood, bark, cork, fuel wood and charcoal, and non-wood products such as latex, honey, rubber, gum, nuts, berries and fruits. In addition, around 1 billion people depend on medicines derived from forest plants.
Forests play essential roles in ecological processes
Forests conserve soil and water, reduce the risk of flooding and erosion and are important in the control of avalanches, desertification and coastal protection. Forests are continually removing CO2 from the atmosphere, storing as much as 650 billion tonnes of carbon annually.
Forests are also home to nearly 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.
Lucy Emerton, who worked on this latest IUCN report, says that governments are missing critical opportunities to invest in stimulating economic growth, sustainable development and poverty reduction.
The report, launched today as part of the International Year of Forests official opening in New York, aims to show the global economic impact of forests if they are managed and controlled by the people who live in and around them.
Find out more about the International Year of Forests.
Helen Roddis, ARKive Species Text Author