International forest day: when is it and why it is celebrated

He March 21 International forest day, proclaimed in the United Nations General Assembly. Officially, 2013 was the first year in carrying out. Year after year, a motto for its celebration is chosen: by 2023, the theme to address was “Forests and Health”, in 2024 was “Forests and Innovation: New solutions for a better world” and in 2025 it will be “Forests and food”. Technology has revolutionized forest control and monitoring systems, which allows different countries of the world to monitor forests that lie in their territory and fight threats such as deforestation and fires. Every year, millions of hectares of forest are lost and it is for this reason that early detection systems are essential for their protection and conservation.

International forest day, is celebrated with the aim of generate awareness about the fundamental role they play These environments and how essential it is keep all forest areas that make up the Earth Biosphereas well as the species that inhabit these ecosystems. Also, not only fauna and flora depend on forests for survival, but around 1.6 billion people around the world depend on them for their livelihood.

Thanks to the celebration of this day, the United Nations forum for Forests (UNFF), the United Nations Food and Agriculture (FAO) and the Association of Collaboration in Forests (ACB), seek to facilitate the application of agreements in relation to forests, Promote international cooperationgenerate greater commitment and participation of countries in creating comprehensive programs and campaigns for conservation, care and Forest protection and their biodiversity.

Each year that is celebrated on the International Forest Day, is encouraged to different countries around the world to adopt initiatives at local, national and international level, promoting the organization of forest -related activities. Here are some ideas on how to celebrate the International Forest Day:

• Participate in afforestation and reforestation campaigns such as those that foster urban trees. Here you can read about what reforestation and its importance are.
• Find out about the importance of forests Through participation in workshops, observation of films or documentaries, reading books or internet articles.
• Promotes the conservation and protection of forests through the Dissemination of images, videos or information In social networks.
• Plan a visit to a forest close to discover its importance and biodiversity that houses.

• They are the main carbon sinks and mitigate climate change: Forests capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in vegetation and soil, hence its importance in mitigating climate change. The mechanism through which forests set atmospheric CO2 that is then incorporated into metabolic processes, is photosynthesis. Likewise, when the leaves and/or branches of the trees fall to the ground, they provide organic matter, or also when the tree dies, its components are gradually degraded and gradually incorporated forming humus that contributes again CO2 to the environment. According to the fifth IPCC evaluation report (intergovernmental panel on climate change), the amount of carbon present in the living biomass of the global vegetation varies between 450 and 650 gigatons. In addition, the soils present in the forests are also able to store a large amount of carbon (between 1,500 and 2,400 GT).
• They cushion the temperature and regulate the weather: processes such as the absorption of solar radiation and evapotranspiration by the vegetation that constitutes forests, generate exchanges of energy and relative humidity that reduce temperature. This, added to other factors such as the absence of air movements, helps stabilize the temperature and maintains a large percentage of moisture, creating a very different microclimate than its surroundings.
• They prevent floods and avoid soil water erosion: Forests prevent and decrease the risk of flooding because they retain and infiltrate a large percentage of water. In addition, the interceptive vegetation coverage part of the rain and reduces the impact of the water drop on the ground. During extreme precipitation events, superficial runoff is lower in forests than for example, in areas without vegetation coverage. Likewise, the developed radical systems of the vegetation present in the forests avoid the water erosion of the soil and the landslides through sediment retention.
• Avoid epidemics caused by zoonotic diseases: At the global level, the greatest amount of diseases that have caused epidemics in recent decades are of zoonotic origin, and many are linked to deforestation and forest degradation. A clear example occurs in the Amazon, since thanks to various studies, there is evidence that forest disturbance is linked to the prevalence of Arbovirus, Candida Auris, Chagas, yellow fever, hantavirus, malaria, anger and other diseases.
• They make up biodiversity shelters: Forests make up a conducive habitat for numerous species of flora and fauna. They make up complex interaction networks and provide food, refuge and support for many species. Biodiversity offers alternatives to changes, resilience capacity and, ultimately, evolutionary capacity.
• They have positive effects on human health: There are a lot of indications that contact with natural environments, such as forests, has positive effects on physical and mental health of humans, particularly in urban areas. In this other post you can read about the interesting theme of the forest bath: what is and how it is done.
• They provide numerous supply services to human beings: The great diversity of plants, animals and microorganisms that house forests, offers a wide range of food, energy sources, construction materials and medicines, among many other supply services.

Forests fulfill a fundamental role in mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The future climatic scenarios evaluated by the IPPC, show that to avoid catastrophic events, it will be fundamental Capture huge amounts of atmospheric carbon and store it safely.

Currently, forests are a huge natural and effective mechanism for carbon capture and storage available on a large scale, so their protection is fundamental. Forest reforestation, management and conservationare some of the most feasible options we have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This will lead to greater food security, safe water supply, less diseases, lower soil erosion, among many other ecosystem services.

If you liked to know all this about when it is and why it is important to celebrate the International Forest Day, we encourage you to not miss these other ecology articles about the types of forests and the benefits of trees.

If you want to read more articles similar to International forest day: when is it and why it is celebratedwe recommend that you enter our category of ecosystems.