Valuing & Protecting our Forests - Supporting World Forestry Day
by Donna Thomson
World Forestry Day has been held on 21 March annually, for over 30 years. It originated out of the desire to create public awareness about the value of our forests. Like Earth Day (see more here), World Forestry Day is held on the Autumnal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere and the Vernal (Spring) Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere.
There are three key areas of information promoted via World Forestry Day regarding our forests, being protection, production and recreation. The goal is to encourage the general population to consider the benefits of forests to the community, such as catchment protection, providing habitat for animals and plants, areas for recreation, education and scientific study, and as a source of many products including timber and honey.
In the forestry industry, great moves have been taken in many places to reduce unnecessary deforestation. Our forests are a great resource for the inhabitants of this planet (both humans and animals), but we need to plan ahead for this resource to remain available in generations to come. Organisations such as the National Association of Forest Industries in Australia work hard to educate the public and ensure the forests are well-managed and used sustainably.
Rapid population growth and, in some instances, economic growth over the past twenty years have led to destruction of rainforests, particularly in Brazil and Indonesia. Encroachment of agriculture into forest areas has resulted in about one billion hectares of forest being cleared due to poverty and the need to grow food, especially in Indonesia and other third world countries. (NAFI)
Peaceful Willow supports worthy causes such as the sustainability of the world's forests, and as such, you can find more information and ways of supporting our forests on our links page.
Otherwise, celebrating World Forestry Day can be as simple as acknowledging the importance of our forests by finding out more information or participating in local activities such as forest walks or testing the quality of watercourses on forest lands.