Everyone
seems to be aware that we need forests, but we insist on cutting them down or
replacing them with rapid-growth non-native trees. The lessons of flooding and
loss of biodiversity have not been learned. The loss of oxygen and gain in
carbon dioxide are yet to be fully realised. This day is one of the most
important of all the international days because of the reliance that humans and
wildlife place on the natural forest community and today, the individual tree,
too!
Some
kind of scrub or forest still covers 30% of land with 60,000 different tree
species. Up to 70% of plant and animal species live there, meaning we lose 100
every day, as they are destroyed at a daily rate of 10,000 square km per day.
The figures can't describe the misery and the loss. When it comes down to
people themselves, 1.6 billion rely on forests for their livelihood. Tribal
people and others who live completely within forest environments comprise 300
million individuals, among the poorest people on earth.
Timber
industries, agriculture and simple human settlement spread account for most
losses, with mining and other industries also deeply concerned with the losses
we suffer. To recover our carbon, the oxygen we breathe and those magic places
we crave, plant something today. It's spring in the north, so many will find
that activity relatively easy! The UN are doing their bit by arranging their
Special Event on Celebrating Forests for Sustainable Development, even with,
"Women as agents for change for forests and sustainable development."
Let's hope they plant an oak sapling too.
Stephanie Doty
Women's Issues Matter
March 21, 2014
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