The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests.

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FORESTS

Key messages

Forests and air

• Over 40 percent of the world's oxygen is produced from the rainforests. 
• Forests contribute to the balance of oxygen, carbon dioxide and humidity in the air.

Forests and water

• A tree releases 8-10 times more moisture into the atmosphere than the equivalent area of the ocean.
• Forests protect watersheds which supply fresh water to rivers.
• Loss of forests could affect rainfall patterns globally, especially in food growing regions in Latin America, the American mid-West and Central Asia. 
• Deforestation leads to soil erosion and rivers being silted, which reduces access to clean water.

Forests and biodiversity

• Forests are home to over 80% of terrestrial biodiversity. 
• In the Amazon basin alone, more than 1,300 species of forest plants are used for medicinal or cultural purposes.
• 12% of the world’s forests are designated for the conservation of biological diversity (FRA 2010).
• Deforestation of closed tropical rainforests could account for the loss of as many as 100 species a day.

Forests build resilience to natural disasters 

• Nearly 330 million hectares of forest are designated for soil and water conservation, avalanche control, sand dune stabilization, desertification control or coastal protection. (FRA 2010)
• Mangrove forests act as a barrier against tsunamis, cyclones and hurricanes.

• ‘Green Wall for the Sahara’ The European Union and African Union are implementing a project to build a ‘green wall’ of trees across the Sahara to push back desertification and to secure agriculture and livelihoods in the sahelo-saharan zone.

Forests and land

• Forests cover 31% of global land area
• Forests and tree cover combat land degradation and desertification by stabilizing soils, reducing water and wind erosion and maintaining nutrient cycling in soils.

Forests are a key part of the climate change solution

• The carbon in forests exceeds the amount of carbon currently in the atmosphere.  FRA 2010 estimates that the world’s forests store 289 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon in their biomass alone.
• 17.4% of global greenhouse gas emission resulted from deforestation and forest degradation.
• Forests offer the quickest, most cost-effective and largest means of curbing global emissions. It would save the world approximately $3.7 trillion between 2010 and 2200 if we halve greenhouse gas emissions (The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, 2006).
   

Healthy forests, healthy people

• Tropical forests provide a vast array of medicinal plants used in healing and healthcare, worth an estimated $108 billion a year.  
• More than a quarter of modern medicines originate from tropical forest plants.
• Forests curb infectious diseases. Undisturbed tropical forests can have a moderating effect on insect- and animal-borne disease: 
• 40% of the world’s population lives in malaria infested regions. Heavily deforested areas can see a 300 fold increase in the risk of malaria infection compared to areas of intact forest.
• 72% of emerging infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans come from wildlife as opposed to domesticated animals. Deforested areas increase contact between wildlife and humans and affect pathogen transmission.

Forests are our livelihoods/wealth

• 1.6 billion people around the world depend on forests for their livelihoods and daily subsistence needs.
• The global gross value-added in the forestry sector is US$ 468 billion.
• The global trade in primary wood products is US$ 235 billion.
• Tropical forests provide pollination services to agriculture valued at US$12 billion per year. 
• Given that more than 1 billion hectares of degraded areas throughout the world are suitable for forest landscape restoration, community-based forest management could be woven into other existing rural economic activities.

The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Forests and the forestry sector India

Resources
India's forest cover is estimated to be about 64 million hectares, or 19.5 percent of the country's area, however, the per caput availability of forest land in India is one of the lowest in the world, 0.08 ha, against an average of 0.5 ha for developing countries and 0.64 ha for the world. In qualitative terms, however, the dense forest in almost all the major states has been reduced. Forest degradation is a matter of serious concern.

About 35 million hectares of forests, some 55 percent of the forest area, are affected by fires annually. Other factors leading to forest degradation are transfer of forest lands for other land uses, encroachment on forest lands for agriculture and other purposes, grazing, and pests and diseases.
Products
Forests formally contribute 1.7 percent to India¿s GDP. India produces a range of processed forest (wood and non-wood) products ranging from sawnwood, panel products and wood pulp to bamboo, rattan ware and pine resin. The paper industry produces over 3 million tonnes annually from more than 400 mills (however, the raw material to produce that volume comes substantially from non-wood fibre).

Total industrial wood consumption by wood-based processing industries is about 30 million cubic metres. This, however, accounts only for about 10 percent of total wood consumption; 90 percent is consumed in the form of small timber and fuelwood. An important cause for suboptimal wood use is its relatively low price because of subsidies on wood raw materials and free fuelwood supply.

India is the world¿s largest consumer of fuelwood. The country¿s consumption of fuelwood is about five times higher than what can be sustainably removed from forests, however a large percentage of this fuelwood is grown and managed outside forests. Fuelwood meets about 40 percent of the energy needs of the country. About 70 percent of the fuelwood is used by households and the rest by commercial and industrial units. Around 80 percent of rural people and 48 percent of urban people use fuelwood.

Non-wood forest products (NWFPs), such as latex, gums, resins, essential oils, flavours, fragrances and aroma chemicals, thatching materials and medicinal plants, have great potential to support economic development. It is estimated that 60 percent of NWFP production is consumed locally. Sale of NWFPs accounts for nearly 50 percent of the total revenue from the forestry sector in India. Collection and utilization of NWFPs account for about 2 million person-years, and nearly 400 million people living in and around forests depend on NWFPs for their sustenance and supplemental income. NWFPs provide as much as 50 percent of income to about 30 percent of rural people.

Forestry  policies, institutions and programmes India

The basic objectives of the National Forest Policy, 1988 are:

• maintenance of environmental stability;
• preservation of the remaining natural forests;
• checking soil erosion and in catchment areas to mitigate floods and droughts;
• a substantial increase in forest cover through afforestation and social forestry programmes;
• meeting the fuelwood, fodder, NWFP and small timber needs of the rural population;
• increasing the productivity of forests to meet essential national needs;
• encouraging efficient utilization of forest products and maximizing substitution of wood;
• creation of a people¿s movement, involving women, for achieving these objectives.

India is a leader in community forestry and participatory resource management. The government adopted the mechanism of Joint Forest Management (JFM) in 1990. Its objective is to regenerate and develop degraded forests for environmental needs and to provide fuelwood, fodder, NWFPs and timber to local people living in and around forests. JFM has since been institutionalized by most states, although effective implementation of the approach at the field level has taken root in only a few states.

Biodiversity conservation has been made an integral part of forest conservation. Various conservation measures have been taken to strengthen legislation and eco-development efforts. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and its amendments of 1991 provide the legal framework for conservation of wildlife in the country. The amendment provides protection not only to wild animals and birds, but also to plant species.

Outreach suggestions

You don’t need to be a large organization or have a big budget to engage in outreach activities.  Strategies are as varied as the audiences you target and the messages you want to communicate.  Activities can range from massive publicity campaigns to a talk at a local elementary school or a poster in a storefront window.  

Following are just a few ideas to get you thinking about appropriate outreach alternatives for your organization.

Activities

• Create networks
  Give structure to your contact lists. Build a database of consultants you have worked with, organizations that have similar goals to yours, or journalists who have written about you, and put them all on regular mailing lists.
• Formalize relationships
  Work with what you have already. Consolidate relations with people or organizations with which you have successfully collaborated by making your relationship more official.  Begin an exchange program, collaborate on an annual event, identify an ongoing project that you can cooperate on.
• Forge new partnerships
  Approach an organization with which you have never worked before and explore means of interacting.  Discuss how you can help them reach their goals and how they can help you reach yours.
• Publicise your organization’s mission
  The mission and activities of even the most well known organizations are not always clear to the general public.  Plan events that provide an opportunity to explain the work of your organization and how it contributes to healthier, better managed forests. Publish a newsletter that helps people understand what you do and why.

Target audiences

An important goal is to encourage those working outside forestry sectors to integrate a consideration of forests into their ongoing discussions.  

• Policy makers
  Forestry shouldn’t be discussed in isolation.  The links between forests and other subjects must be underlined. Consider reaching out to policy workers in fields outside of forestry including environmental, developmental, sociological, cultural and economic fields.
• Educators
  Take a look at the curricula of the primary, secondary and tertiary schools around you.  Do they incorporate the study of forests into their teaching?  Offer to match your technical expertise with their experience in teaching to create a class or program covering forest issues.
• Media
  Take the time to study your local media.  How do they get their information? What formats do they prefer?  How long is the typical article or video? Make it easy for media to pick up the information and messages you want to communicate. Don't wait for them to come to you.  Pitch ideas to them when you have something to communicate.
• Children/youth
  Nothing stays with you like things you learn as a child.  Even the briefest exposure to a subject can lead to a lifelong sense of connection.  Think of where children go and what they like to do.  These are good places to plan forest-related activities – a park, a zoo, a camp.
• Businesses Since forests are, if not directly, at least indirectly related to nearly every human endeavor, it is not difficult to trace a line between most any business and forests.  Businesses are interested in promoting a greener profile.  Keep them updated on issues that concern them. Encourage them to integrate forests into their publicity or philanthropic work.
• Nature lovers
  From sports enthusiasts to bird watchers, nature lovers rely heavily on the amenities offered by forests.  Hiking or biking through the wilderness, studying flora or fauna, riding the rapids - any manufacturers or services who support these activities will have an interest in learning more about the roles forests play in our lives and are likely to help spread the word.