World Forest Day
By resolution of the UN General Assembly on 28 November 2012, the date of 21 March of each year is adopted as World Forest Day, many events celebrate and raise slogans to raise awareness about the importance of forests of all kinds and trees outside those forests, for the benefit of current and future generations. Many countries organize numerous local events and activities targeting forests and trees in collaboration with FAO to support and facilitate their implementation.
Forest Overview
Each year more than 13 million hectares (32 million acres) of forest are lost, an area close to England. More importantly, forests play a critical role in climate change, including global warming: deforestation produces between 12 and 18% of the world’s carbon emissions — the equivalent of almost all carbon dioxide from the global transport sector.
Today, forests cover more than 30% of the world’s land and contain more than 60,000 species of trees, many of which have not yet been identified. Forests provide food, fibre, water and medicines to some 1.6 billion of the world’s poorest people, including indigenous peoples with unique cultures.
Sustainable Forest Management
According to( FAO ), Sustainable Forest Management defines “the supervision and use of forests and forestlands in a manner and at a rate that preserves their biodiversity, productivity, regeneration, vitality and ability, now and in the future, to meet relevant environmental, economic and social functions, and not to harm other ecosystems”.
Standards and Indicators
Sustainable forest management standards and indicators are widely used, and many countries issue national reports assessing their progress towards sustainable forest management. There are nine global and regional initiatives on standards and indicators, together involving more than 150 countries. The three most advanced initiatives are the Working Group on Standards and Indicators for The Maintenance and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Northern Forests, also known as the Montreal Process, the Ministerial Conference on Forest Protection in Europe and the International Tropical Timber Organization.
Member States of the same initiative usually agree to report at the same time and use the same indicators.
Within countries, at the level of the management unit, efforts have also been directed at developing local standards and indicators for sustainable forest management. The International Center for Forestry Research, the International Model Forest Network, and researchers at the University of British Columbia have developed tools and techniques to help forest-dependent communities develop their own local standards and indicators. Standards and indicators also form the basis for third-party forest certification programmers, such as the Canadian Standard Standards.
Arab Youth Sustainable Development Network (AYSDN) on World Forest Day
The Arab Youth Network is making active efforts to raise the awareness and education of Arab youth about the Sustainable Development Goals, and the fact that forests are an important part of achieving those goals. The Youth Network uses World Forest Day to publish reports and concepts about the importance of forests, how they are preserved and what they shape in the process of achieving sustainable growth. The Arab Youth Sustainable Development Network (AYSDN) is implementing all the means at its disposal in the current situation. It welcomes any cooperation or partnerships that seek to achieve the same goals, to implement greater steps as possible.
