ENVIS Centre, Ministry of Environment & Forest, Govt. of India

Printed Date: Friday, March 29, 2024

Upcoming Event

APPEAL OF THE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT ON INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FORESTS 2020 ON 21ST MARCH 2020

 APPEAL OF THE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENT ON

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FORESTS 2020 ON 21ST MARCH 2020   
 
         The International Day of Forests is held annually on 21 March to raise awareness of the importance of forests to people and their vital role in poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and food security. Sustainable management of all types of forests are at the heart of unlocking challenges of conflict-affected, developing and developed countries, for the benefit of current and future generations. 
 
International Day of Forests 2020 Theme: “Forests and Biodiversity-Too precious to lose” 
         
Forest biodiversity is defined by the presence of micro-organisms, plants and animals and all these forms of life have a direct or indirect effect on our ecosystem. Forests are the most diverse ecosystems on land since they hold the vast majority of terrestrial species in the world. Some rainforests are amongst Earth’s oldest ecosystems. Forest Biodiversity faces a challenge from human activities such as turning forests into agricultural land, overgrazing, unmitigated shifting agriculture, inappropriate forest management and it has contributed to drastic climate and environmental change. To highlight the issues and challenges surrounding Forest Biodiversity, it is a celebrating International Forests Day on 21March 2020 with the theme “Forests and Biodiversity-Too precious to lose”
 
Too precious to lose
 
          Forests, their sustainable organization and the use of resources, including in delicate ecosystems, are key to fighting climate change, and contributing to the wealth and well-being of current and future generations. Forests also play a crucial role in poverty mitigation and in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
 
Importance of Forests
       
Forests are essential to life on Earth. Forests provide more than 50% of the shelter that terrestrial species of insects and animals. They also balance out the levels of oxygen and CO2 in the environment; protect the watersheds which supply fresh water to rivers; provide food for a variety of insects, mammals, birds and reptiles and can cool the air in urban areas by as much as 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
 
      
 On International Day of Forests 2020,  it is celebrated to raise awareness for conservation of forests and biodiversity. I hope that on this day common people, various government agencies, scientific communities will join several events and campaigns to protect the forests and conserve the biodiversity.
 
Director