International Day of Forest was officially announced by the United Nations on March 21, 2012. The purpose is to encourage different countries and regions to hold forest protection activities, advocate the importance of forests, and raise public awareness of forest issues. The theme of 2023 is “Forests and Health”.
Taipei, TAIWAN (Merxwire) – Do you like to go for a walk in the forest? Breathe fresh phytoncide, feel the power of trees, and strengthen cardiorespiratory. Forests are closely related to our lives. They conserve water, purify the air, provide habitats for animals and plants, and contain food and medicine. Only having healthy forests can make us healthy. Therefore, the theme of International Day of Forests in 2023 is “Forests and health”, reminding us that we can only bring sustainable health to the environment and human beings by caring for forests.
International Day of Forests (IDF) was proposed by Spain at the meeting of the European Confederation of Agriculture on March 21, 1971, and was unanimously approved by the members of the alliance. The United Nations General Assembly officially announced in 2012 that March 21st of each year will be designated as the International Day of Forests, encouraging different countries and regions around the world to hold various forest protection activities to celebrate and advocate the importance of forests. They hope to raise public awareness of forest issues.
Every year, activities related to the International Day of Forests are mainly organized by the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and co-organized by governments, forest partners, and other organizations concerned with forest issues. Learn more about forests from different aspects such as understanding trees, soil management, tree planting activities, tree pruning, and plant pest control.
According to the data compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, humans have used medicinal plants in forests for more than 5,000 years, and more than 50,000 species of plants have been used for medicinal purposes. Taking China as an example, among the more than 26,000 kinds of native plants, about 5,000 can be used as medicine, and more than 1 billion people in the world have used various natural herbal medicines.
It can be seen that forests have a very important impact on climate, ecology, economy, and health. It is a pity that the fires, droughts, insect pests, and reduction of woodland caused by climate change and human over-exploitation have seriously damaged the entire natural ecology, and it is urgent to protect forests.
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Therefore, “Forests and Health” has been selected as the theme of the 2023 International Day of Forests, and its slogan is “Healthy forests for healthy people”. They hope to take this chance to appeal to everyone to pay attention to the health of forests and take action to protect these important natural resources, maintain the sustainability of the earth and biological chain, and create a natural livable environment for animals and plants. Reducing the impact of climate anomalies on the environment and beneficial to human health.
Forests not only provide us with available resources but also are closely related to important climate change issues, the earth’s carbon cycle, and the water cycle. When we protect the health of trees, we also protect the ecological balance among animals, plants, insects, and mushrooms living in the forest. If the forest ecosystem is stable and healthy, we can breathe fresh air, drink clean water, and realize the goals of environmental protection and sustainable earth.