Summary:
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Forests are essential to human health and well-being since they cover 31% of the planet’s area and are home to 80% of all land-based species, but their extinction globally threatens humans everywhere.
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The 2030 Agenda and sustainable development are centred on maintaining the health of forests and people.
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Forest threats are among the pressing topics to be addressed at the next UN 2023 Water Conference.
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Over the past ten years, up to 150 million hectares of forest have been lost due to fire, insect damage, and deforestation, more than the combined landmass of Chad or Peru.
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To better protect forests, the UN launched the Decade for Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2023), and its agencies are utilizing partnerships with local and international stakeholders, from planting three million trees in Peru to empowering young women to serve as community forest rangers to stop illegal wildlife trafficking in Indonesia.
Forests are essential to human health and well-being since they cover 31% of the planet’s area and are home to 80% of all land-based species, but their extinction globally threatens humans everywhere.
Here are five facts you should be aware of regarding the long-standing and intricately interwoven connection between trees and human health.
1. Carbon sinks fight climate change in one way
Forest ecosystems maintain the earth’s health by controlling the climate, rainfall patterns, watersheds and, most importantly, producing oxygen necessary for human life.
By acting as “carbon sinks,” which annually absorb around two billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, healthy forests assist in controlling climate change by reducing the amount of the gas that drives climate change and increases global temperatures.
The fast-changing climate is threatening people’s survival in various ways, including increased disease rates, disruption of food systems, and death and illness brought on by extreme weather events. Without healthy forests, people will struggle to live healthy lives and may become extinct around the planet, especially in the most vulnerable nations.
2. Natural pharmacies: from cosmetics to drugstores
The world uses forest products every day for everything from masks to medications. Up to 80% of underdeveloped and 25% of wealthy nations rely on plant-based pharmaceuticals.
Over 50,000 plant species found in forests are utilized as medicines by local populations and large pharmaceutical corporations. Forest dwellers have used things they have collected for millennia to treat various illnesses. In addition, several widely used pharmaceutical pharmaceuticals originate in plants found in forests, such as quinine, used to treat malaria, derived from cinchona trees and the Madagascar periwinkle.
The One Health approach acknowledges the interconnectedness and interdependence of the health of people, animals, plants, and the larger ecosystem, including forests, introduced as part of the UN response to the COVID-19 epidemic.
3. A billion-person dinner
Nearly a billion people worldwide gather wild foods such as herbs, fruits, nuts, meat, and insects for wholesome meals. According to estimates, eating wild animals in some isolated tropical regions meets between 60 and 80% of a person’s daily protein requirements.
According to a survey of 43,000 households in 27 African countries, children with access to wood had a diet of at least 25% more diverse than their peers.
Researchers found that indigenous communities use an average of 120 wild foods per community in 22 countries in Asia and Africa, including both industrialized and developing nations. An estimated 50 million households in India add fruits from nearby bushland and wildland forests to their diets.
4. The importance of forests for sustainable development
Almost 2.5 billion people, or about one-third of the world’s population, depend on forests for goods and services, employment, and income.
The 2030 Agenda and sustainable development are centred on maintaining the health of forests and people. Woods are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include:
SDG 3 Health: Woods are in good health. Spending time in the woods has been shown to strengthen immune systems, elevate good feelings, and reduce stress, blood pressure, depression, weariness, anxiety, and tension. The natural environment is crucial to human health and well-being because it offers necessities, including clean air, water, good soils, and food.
SDG 6 Water: Trees help provide fresh water by acting as filters. Forested watersheds provide about 75% of the world’s usable freshwater. Nearly half of the major cities in the world receive their drinking water from forests that feed rivers. Forest threats are among the pressing topics to be addressed at the next UN 2023 Water Conference. These threats could result in water shortages and put freshwater resources at risk for people worldwide.
SDG 13 Climate Action: The buffering effects of forests on storms and floods provide the protection of human health and safety during extreme weather events. For thousands of years, woods have served as the natural world’s social safety nets. All people’s health and safety are improved when forests are sustainably maintained and protected.
5. Forests must be preserved.
While well recognized for their numerous advantages, woods do not necessarily receive the protection they may merit. Over the past ten years, up to 150 million hectares of forest have been lost due to fire, insect damage, and deforestation, more than the combined landmass of Chad or Peru. Over 70% of tropical deforestation is caused by the cultivation of agricultural products alone, including palm oil, cattle, soy, lumber, pulp, and paper.
In addition to increasing investment in forests and trees, several governments have established environmentally favourable policies. Local groups and players progress independently, occasionally one tree at a time. To better protect forests, the UN launched the Decade for Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2023), and its agencies are utilizing partnerships with local and international stakeholders, from planting three million trees in Peru to empowering young women to serve as community forest rangers to stop illegal wildlife trafficking in Indonesia.
With support from 65 partner nations, UN-REDD was established in 2008 and is the leading UN information and advisory partnership on forests and climate. The initiative has, among other things, seen member countries reduce forest emissions at levels equivalent to taking 150 million cars off the road for a year, bringing in a lot more fresh air. It does this by drawing on the knowledge of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Development Programme, and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
