19 March 2024 - Forests sustain us in countless ways – from clean air and water to food and medicine, income and livelihoods, and even sustainable fashion. Being near trees and forests can inspire creativity, reduce stress, and improve your mood.
The world’s forests cover nearly one-third of all land, providing carbon storage and biodiversity habitat while building our resilience to withstand storms and other natural disasters. Yet despite all that they provide us, forests are often undervalued, and every year we continue to lose ten million hectares of forests.
Innovations in science and technology now make it possible for countries to use remote sensing, drone technology, and artificial intelligence to monitor the health of their forests for mapping and monitoring, tree planting, measuring carbon, and early wildfire detection.
At the same time, innovative forest products provide sustainable alternatives for construction materials, textiles, and new types of plastic and medical products. Exploring the possibilities for forest products in building our greener future is limited only by the breadth of our imagination. This is why the theme of this year’s International Day of Forests on 21 March 2024, is “Forests and Innovation”.
UN DESA’s UN Forum on Forests Secretariat will organize a special event to celebrate the International Day on 21 March at UNHQ in New York. The event will be held from 10 am to 1 pm and will feature senior UN and government officials, technical experts, and civil society, all sharing their perspectives on how we can promote innovation to help the world’s forests. It will highlight the importance of implementing the UN Strategic Plan for Forests and achieving the Global Forest Goals by 2030. The event will also be live webcast on UN Web TV. Learn more at http://bit.ly/DayForests