Every year, on the 21st of March, people around the world come together to celebrate International Forest Day. This year’s theme is “Forests and Health” – an apt reminder of the vital role forests play in sustaining human health and wellbeing. Forests are essential for maintaining healthy air quality, providing clean drinking water, and preventing soil erosion. They also provide habitats for animals and plants that can help us develop medicines to fight disease. In addition, simply being in nature or near trees can help reduce stress levels and boost mental well-being.  

Yet despite their importance, deforestation continues at an alarming rate - 13 million hectares of forests are lost each year. This threatens biodiversity, accelerates climate change, and undermines our capacity to adapt to its impacts.  

To reverse this trend, we must take urgent action to stop deforestation and restore degraded forests – from both an environmental and a public health perspective.  

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) is implementing a capacity development project aimed at combating the intensifying impacts of climate change, forest fires, and zoonotic diseases on forests in Fiji, Malawi, Uganda, and Viet Nam. The project's primary objective is to bolster the capabilities of these four developing countries in creating and executing integrated forest landscape restoration plans that not only put an end to deforestation but also address its drivers and intensifying factors.  By doing so, the project hopes to make progress toward the 15 Sustainable Development Goal which aims to “protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”. 

This project also looks to build capacity for developing and catalyzing the restoration of forests by implementing policy measures that can harness public and private sector investments.  

Thorough situation analysis studies will be conducted to assess the current and projected state of the forests, as well as analyze the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation. During these studies, national experts will analyze a variety of tools necessary for developing comprehensive plans to restore forest landscapes.  

In addition, the project will contribute to the climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts in participating countries, as well as enhance their fire management strategies and recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Building capacity through integrated forest landscape restoration plans is crucial for protecting our environment while driving economic development in partner countries. It will also help ensure vibrant and healthy forests which in turn will benefit the health of people all over the world.  

To celebrate this year's International Day of Forests theme - "Forests & Health" - let's commit to strategies that will end deforestation and protect our global health from its intensifying effects! 

We have a collective responsibility to safeguard our planet’s “lungs” if we want healthy lives now and in the future- International Forest Day is a chance to raise awareness about this fact while celebrating Earth's most precious asset: its forests.  

Learn more about #IntlForestDay in UN DESA Voice.