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Trees Really Are as Close to a Panacea as it gets

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Forests offer a wide range of benefits. It is hard to overestimate the power of trees to improve our world.  They are an important part of the solution to the climate crisis and they are one of the most powerful tools we have to combat air pollution.

The 3 trillion trees in the world today combat climate change by sequestering 400 gigatons or about a quarter of the carbon humans produce each year. A single tree can reduce particulate matter air pollution by 24 percent. They not only clean the air they also clean both water and soil. They protect fresh water and they enrich the earth.

Forests provide habitat for a wide range of biodiversity and they moderate our weather by stabilizing precipitation patterns, cooling the planet and mitigating against drought. They help us to manage disasters like storms and floods, they combat erosion and they reduce the likelihood of landslides.

Trees are a source of aesthetic beauty and recreational interest the world over. Forests and nature are known to provide a wealth of health advantages including both physical and mental benefits. They reduce stress, contribute to our sense of well being and elevate our mood. They not only make us happier they also make make us smarter.

Trees provide economic and employment benefits along with a wealth of ecosystem services like food, shelter, and oxygen.  According to FAO there are more than 1.5 billion people that are dependent on forests for their livelihood. Trees provide sustenance and allow people to earn their livings through things like fruits, nuts, timber and medicine. Trees are also linked to food security and farm productivity. 

The United Nations’ recognizes the importance of forests which is why they advocate tree management. The Paris Agreement recognizes that forests play an important role in meeting climate goals by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing carbon in trees and soils.

Much of the life on this planet depends on forests and reforestation offers an extraordinary ROI in terms of ecosystem services and carbon sequestration. Tree planting can also be incorporated into a cap-and-trade, or emissions trading scheme (ETS) program.

There is a multi-faceted wisdom behind efforts to restore forests and protect existing forests.

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Peru's Massive Illegal Logging Industry

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The murder of indigenous activists is drawing attention to the massive trade in illegal forest products from Peru. The vast majority of logging activities in the country are illegal. Although Peru has a large rainforest current rates of illegal logging are unsustainable.

According to a 2012 World Bank report, as much as 80 percent of Peru’s logging exports are harvested illegally. Sophisticated wood laundering schemes help to bring this wood to international markets. This involves doctored papers that make the wood appear legal.

The US is among the nations that buy this illegal timber. According to a 2012 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency, at least 40 percent of cedar exports to the US include illegally logged timber. The wood from a single old-growth mahogany tree can earn more than $11,000 on the US lumber market.

The trade in illegal forest products, particularly cedar and mahogany continues. A recent operation conducted by Peruvian customs found large quantities of illegally logged timber destined for export.

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Arbor Day: A Time to Acknowledge the Vital Importance of Trees

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As a celebration of trees Arbor Day is an important event, particularly in the context of ongoing forest degradation. The loss of forests are even more alarming in light of our growing awareness of the importance of trees to planetary health. Trees provide oxygen for us to breathe and they sequester carbon thereby combating climate change. We are also coming to a better understanding of the ways in which trees regulate our climate and combat drought.

Arbor Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton in 1872. As secretary of agriculture in Grover Cleveland’s second administration, Morton was a stalwart tree advocate for trees, as he explained “Other holidays repose upon the past; Arbor Day proposes for the future.”

In the US, National Arbor Day is commonly celebrated on the last Friday in April, but many states observe Arbor Day on different dates according to their best tree-planting times. To find out when Arbor Day takes place in each state click here.

In Canada, Arbor Day is known as Maple Leaf Day. It falls on the last Wednesday in September during National Forest Week. However, some provinces celebrate their own Arbor Day. For example in Ontario they celebrate Arbor Week from the last Friday in April to the first Sunday in May. In Nova Scotia Arbor Day is celebrated on the Thursday during National Forest Week, which is the first full week in May.

To find out when Arbor Day falls in different countries around the world click here.

Whenever Arbor Day is celebrated where you are take a moment to understand and appreciate the fundamental importance of trees and forests to life on Earth.

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Video - Sustainable Forest: How Grey County Forests Try to Manage Conservation and Economic Activity

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Grey County forests help us conserve important natural habitats while also providing significant economic impact and serving as hubs for recreational activity. Working with OSC Media House, Grey County is creating a series of videos to share the magic of "Our Forest." The "Our Forest" videos will tell the story of our forests by sharing the history of our landscape, demonstrating how we manage our forests and sharing the knowledge of the people who act as stewards of our remarkable natural assets.

Throughout the year, OSC Media House will be producing a series of videos that highlight Grey County's excellent forestry management practices, including the County's FSC Certification, and the many benefits our magnificent forests provide to our environment and our communities.

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Video - Forests = Life

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Forests are essential for the survival of people everywhere. They nurture us, inspire us and shelter us. They are also at the heart of sustainable development. In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly declared 21 March as the International Day of Forests to "celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests".

Featured in this video: - Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, UN DESA - Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General and Head of Forestry, FAO - Ana Pineda, Spain - Evan List, USA

© 2014 United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

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A Visual Representation of Global Forest Change

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The Business of Forests: Primer, Tool, Guide and Best Practices

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Here are two resources for responsible forest management. The first is a primer, comprehensive guide and resource kit from the Rainforest Alliance on sustainable forest management. The second  focuses on best practices from the nonprofit group, the Center for Sustainable Development (CSD). This group specializes in providing sound, evidence-based information, tools and training for humanitarian development professionals worldwide.


Business Primer, Tool and Guide on Reducing Deforestation


Click here to access the Rainforest Alliance's 246 page primer, guide and resource kit on Sustainable Procurement of wood and Paperbased Products.

Best Practices for Forest Projects

Click here to visit CSDi’s online development community to share resources & collaborate online in developing sustainable, impact-oriented tools and solutions for humanitarian development challenges.

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The Business of Responsible Forest Stewardship

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Businesses have an essential role to play in forest conservation. A number of companies are developing policies for sustainable forest management. For the last few years companies like Lego, Mattel and Hasbro have been engaged in responsible forest stewardship focusing on efforts to stop using unsustainable paper products from Indonesian rainforests.

A sustainable forest industry is in the collective best interest as wood and related industries are big business accounting for nearly 1 percent of global gross domestic product. The non-monetary benefits from forests, such as water, energy, shelter and medicine, are estimated to be two to three times as great.

As revealed in the 2013 fourth annual Forest Footprint Disclosure (FFD) Report, companies like Colgate-Palmolive, Groupe Danone, Gucci and Heinz are now disclosing their forest footprints.

The FFD report acknowledged improvements in reporting from a number of other companies including Boots UK, Next, Kingspan Group and Whitbread Group. According to the FFD there has been a 15 percent increase in the number of companies that voluntarily disclose their forest footprints between 2012 and 2013.
Nestlé is another company recognized by the FFD, they acknowledge the problem of forest depletion. Here is part of their statement regarding their development of guidelines for responsible purchasing:

“we are committed to ensuring that we and our suppliers are responsible stewards of the forests we source from. Our priorities in this respect are paper and board, timber, palm oil and soya. In furtherance of these commitments, we have developed Responsible Sourcing Guidelines for the different commodities as well as other measures to ensure responsible purchasing practices. Nestlé firmly believes that through such actions we will improve the sustainability of our raw materials and create shared value across the supply chain from local communities all the way through to consumers.”

Other companies recognized in the FFD report include Nike (clothing accessories and footwear), Sainsbury (food and drug retailers), Kimberly-Clark (personal care and household goods) and Unilever (food products and soft drinks).

Independent of the FFD a number of companies are making headway with better policy that positively impacts forests. Companies including Carlsberg and Avery Dennison have already developed responsible procurement policies.

Even some unlikely players have been forced to come to the table. Asia Pulp and Paper (APP), a unit of Sinar Mas Group, once a forest killer on a gargantuan scale, has suspended all clearing of natural forests across its supply chains in Indonesia. They have also accelerated a pledge to use only trees from plantations by 2015. APP has also pledged to protect forested peatland and use best practice management to reduce and avoid greenhouse gas emissions. Further they will avoid and resolve social conflicts across its supply chain as well as respect the rights of indigenous people and local communities where new plantations are proposed.

Despite the efforts of some, there is still much work that needs to be done to encourage responsible forest management across the board. We need the business community to see the value of responsible stewardship if we are to succeed in sewing responsible forest stewardship into the DNA of companies.

While consumers and shareholders are increasingly calling for change, it may well be that the only way we will see broad spectrum change in the short term is through government regulation that assigns a value to ecosystem services and a cost to irresponsible corporate conduct.

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