Source: People's Daily - People's Daily
In the Saldek Forest in Tunjli, Turkey, the trees are beautiful among the yellow and green. Photo by Hida Kan Allen (People's Vision)
The Winkworth Botanic Garden in the south of England is home to thousands of tree species and is a great place for local people to hike. Photo by Xing Xue, reporter of this newspaper
Workers and children plant a miniature forest in a park in Vienna, Austria. Photo by Thomas Colonsele (People's Vision)
In a woodland area in Accra, Ghana's capital, volunteers plant saplings. Sai Tesatsu (Xinhua News Agency)
View of the Nazzano Teverre-Farfa Nature Reserve, Italy. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jin Ma Mengni
21 March is the International Day of Forests. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has chosen the theme of this year's International Day of Forests as "Forests and Health", calling on the international community to protect and sustainably use forests. In recent years, countries around the world have innovated to promote sustainable global forest management, explored new ways of global forest governance such as forest culture, nature education, and forestry health care, and sowed "green seeds" for sustainable human development.
Gabon
Let the beautiful rainforest stand
Zou Song, a reporter of this newspaper
Gabon is located in the Congo Basin and is 88% forested. From the air, the whole country is a deep green, and walking into it, the lush rainforest can be seen as far as the eye can see. A large number of ancient trees stand in the forest, among which the Oguman tree, known as the national tree of Gabon, is 40 to 50 meters tall and more than 1.5 meters in diameter, showing extraordinary vitality. Gabon forests sink more than 300 tonnes of carbon per hectare, almost twice as much as ordinary tropical rainforests, the data showed. In 2021, Gabon became the first African country to receive funding from the Central African Forest Initiative of the United Nations Trust Fund for its efforts to protect forests and reduce carbon emissions.
Gabon's economy has long been dependent on the oil industry. In the 60s of the 20th century, the prosperity of the oil industry brought leapfrog growth to the Gabonese economy. However, its over-reliance on the oil industry and the risks posed by volatile oil prices have determined Gabon to diversify its economy to address the country's long-standing problems of employment and poverty, and to embark on a forestry-driven path of sustainable development through the protection of tropical rainforests and the orderly use of forestry resources.
In 2001, Gabon promulgated a new Forest Law, which emphasizes the planned and long-term sustainable management and harvesting of forest resources and requires planned felling of forests to ensure their sustainable development. In 2002, Gabon established 13 more nature reserves in the country, covering a total area of 11 per cent of the country's land area, turning the country into one of the African countries with the highest proportion of protected areas. All human activities are strictly prohibited in the reserve, effectively curbing the once rampant illegal smuggling of logs.
In 2009, Gabon began to implement the "emerging Gabon" strategy, establishing the development direction of "Green Gabon, Industrial Gabon, Service Industry Gabon", of which "Green Gabon" was listed as the first of the key national development directions.
In 2010, the Gabonese government announced a ban on all log exports, and for the next two years all logging areas were included in the forest land planning process, with no new logging permits issued since 2013. In the same year, Gabon promulgated an amendment to the Forest Law, which limited the planning year of forest land to 25 years according to the growth rate of tropical rainforest trees, that is, each forestry enterprise should set up 25 forest areas under its jurisdiction, and only one area per year was allowed to harvest, and the harvested area could not only harvest precious tree species and young saplings, but also set aside 10% of trees for ecosystem maintenance.
A series of strict protection policies have laid a solid foundation for Gabon's green development. According to environmental experts, Gabon's carbon emissions in 2016 and 2017 were lower than the average carbon emissions between 2006 and 2015. At the same time, the orderly utilization of Gabon's forestry resources is also steadily advancing. For example, the Encock Special Economic Zone north of the capital Libreville covers an area of 1,126 hectares, 40% of which is planned for the construction of wood processing plants, and attracts foreign companies to settle in and introduce advanced technology and equipment by providing preferential tax exemptions.
Statistics show that Gabon's forestry output as a proportion of GDP has risen from 1.8% in 2011 to 4% in 2020, and the number of employed people has jumped from 11,000 to more than 27,000, making it one of Gabon's most job-creating industries. According to Gabon's Minister of Forestry, Lee White, after more than a decade of key development, Gabon's wood processing capacity has been significantly improved, most local enterprises have complete production equipment, and a group of well-trained and professional technicians have emerged. He said that forests are a renewable resource, and Gabon hopes that the proportion of forest industry in the national economy will continue to increase, "so that the beautiful rainforest will stand tall and the wealth of the Gabonese people will continue to grow."
New Zealand
Forest carbon sinks create a virtuous cycle
Chen Xiaowei, reporter of this newspaper
Walking through the forests of New Zealand, while admiring the amazing vegetation, breathing in the pure air, and living in harmony with nature. In this South Pacific island nation, forests not only provide a beautiful natural environment, but also contribute to the development of the country's forestry industry, making it one of the world's largest timber exporters.
Historically, population growth, overfarming and accelerated industrialization have led to the deforestation of large areas of New Zealand's natural forests. By the mid-to-late 20th century, New Zealand's forest coverage had fallen from more than 80% of its land area to 23%, and it was once facing the crisis of depletion of forest resources. In order to strengthen the protection of forest resources, New Zealand first starts by eliminating deforestation and strictly restricts the logging of natural forests.
In 1985, New Zealand classified forest resources into "commercial forests" and "non-commercial forests". State-owned natural forests, which account for 81% of New Zealand's total natural forests, are classified as non-commercial forests, and most of them are strictly prohibited as nature reserves or national forest parks, and are directly protected and managed by the New Zealand Department of Conservation. With the continuous improvement of legislation and the continuous efforts of the government, the production of logs from natural forests in New Zealand has dropped from 1.6 million cubic meters in 1955 to 50,000 cubic meters in 2000, and forest resources have gradually been effectively protected, and the proportion of land area has also recovered.
At the same time, New Zealand has also launched a large-scale artificial afforestation plan, on the basis of native tree species, imported six high-quality tree species such as radiant pine and eucalyptus from Europe, North America and other places for artificial planting experiments, providing improved seeds and high-quality seedlings for plantations, and strengthening afforestation and land preparation. The New Zealand government also encourages more funds to be invested in afforestation and achieve good returns by providing afforestation subsidies and preferential tax policies.
At present, plantations, which account for about 21% of New Zealand's total forest area, have become the main source of forest harvesting, and through the model of intensive management of short rotation period, not only fully meet the domestic demand for wood, but also achieve a large number of exports. The huge benefits of timber export trade and national afforestation subsidies have attracted a lot of investment and high afforestation enthusiasm, helping the sustainable development of forestry.
With its high potential, low cost and high comprehensive benefits, forestry carbon sink has also become an important means for New Zealand to achieve emission reduction targets. New Zealand has set targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10 to 20 per cent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels and 50 per cent by 2050, and in 2008 launched an emissions trading system, with forestry being the first to be included. Instead of capping emissions from forestry, New Zealand has incorporated afforestation, forest management and reducing deforestation and forest degradation into international carbon trading to achieve its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets through forestry carbon sinks.
New Zealand forestry operators can apply for carbon sink allowances free of charge for a specified period, and the resulting allowances can be profited on the carbon sink market. Forests that receive free carbon quotas are strictly prohibited from being destroyed, and if they are damaged, they must return the allowances and purchase a corresponding amount of forest land to compensate for deforestation emissions. When emissions exceed the free allowance, forestry operators need to purchase New Zealand emitters or issue quotas to the Forestry Department, etc. at a fixed price.
In 2009, forest carbon sinks offset about 1/4 of New Zealand's total greenhouse gas emissions that year. In terms of cost, afforestation costs only $10 to tens of dollars per tonne of carbon dioxide removed, while bioenergy and carbon capture storage technologies cost as much as $100 to $200, and direct air capture costs hundreds of dollars. Forestry carbon sink is not only the most economical means of "carbon sequestration" in New Zealand, but also further stimulates the enthusiasm of afforestation and forest protection, forming a virtuous circle of forestry development.
United Kingdom
Classes in the forest became a fad
Xing Xue, reporter of this newspaper
"Now, go look for brown things and take them back and put them on paper with brown circles." With the teacher's order, the children began to explore in the forest. Twigs, dead leaves, pine cones, seeds, dirt... After a while, a brown "hill" was piled up. "Now, we're looking for green things again"... The groves of Westberley, northwest London, England, are a forest school for kindergarten children nearby. They attend classes two days a week in this 8-hectare natural forest to learn about forests and feel the breath of nature.
In recent years, the United Kingdom has introduced the forest school education model, and it has become a trend to take classes in the forest. According to the British Forest Schools Association, there are currently hundreds of kindergartens and schools in the country with forest schools. Through this model, children can observe mammals, insects and birds, learn to use tools safely, understand environmental art and other knowledge while getting close to the forest, and establish awareness of forest ecological protection from an early age.
The UK was once a forest-rich country with a mild, humid climate suitable for tree growth. According to research, before the 15th century, the vast majority of the country below 300 meters above sea level was covered by forests. However, long-term depletion and plundering led to the near depletion of Britain's forest resources, and forest cover fell to 5% at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1919, the United Kingdom enacted the Forestry Act, creating the Forestry Commission, which was responsible for managing the country's forest resources. Since then, the British federal government and local governments have continuously improved forestry regulations, increased policy support, supplemented by necessary supporting policies and local strategies, formulated and implemented a series of effective financial support measures, clarified forestry management standards, and given full play to the multi-functional benefits of the forest industry.
More than half of the UK's forest land is privately owned, and in order to improve the protection of private forest land, the UK has enacted a series of policies such as the British Farm Forest Funding Scheme, and provides forest compensation schemes according to different standards to support private forest land owners to plant new forest land or maintain existing forest land. This eco-compensation mechanism is led by the government, while market mechanisms are used to encourage private capital to invest in green and sustainable development. For example, capital is directed to timber production, forest reserves, biodiversity conservation, forest recreation and other multi-functional forestry sustainable development areas.
At the same time, the UK focuses on strengthening people's awareness of protection by strengthening the connection between people and forests. In addition to forest schools for children, about half of the UK's woodland is open to the public, and there are a number of natural scenic spots, national parks and forest parks to provide leisure and entertainment for the public. In recent years, forest ecotourism in the UK has been on the rise, and economic benefits have begun to shift to ecological and social benefits. In addition, the UK Forestry Commission plantes a certain amount of new timber every year, while restoring old trees, and other forest owners are actively developing forestry production with funding from the Forestry Commission.
According to the "State of Forests and Trees in the UK 2021" report published by the British Forest Trust, after more than 100 years of efforts, the forest cover of the UK has risen to 13.2%. Although the area of woodland in the UK is increasing, most of it is non-native trees, and the primary woodland is isolated from each other and the ecological conditions are relatively fragile. Today, the UK is still one of the countries with the lowest forest coverage in European countries, and 85% of its economic needs need to be imported, and it is still necessary to continue to strengthen forest protection and governance in the future, and further achieve effective restoration of forest resources by expanding tree cover in woodlands, increasing the proportion of native species, and systematically detecting trees and woodlands. People's Daily (Version 17, 2023-03-27)