Forests are complex ecosystems. When their resources are used optimally, they are the most productive terrestrial ecosystem. After the oceans they are the most important impact factor on the global climate.

Compared to other ways of utilization, they constitute the only effective carbon sink on a global scale

and are the most important oxygen producers. They help to restore the global balance of matter. Their biodiversity is an invaluable gene pool whose significance is increasingly also recognized by industry.

Forests essentially have three core functions: use (economy), protection (ecology) and social functions (recreation). They perform some of these functions independently of human efforts (for example, oxygen production) while others are only made possible thanks to forestry (e.g., forest paths which also allow bicycling). There are also some additional, special functions. The realization of the manifold functions is up to the owner of the forest. If all functions are performed simultaneously and to a sufficient degree, we speak of sustainable forestry. The annually performed forest functions were estimated to amount to USD 4.7 billion in 1997. At the time this equalled about one-fourth of the world’s gross social product.

The United Nations has issued a resolution to declare 2011 the International Year of Forests.

The objective is to raise awareness and knowledge of the preservation and the sustainable development of all types of forest for the benefit of today’s and future generations. The focus is to be directed towards the special significance of forests and to sustainable forest management also in the context of the fight against poverty.

All international activities are coordinated by the United Nations Forest Forum (UNFF) in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and are supported and complemented by national activities.

The World Bank estimates that forests provide habitats for about two-thirds of all species on Earth. The deforestation of the tropical rain forests is responsible for the loss of biodiversity at a rate of no less than 100 species per day.

Forests are furthermore an integral part of global sustainable development. According to estimates by the World Bank, more than 1.6 billion people depend on the use of forests for their livelihood. On an international level, forest products are traded at a scale of 270 billion dollars – in other words, forests are an engine of global economic growth and employment that must not be underestimated. Resolution 61/193 acknowledges “that forests and sustainable forest management can contribute significantly to sustainable development, poverty eradication and the achievement of internationally agreed development goals...”

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that each year 130,000 km² of the world forest area is lost. The switch to agricultural areas, non-sustainable logging, and the construction of human settlements are the most frequent reasons for the loss of forest areas.

According to information from the World Bank, up to 20 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions which are harmful to the climate are a consequence of deforestation. According to FAO data, the forests of the world, including forest floors, store more than one billion tonnes of carbon – twice as much as is contained in the atmosphere.

(from the German Wikipedia: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wald)


Earth still has almost four billion hectares of forest left.

Every minute, an area of 36 soccer fields is deforested worldwide...

The great danger for
climate and nature!