2011 has been declaredInternational Year of Forestsby the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in recognizing that these ecosystems and their sustainable management contribute significantly to development, poverty eradication and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. This edition is the second time that forests are the protagonists of an International Year, since in 1985 the UN Food and Agriculture Council (FAO) asked member states to become aware of the need to protect them.
In a world occupied by seven billion people,the forests, would you likeepresent more than 30 percent of the territory and contain 80 percent of the biodiversityof the planet,annually lose thirteen million hectares, an area equivalent to a quarter of the Iberian Peninsula.
The causes pointed out by experts are all caused by human beings: overexploitation and illegal logging, conversion to agricultural and livestock land, unsustainable harvesting of wood, improper land management, creation of human settlements, mining and oil operations or construction of reservoirs and roads, among others.
Therefore, the slogan chosen for the campaign is“The forests, for the people”, with the aim of highlighting the fundamental role of human beings in the protection of forests, home to 300 million people in the world, especially indigenous peoples who are also threatened.
Forests in Spain
According to data from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Spain has 14.4 million hectares of forests, which makes our country the fourth in Europe with the largest forest resources after Sweden, Finland and France. 88% of the forest area of Spain has as its main function the protection against soil erosion and desertification, as well as the regulation of the hydrological cycle. The remaining 12% are productive forests, which supply a large part of the wood consumed by Spain.
