WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY- 2011 (5th MAY) FOREST : NATURE IS AT YOUR SERVICE-2011

special note : The contents of posts are copied from WED official website with sole intention to give wide publicity of the celebration and theme & contents are not belongs to blog author. The link to the site is given below,

Dear friends,
As you aware that World Environment Day is being celebrated on every 5th June with different scheme focusing on burning various environment issue of the globe with the intention to create awareness of environment & enable mankind to take necessary action to mitigate the consequences. The celebration will be hosted by different country every year to cover the WED programme wold-wide.
This year theme is FOREST : NATURE IS AT YOUR SERVICE-2011 and India is being the host for the year.
My anothe Kannada blog ( ಒಂಚೂರು ಅದು! ಇದು!) I have posted brief history of this celebration since its begining & also compiled the year-wise themes & hosted countries names.
Link to my post is :http://nannachutukuhanigavanagalu.blogspot.com/2010/06/blog-post_05.html

The details of the theme, programmes abstracted from the WED website and given below,

WED Programme

Programme for World Environment Day 2011, India

Programme for World Environment Day 2011, India

June	Event	Location/Venue	Time
30 May	TCS WORLD 10K BANGALORE 2011 press event	Westminister, ITC, Windsor, Bangaluru	17:00
1 June	Biodiversity film festival (for disadvantaged children)	National Science Centre, Delhi	09:30 – 11:30 and 12:00 – 13:30
2nd	Reporting Green: UNEP Media Workshop on Journalism and the Environment Biodiversity film festival (for general public)	Leela Hotel, Delhi PVR Cinemas, Delhi	09:00 – 18:00 17:00 – 19:00
3rd – 5th	Delhi Haat	Delhi	All day
3rd	Public Dedication of Tree Plantation to India for WED Legacy Dialogue with the Business Community on the Green Economy (Luncheon) Biodiversity Film Festival (for prisoners) WED Curtain-raiser with Media and Inauguration of the Delhi Haat	Juanapur, Mehrauli, Delhi C II Office, Lodhi Road, Delhi Tihar Jail, Delhi Delhi Haat, INA, Delhi	10:00 – 10:30 12:30 – 14:30 15:00 – 17:00 17:30 – 18:30
4th	Organic and Forest Food Celebrity cook-out 1st plantation of the World 10K Forest	Regency, ITC Windsor, Bangaluru Madiwala Lake complex, Bangaluru	13:30 – 14:30 16:00 – 17:00
4th	Biodiversity Film Festival (for officials and family members of the Indian Air Force) Biodiversity Film Festival (for officials and Jawans of ITBP)	Subroto Park, Indian Air Force, Delhi ITBP, Tughlakabad, Delhi	16:00 – 18:00 16:00 – 18:00
4th	Launch of Nature Camp for speech and hearing impaired children and Inauguration of Exhibition on Western Ghatt diversity Keynote to IT Business Community	Institute of Wood Science & Technology, Malleshawaram, Bangaluru Bangaluru	18:00 – 19:00 20:00 – 21:30
4th – 5th	Greenathon on NDTV	Television	24hrs
5th	TCS WORLD 10K BANGALORE 2011 marathon	Bangaluru	09:00 – 09:30
5th	Green Walkathon	Delhi	06:00 – 08:00
5th	Press Conference and release of the UNEP “Green Economy and the Forest” Report Civil Society Seminar – “Nature and Livelihoods: Women’s perspective” (Screen WED films at event)	Ashok Hotel, Delhi Ashok Hotel, Delhi	15:00 – 15:30 16:00 – 18:00

The Brief introduction of the theme selected for the year is as below,

Saving forests requires a change in lifestyle

If you ever wondered how it would be possible for you to save an entire forest then look no further than making simple lifestyle changes. Forests play multiple roles in our lives, including providing a source of livelihood, refuge for many species, and clean air for all.

As a result of the growing global pollution levels forests have often come to be referred to as the ‘lungs of the earth’. This is particularly because deforestation and forest degradation account for nearly 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which forests would absorb if carefully managed.

Broadly, there are three main sources of forest degradation: commercial logging, fires, and gathering wood for fuel. Insects and pests also cause considerable forest degradation.

Difference between deforestation and degradation

Deforestation is the reduction of forest cover, notably viewed by the loss of trees. Commercial logging and fires are examples of causes of deforestation. It is however possible to use forests in a properly managed way that maintains their existence. There is therefore no deforestation if there is a guarantee of continuity in maintaining the forest cover.

Degradation refers to the loss of quality of the forests, rather than coverage. The quality of a forest can be observed through monitoring the survival rates of its ecosystem, for example vegetation layers, soil, flora and fauna. Some of the causes of forest degradation are the gathering of wood for fuel, and insects and pests.

Benefits of forests

As a resource, forests provide many important natural resources, such as timber, fuel, rubber, paper and medicinal plants. Forests also help sustain the quality and availability of freshwater supplies. More than three quarters of the world’s accessible freshwater comes from forested catchments. Water quality declines with decreases in forest condition and cover, and natural hazards such as floods, landslides, and soil erosion have larger impacts

Climate change Mitigation
It’s well known that forests play a key role in our battle against climate change; storing carbon and sucking in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it into their biomass.

Products / Benefits (water)
But what’s less well known is that the products and services they provide are essential to every aspect of life. By regulating water for many of the world’s rivers, they help secure water quality, and supply nearly half of the world’s largest cities from Caracas to New York. They also help decrease the impacts of storms and floods, whilst helping control erosion.

Biodiversity
As the most biologically diverse ecosystems on land, forests are home to more than half of terrestrial species, from the great apes to the smallest of creatures.

Economics and Livelihoods
They also provide homes, security and livelihoods for 60 million Indigenous peoples, whilst contributing to the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people worldwide.

Products & Biodiversity
The impact of forests reaches even further. In many developing countries more than 80% of total energy consumed by people and industry derives from forests. Such as fuel wood and charcoal. Trade in timber and other forest products, is estimated at almost 330 billion US Dollars /year. Its value multiplies as its processed into a myriad of products used globally every day. Use of the genetic diversity within forests enables the development of new medicines; progress in healthcare and science.

The numbers

Forests cover 31% of total land area while at the same time supporting 80% of terrestrial biodiversity that live in them. Many of the world’s most threatened and endangered animals live in these forests, making them crucial to sustaining ecosystems. Not only animals live in the forests, as they also provide a home to more than 300 million people worldwide.

World Environment Day and forests

Beyond supporting the natural habitat, forests sustain economic growth. In 2004 trade in forest products was estimated at $327 billion. Continued and uncontrolled deforestation therefore not only has devastating consequences for the environment, the wildlife and communities, but for economies around the world.

Rather shockingly, 36 million acres of natural forest are lost each year. World Environment Day (WED) chose this year’s theme, ‘Forests: Nature at Your Service’, to encourage forest conservation and sustainable consumption for green growth, and in support of the UN International Year of Forests initiative. Preserving forests throughout the world has to be in our collective consciousness so as to change our lifestyles.

What are we doing?

In September 2008, United Nations launched a collaborative initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) in developing countries.

The UN-REDD Programme assists developing countries prepare and implement national REDD+ strategies, and builds on the convening power and expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Programme currently has 29 partner countries spanning Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. REDD+ is seen as one of the most cost-effective ways of stabilizing the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to avoid a temperature rise of two degrees Celsius.

But standing forests also conserve carbon while supporting the livelihoods of a large number of Indigenous Peoples and forest-dependent communities as well providing essential ecosystem services such as habitat for biodiversity and provisioning clean water supplies.

What can you do?

A quick and easy way to get involved is to make others aware of the forests issues by sharing this website, organizing an event, or participating in this years WED celebrations.

Governments should develop and implement policies that encourage sustainable use of forests. They should consider cordoning off areas inhabited by endangered species and promote forest restoration where they have been depleted.

Private companies have an opportunity to invest wisely into the new Green Economy whilst developing a socially responsible status with its consumers. They can develop procurement processes that buy only into sustainably managed forests, such as products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Be the first in your organization to shift your company policies towards green growth!

Civil society can play a significant role by independently monitoring all parties involved, raising awareness on forests and supporting grassroots initiatives.

Like private companies, individuals can make wise premeditated choices over what products they will buy and only purchasing forest products that originate from sustainable sources. This means checking that furniture, wood, paper and other products you buy are verified as coming from legal sources. A quick and easy way to do this is checking for an FSC certification logo.

Most importantly, taking action on forests requires an ongoing commitment to changing lifestyle and therefore is not a one-off action. Your new lifestyle demands that you are forest-conscious in all your choices, consumption and actions.

The Theme

Forests: Nature At Your Service

Forests cover one third of the earth’s land mass, performing vital functions and services around the world which make our planet alive with possibilities. In fact, 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods. They play a key role in our battle against climate change, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere while storing carbon dioxide.

Forests feed our rivers and are essential to supplying the water for nearly 50% of our largest cities. They create and maintain soil fertility; they help to regulate the often devastating impact of storms, floods and fires.

Splendid and inspiring, forests are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on land, and are home to more than half of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.

Forests also provide shelter, jobs, security and cultural relevance for forest-dependent populations. They are the green lungs of the earth, vital to the survival of people everywhere -- all seven billion of us.

Forests embody so much of what is good and strong in our lives. Yet despite all of these priceless ecological, economic, social and health benefits, we are destroying the very forests we need to live and breathe.

Global deforestation continues at an alarming rate -- every year, 13 million hectares of forest are destroyed. That’s equal to the size of Portugal.

Short-term investments for immediate gains (e.g., logging) compound these losses. People who depend on forests for their livelihoods are struggling to survive. Many precious species face extinction. Biodiversity is being obliterated. What’s more, economists around the world have proven that by not integrating the values of forests into their budgets, countries and businesses are paying a high price. One that ultimately impoverishes us all as harm to our forest life-support system continues each and every single day.

But this trend is not irreversible. It’s not too late to transform life as we know it into a greener future where forests are at the heart of our sustainable development and green economies.

Conserving forests and expanding them need to be recognized as a business opportunity. When we add it up, an investment of US$30 billion fighting deforestation and degradation could provide a return of US$2.5 trillion in new products and services.

Furthermore, targeted investments in forestry could generate up to 10 million new jobs around the world. Already, many leaders are glimpsing the potential for renewable energy and nature-based assets, but for transformation to happen, forests need to become a universal political priority.

The services forests provide are essentially to every aspect of our quality of life. And the answer to sustainable forest management, moving towards a green economy, lies in our hands.

Doesn’t knowing this make it so much easier to see the forest from the trees!

For further details see link : http://www.unep.org/wed/about/




Courtesy : World Environment Day official website.WORLD