International Forest Day. International Day of the Forest. How pleasant it is sometimes to find yourself in a green forest, to breathe in fresh air saturated with the aroma of tree resin and herbs, to hear the tops of trees whispering among themselves, passing through small leaves.

How pleasant it is sometimes to find yourself in a green forest, to breathe in the fresh air, saturated with the aroma of tree resin and herbs, to hear the treetops whispering among themselves, passing rays of sunlight through small leaves. It is simply mesmerizing, makes you forget about everything and immerse yourself in the world of nature.

The forest is the wealth of our entire Earth, filled with life. Thanks to it, the climate is formed, oxygen appears, harmful emissions are destroyed. But, unfortunately, the area of ​​green spaces in the world is shrinking more and more every year. According to experts, over the past 10 thousand years, 26 billion square meters have been destroyed by man. km of forests.

In order to somehow influence the consciousness of people and preserve the "lungs" of our nature, a special holiday was proclaimed - the International Day of the Forest. According to experts, 1.5 g of virgin forests disappear every second on Earth. This can be explained by an increase in the number of people who transform the forest area for human needs. Such a reduction in forest ecosystems can lead to irreversible and adverse processes in the natural environment, which will negatively affect human life. About how today in the world they are trying to solve this problem, we will tell in our article.

For the first time this holiday sounded as an official vocation to protect forests in 1971. At the 23rd Congress of the UN General Assembly, on the initiative of the European Confederation of Agriculture and the support of other agricultural organizations, it was decided to sign a decree on the celebration of the International Day of the Forest, the date of which was set on March 20 or 21. It is on these days that the spring equinox occurs in the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, and the autumn equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.

The purpose and objectives of the young holiday is to inform the population about the importance of forests in the life of the entire population of the planet, maintaining them in their original state, protection methods, caring for green spaces and rationally using them as raw materials.

To this end, all UN member states hold special events for the day of the forest, which focuses on the need to protect and renew forests. On March 20 or 21, various exhibitions, promotions, contests, flash mobs and campaigns to plant new trees are organized. As a result of the involvement of the population, local authorities in the countries, a targeted policy of afforestation and reforestation is being actively pursued.

All-Russian Forest Day

For the Russian Federation, this holiday is especially important, because on its territory there is literally a fifth of all the world's forests and almost the same amount of the world's timber reserves. The date of the forest day in Russia is not exactly defined, because the holiday is celebrated every second Saturday in May, and sometimes due to adverse weather conditions, all events have to be postponed. For the first time, Russians celebrated this holiday on the 14th in 2011, when a tree planting campaign was held. As a result, volunteers from 60 regions of the country planted 25 million seedlings on 7 g of land. After the work done, the government of the Russian Federation decided to hold an annual “All-Russian Forest Planting Day”.

Green spaces for - this is the real national wealth. It makes a huge contribution not only to the development of the economy, being a source of raw materials, but also to the development of the biosphere, as it is one of its most important components. All these provisions determine the conditions of life on the territory of the state and on the whole Earth, therefore we, the people, must take care of the forests ourselves, take care of them and replenish the ranks with new seedlings.

The professional holiday of foresters is one of the oldest in our country. Last year, it turned half a century old, so that forest workers received their holiday before the owners of many other professions, who, as a rule, were awarded such an honor only in the 1980s. We will find out when the day of the forest and forester is celebrated in 2019, what date this holiday is this time, whether it has a fixed date.

What date is Forest Workers Day in 2019

The full name of the professional holiday of Russian foresters is Day of Forest and Timber Industry Workers. It is traditionally celebrated on the third Sunday of September, and in 2019 it is - September 15th.

The day of the forester appeared back in 1966, 53 years ago, and for that time it really was a noticeable recognition of the profession of a forester by the state, which “spoiled” with professional holidays only representatives of those professions that formed the basis of the Soviet economy, like the same metallurgists or railway workers .

In addition to the foresters themselves, who monitor the condition of the forests, take care of them and protect the flora and fauna from poachers, this holiday is also dedicated to the workers of the timber processing industry. This branch of the economy also consists of wood processing enterprises and pulp and paper mills.

About a quarter of all forests on the planet Earth are currently concentrated in Russia. This is a huge wealth of our country, which is preserved, among other things, by the forces of foresters. In fact, it is largely thanks to Russian forests that oxygen is regenerated, which is breathed by many of our neighboring European and Asian states.

Despite this, however, in Russia there is no special ministry that would deal with the problems of the forest. Foresters belong to the Federal Forestry Agency (Rosleskhoz), and the share of timber processing enterprises in Russian GDP is less than five percent. Perhaps this situation is even good, since the state and private investors do not consider the forest as a way to earn a lot of money, and this allows saving forests for future generations.

March 21 is celebrated as International Forest Day around the world. It was founded by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at the initiative of the European Confederation of Agriculture in 1971 to draw attention to the great importance of all types of forests and plantations for sustainable development and, in general, for security on Earth.

The problem of preserving the forest and its riches is today one of the most important environmental tasks for all countries of the world. In recent years, the trends associated with the deforestation of the Earth have caused concern not only among environmentalists, but also among the entire international community.
Over the past ten thousand years, man has destroyed 26 million km² of forests. Every day the area of ​​the world's forests is steadily declining, every second the Earth loses more than 1.5 hectares of virgin forest. Currently, the total area of ​​forests on the planet is approximately 38 million km² (this is about a third of the land area), of which 13% belong to protected natural areas.

Forests are also dying from the effects of fires, insect pests, diseases, adverse weather conditions and other causes. A decrease in the area of ​​forests on the planet leads to such global negative processes as soil erosion, a decrease in the diversity of flora and fauna, degradation of water basins, an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a decrease in the amount of industrial and fuel wood, and ultimately to a decrease in the potential the life of mankind.

The forest area of ​​Russia is 809 million hectares, or 20.1% of the total forest area of ​​the world. The main forest reserves of Russia are concentrated in Siberia and the Far East, as well as in the European north. Forests occupy 83.1% of the territory of the Irkutsk region, 72.7% of the land of the Komi Republic, 71.5% - of the Perm Territory. 25% of the world's intact forests are concentrated in Russia.

In 2013, the state program of the Russian Federation "Forestry Development" was launched, which includes three stages and is calculated until 2020. Its goal is to increase the efficiency of the use, protection, protection and reproduction of forests, to ensure the stable satisfaction of public needs for resources and useful properties of the forest with guaranteed preservation of the resource and ecological potential and global functions of forests.

Forests are the lungs of our planet, they are of inestimable ecological, social and economic importance, participate in shaping the planet's climate, provide oxygen, process harmful emissions, conserve water resources, are the habitat of many plants and animals, provide food and a healthy environment for people, help preserve soil fertility and landscapes…
In this regard, the main task of the International Day of the Forest is to draw the attention of the inhabitants of the planet to the problem of forest conservation, to inform about the importance of forest ecosystems, their true state, the main measures for their protection and restoration.

(International Day of Forests), established by the UN General Assembly on December 21, 2012.

International Day of Forests aims to help spread the word about how forests and trees protect us and what they give us.

According to the latest Global Forest Resources Assessment of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2015), the total forest area of ​​the world is 3,999 million hectares, which corresponds to 30.6% of the land area, while in 1990 forests covered up to 31.6% of the land area, or about 4 128 million hectares.

The bulk of the world's forest area (93%) is natural forest, a category that includes primary forest where human intervention has been kept to a minimum, as well as secondary forest areas that have naturally regenerated.

According to the State Forest Register as of January 1, 2016, in Russia the area of ​​forest land and land of other categories on which forests are located is 1,184.1 million hectares, including forest land - 890.8 million hectares, of which forest cover - 794.5 million hectares. The forest cover of the territory of the Russian Federation, that is, the ratio of the area of ​​forested land to the total land area of ​​the country, is 46.4%.

© Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. K. Kokoshkin

© Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation. K. Kokoshkin

The main forest-forming species - larch, pine, spruce, cedar, oak, beech, birch and aspen - grow on 90.2% of the land occupied by forest plantations.

The total timber stock in Russia is estimated at 82.79 billion cubic meters.

The highest levels of forest cover were noted in the Irkutsk Region (83.1%), the Komi Republic (72.7%), and the Perm Territory (71.5%).

The forests of Russia are predominantly of natural origin. The most important feature of Russian forests is the preservation of natural forest ecosystems over vast areas that are not subject to anthropogenic impact. About 25% of all intact forests of the world are concentrated in Russia.

Forests perform vital ecosystem functions. Forests are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on earth, where more than 80% of the terrestrial species of animals, insects and plants live and grow. They play a key role in our fight against climate change. Forests help maintain a balance of oxygen, carbon dioxide and moisture in the air we breathe. They protect the watersheds that provide 75% of the world's fresh water. Forests provide food, medicine, fuel, shelter and income for the world's 1.6 billion people.

However, despite all these priceless environmental, economic, social and health benefits, global deforestation continues at an alarming rate of 13 million hectares of forest each year. Deforestation accounts for 12-20% of global warming greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2017, the theme of the International Day of Forests is "Forests and Energy".

Forest wood is the main source of renewable energy worldwide. Wood accounts for about 40% of current global renewable energy generation. The use of fuelwood is important for both developing and some industrialized countries. About 50% of the world's wood (about 1.86 billion cubic meters) is used as a source of energy for cooking, heating and generating electricity. 2.4 billion people use fuelwood to cook more nutritious food, boil water and heat their homes. Nearly 900 million people in developing countries are employed full-time or part-time in the wood energy sector. Increasing investment in woodfuel energy production and the development of new woodfuels will generate the funds needed to improve forest management, increase forest area and create jobs.

The global energy potential of forests is about ten times greater than the annual global consumption of primary energy resources. Therefore, they can be considered as a way to meet global energy demand.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

International Day of the Forest has been celebrated since 1971. The holiday falls on March 21st. The initiator of its holding was the European Confederation of Agriculture, and the UN General Assembly confirmed the official status of this day. The choice of date was not accidental. For the Southern Hemisphere, it coincides with the day of the autumn equinox, and for the Northern Hemisphere, with the day of the vernal equinox.
The purpose of the holiday is to remind all the inhabitants of the Earth about the importance of preserving forest and any other green spaces, the need for their rational and reasonable use. By this day, most countries of the world time mass events related to planting trees, various propaganda and information and educational campaigns. And this is of very serious importance. After all, the protection of forests is one of the fundamental postulates of the Earth's ecology and the key to preserving life on the planet. The problem of cutting down green spaces is acute in every corner of the planet. With the development of industry and the growing demand for furniture, paper, wooden houses and other products made from solid or recycled wood, there is a threat of destruction not only of individual species of flora, but also of turning once beautiful green places into endless deserts. So let the International Day of the Forest be an occasion to change the approach to consumption. Starting this year, let people begin to pay attention to such “little things” as an indication that office paper packaging is made from recycled waste paper, and similar things. Let everyone think about what can be abandoned in favor of preserving nature for posterity, because by limiting yourself in small things you can succeed in more.