The establishment by the United Nations of 21 March, initially as "World Forestry Day" (1971 until 2012) and since 2013 as "International Day of Forests", has as its main purpose to raise awareness of the value and the enormous importance of forests in our lives. Each year a theme is chosen to highlight the contribution of forests to humanity. This year's theme is "The role of forests in ensuring sustainable production and consumption" with the motto "I choose wood from sustainably managed forests for people and the planet."
The Department of Forests, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment to commemorate this day, organized an event today, 21/3/2022, at the Athalassa Forest and Botanical Garden.
The event was attended by the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (MDAE), the Chairman of the Environment Committee of the House of Representatives, the Environment Commissioner, the Mayors of Gerion and Latsia, the Secretary General of the Union of Cypriot Farmers, a representative of the Union of Communities, former Directors of the Forestry Department, representatives of departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Branch of Forestry Department Employees - PASYDY, the Pancyprian Union of Foresters, the Cyprus Association of Foresters, the Cyprus Forestry Association, the Cyprus Forestry Association, a delegation from Vergina High School, Larnaca and officials of the Forestry Department.
The Director of the Forestry Department, Mr. Charalambos Alexandrou, after welcoming the attendees, referred to the multiple benefits of forests, the need for their protection and the need to manage them on a sustainable basis.
He mentioned. This, of course, provided that the wood comes from a sustainably managed forest. [*] As a result of this multifaceted and important role, forests and forest products are always at the forefront of discussions and are included in a wide range of important policies, culminating in the inclusion of sustainable forest management in the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular in SDG no. 15. We have the destruction of 13000000 hectares of forests per year (10 times the area of Greece) and the reduction of their area from 1/2 to 1/3 of the land surface. With the main causes remaining the same: land-use change, unwise exploitation, fires and air pollution. [*] The importance of Cyprus' forests, stressing that we have managed to maintain them as natural forests and in excellent condition. They host and effectively protect 80% of Cyprus' biodiversity. They host 1400 of the 1649 native species and subspecies of flora and about 110 of the 141 endemic species and subspecies. More than 80% of the European Natura 2000 network in Cyprus is covered by forest areas and 58% of the network is state forests. At the same time, however, by managing most of the areas as National Forest Parks, we have managed to ensure that people enjoy and enjoy them and in this way support tourism and the economy. [/LIST]
In his address, the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment referred to the importance of International Forest Day and congratulated the Forestry Department for its contribution to the country and the environment in general. Charalambos Theopeptou and the Commissioner for the Environment, Mrs. Celia Vassiliou, after praising the work carried out by the Forestry Department, referred to the destruction of the environment, especially by forest fires, and expressed their support for the Forestry Department. They also referred to the sustainable management of forests, stressing that they can offer more, since wood can replace other energy-intensive materials which are also environmentally unfriendly.
The Deputy Regional Forest Officer of Nicosia, Larnaca and Famagusta in his speech covered the creation of the B Athalassa Forest and Botanical Garden. As he mentioned, the Athalassa Forest Botanical Garden has an area of about 4.5 hectares, hosts more than 450 different species of flora and is the oldest and largest Forest Botanical Garden of the four maintained by the Forestry Department nationwide.
He mentioned the objectives of the Forest Botanical Garden, which are.
The event included a speech by a representative of "Vergina" High School, Larnaca, on this year's objective of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth "Climate Change and its Consequences", through which students of this high school prepared a paper on the forests of Cyprus, their destruction by indiscriminate actions, the effects of climate change on them, as well as suggestions for measures for their protection. The relevant paper/study was handed over to the Director of the Forestry Department.
The Director of the Forestry Department, after thanking and warmly congratulating teachers and students of Vergina High School for this initiative, praised the importance of such initiatives, especially by students, which will contribute in the near future to the sustainable use of forests, their protection and the protection of the environment in general.
In the end, all the attendees were given a guided tour of the Forest Garden by Forestry Department officials and the event ended with the symbolic tree planting of endemic species.
In conclusion, we look forward to the development of environmental consciousness, or rather, responsibility consciousness. We look forward to sensitized citizens. And for our part, we assure you that we will make every effort to succeed in the difficult task of conserving Cyprus' forests.
(NΓ/IK)
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
Source
