March 21 : International Day of Forests

March 21 is observed as International Day of Forests since 2013, to create awareness to the people about the importance of all types of forests and of trees outside forests. Globally more than 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods, medicine, fuel and food. Forests cover 31% of global land area and the sad news is the area is shrinking drastically. The International Day of Forests provides a platform to convey the important role forests play in poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and food security.

The theme for International Day of Forests 2015 is “Forests and Climate Change”.

Knowledge is Wealth

• The forest cover of India is assessed as 67.83 million hectares.
• Around 20.64 per cent of the country’s geographical area is covered by Forests.
• The major types of forest systems are,
  • Rain forests
  • Taiga
  • Temperate forests
  • Tropical dry forests
• The Current Minister of Environment, Forests & Climate Change is Prakash Javadekar. 
• The Environment & Forest Minister’s Conference is scheduled during 6-7 April, 2015 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.