International year of Forests 2011 , by Tim Christophersen

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests.

 Forest are not only the home of over 300 millions habitants, but also provide a vast variety of basic products for pharmaceutical purposes, food, and recycling of carbon monoxide in the air. Also forests protect land  for example Mangrove coastline forests protect from disasters form storms from the sea but also provide natural protection for young fish before they go to the sea.

Each year , from 2000 to 2010, around13 million hectares of forest  (area of the size of the country of Greece...) around the world were converted to other use or degraded . 

 The UN strategic goal is by 2020 to:

cut  deforestation by 50% /  have 17% of all land under protection/  restore 15% of degraded forests / 

to obtain that 100% of all forests ( and agriculture, fisheries) be under sustainable management. 

for more information please visit :  http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/index.shtml