The Importance Of Forests

Forests are a natural reservoir of biodiversity which plays vital roles in both social and economic functions of mankind. They are the natural habitat for a diverse flora and fauna and also the museum of unique indigenous cultures. Forests harbor the majority of species on Earth and provide valuable ecosystem goods and services to humanity, including food, fiber, timber, medicine, clean water, aesthetic and spiritual values, and climate moderation (McKinley et al. 2011).

According to Food and Agriculture (FAO, 2010), forest is defined as a land spanning more than 0.5 hectares with trees higher than 5 meters and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds situated naturally and uninterrupted. From this definition we can derive that the presence of trees is central to determine a place as forest. As per FAO report (2010),

It is also estimated that more than 200 million of the world’s poor rely directly on forests for energy, shelter, and their livelihoods (Yude Pan, Richard A. Birdsey et al. 2013). Forests play a fundamental role in combating rural poverty, ensuring food security and providing people with livelihoods. And they deliver vital environmental services such as clean air and water, the conservation of biodiversity and combating climate change (FAO, 2015).

Forests are indispensible for the very survival of mankind. However, during the past 50 years or so, due to human-induced disturbances, forests around the world have become degraded and in discrete patches. Deforestation has caused an imbalance both in the climatic condition and the very livelihood of mankind, especially for the rural poor.

Deforestation, as a word, is often considered more physical than social both in policies and practices. Deforestation, in literal sense, is the destruction of natural forest cover to extract