Everything, and everyone has a role to play.

“The value of forests cannot be underestimated. From carbon storage to cultural diversity, forests impact us in more ways than we can imagine.” says Alistar Monument, Forest Practice Leader, WWF.

This year, we celebrate the International Day of Forests with the theme “Biodiversity”.

Forests are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. It’s been estimated that about 1 million people live in and around forests, providing them food, fuels, and shelter. Amidst that, the forest fires in countries like Brazil, Russia, Australia, and other prone regions have caused a massive lowdown on the forest count. This year alone the fires burnt an estimated 18.6 million hectares; destroyed over 5,900 buildings (including 2,779 homes) and killed at least 34 people. In the heartwrenching Australian fires, we lost a 100 species alone.

Throwing light on why the conservation is so important, did you know these amazing facts about the Indian biodiversity:

1. India has a special place as one of the most biologically rich nations in the world.
2. The world has only 36 hotspots of biodiversity, and India is home to four of those – Northeast India, the Western Ghats, the Himalayas, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
3. India is rated amongst the top ten of fifteen nations for its great diversity of plant life, especially angiosperms from which new drugs are being discovered every day.
4. India has 77,000 species of animals. Of these, 50,000 are insects in which there are 13,000 butterflies and moths.
5. These biodiversity hotspots are not just rich in flora and fauna but are also endemic to the country (found nowhere else in the world!)

It’s not just about the losses we as a community are going under, but the fact that it allocates towards the climate combined with our sturdy actions is what’s the bigger problem here.

Take climate change. The forests account for much of the water that we use. They’re the natural sponges that help filter out most of the sediments before the water flows in as groundwater or to streams, lakes, and rivers. The foliage has also been linked with fewer costs of drinking water treatment, thus lesser the forest cover, more does the cost for treating water increase. Certain species are feasible to grow only in proper water temperatures, and here is where the need for foliage comes in:

1. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), forests maintain high water quality by minimizing soil erosion and reducing sediment; deforestation generally increases erosion, resulting in higher sediment concentration in runoff and siltation of watercourses.
2. So to say, water is the primary source through which climate change is substantially felt. You cut down on the forests, you’re cutting down on water consequently and that’s how the climate changes adversely.

BOTTOM LINE

In an era of global change, the final call is to protect and preserve. We need not wait for the day the land entirely runs dry and so do our taps.

Picture credits: mangaluruthrougmylens.blogspot.com