The International day of Forest was commemorated throughout the world yesterday, the 21st of March 2023.
Domestically, celebrations were held by the PNG National Forest Authority in their respective provinces which they operate out of, whilst in Port Moresby the PNGFA staff and stake holders had a tree planting program to mark the day at their Kuriva forestry site.
National Forest Authority Board Chairperson Faith Barton said the International Day of forest was set by the United Nations in 2012 to protect and create awareness on the importance of the forest.
PNG has been observing this day since 2014 and this year marks the 9th year.
“United Nations General Assembly set the date, 21st of March to be the International Day of Forest in 2012. PNG being a member state has been observing this day since 2014 to create awareness and protect our forest,” Barton said.
The Chief Operating Officer of the National Forest authority Magdalene Maihua said the forest is important for human survival so the replanting of trees must be a priority.
“Plants take in carbon dioxide from animals and gives off oxygen for us to breathe and survive”.
It also reduces carbon gas emissions. We are facing climate change issues because most of our forests are depleting at a rapid pace and we need to plant more trees,” Maihua said.
Chief Operating Officer Maihua also appealed and encouraged people to plant more trees to fight climate change and gas emissions and also, the forest and trees are the lungs of the earth and for people to be healthy, the environment needs to be healthy.
Staff of the PNGFA and its partners with volunteers planted a total of 2400 seedlings of Kwila, Mahogany and Teak trees covering 2.8 hectares of land.
The theme for this year is “Forest and Health, healthy forest for healthy people”.
