Yes, forests are our lifeline and our future, it is our role to protect them

Forests are more than trees. They are life-support systems—supplying water, providing food and livelihoods, storing carbon, and safeguarding biodiversity. Yet deforestation and forest degradation continue at alarming rates, threatening the very foundation of human survival.

Recognizing this, the United Nations General Assembly designated 21st March as the International Day of Forests, a moment to reflect on the critical role forests play in our lives and renew our commitment to their protection not only for ourselves but the generations to come.

The critical role forests play.

Globally, forests cover about 31 percent of the earth’s surface. Forests are not just ecological treasures but also economic mainstays and our lifesavers. Any reduction to this coverage has far reaching negative effects on the ecosystem and billions of human populations and a multitude of animals, plants, and micro-organisms the constitute the biological biodiversity forests support.

This year’s theme, “Forests and Economies,” is a clarion call to acknowledge forests as drivers of sustainable growth. Forests provide food, energy, medicine, and jobs, while enabling green innovation and resilience in the face of climate change.

So rich are forests that they are often referred to as nature’s supermarkets. They offer organic food, stabilize soils, and protect water resources. Forests are the largest land-based carbon sink. Trees absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and store it in their wood, roots, and soil.

We cannot afford the cost of forest destruction.

Yet this life-giving resource is constantly under threat from human activities that include clearance of forest for agriculture and urbanization. Climate change and natural disasters, wildfires and extreme weather events are accelerating forest losses with subsequent serious environmental and ecological consequences.

When forests “die” there is great biodiversity loss - resulting in loss of habitats for many species, human-wildlife conflict, and worst of it all extinction of species and degradation of landscapes. Destroying forests erodes biodiversity and accelerates greenhouse gas emissions, worsening global warming.

What is FAO doing?

Since 1948 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been conducting annual Global Forest Resources Assessment to document forest resources, their evolving conditions and coverage, management and uses.

This report draws from data provided by countries and complemented with remote sensing and satellite data provides the most authoritative and comprehensive data on the world’s forests, as well as their coverage. The report helps countries to understand long-term trends in forest resources and how they relate to global goals and targets, including those on biodiversity, climate, and sustainable land use.

In Kenya, FAO in collaboration with the government and with strong community involvement has restored degraded landscapes and ecosystems. The Kirisia Forest Participatory Forest Management project, for example, saw communities recognize that deforestation through their human activities was not only injurious to the ecosystem but also to themselves. This made them take corrective actions in their own hands and the restoration of Kirisia forest is a global milestone that has received an award.

The Eburu Forest restoration by Hifadhi Farmers’ Cooperative group was also recognized as the UN Kenya Person of the Year’s runners up in 2025 due to their restoration efforts. These are stories worth telling and emulating as we celebrate this year’s International Day of Forests on 21 March 2026. We laud individual and community efforts, and the government’s efforts through the fifteen billion trees initiative whose goal is to increase national forest cover.

A call to action  

As we celebrate the International Day of Forests, we must promote a culture of sustainable land management—balancing productive land use with environmental stewardship. Lawmakers should enact supportive policies that incentivize agroforestry, strengthen forest monitoring, and promote investment in green jobs. Communities must continue to champion restoration, while individuals need to embrace sustainable forest management practices every day.

Forests are lifelines. Protecting them is not optional—it is essential for food security, climate resilience, and economic prosperity. Kenya has shown that restoration is possible. Now, we must scale up these efforts, ensuring that forests remain a legacy for generations to come.

Farayi Zimudzi is FAO Representative in Kenya