Time to realize the importance of Forests!

Drinking coffee, eating a few squares of chocolate or refueling your vehicle… These are very common actions for most of us. But did you know that these everyday consumer goods come, directly or indirectly, from forests and, moreover, that they can play a role in the problem of deforestation? It is time to realize that the forest is useful to us every day, and that it is important to act to protect it.  Among so much of deforestation ideas which have come up in market, there are some good people out there who are finding ways and means to set it back. This post talks about one such effort put by ReforestAction. President Stéphane Hallaire talks about how his company is trying to set it back.

Since 2010, the company ReforestAction has been carrying out awareness-raising actions and acts for the forests. Remember that forests provide us with multiple services every day, since they play an essential role on the climate, biodiversity, the protection of our soils and territories, as well as our water and food resources.

What Stéphane Hallaire has to say ?

For Stéphane Hallaire, these forests have a real importance in our lives and we, too, have a real impact on them. It is through photosynthesis that forests extract CO2 which they store and then release oxygen. Without these carbon sinks, it would be very difficult to combat the effects of climate change.

In addition, the forests are a gigantic reserve for fauna and flora. They are home to around 80% of the planet’s biodiversity.

Forests also represent a place of social and economic development. Billions of people around the world depend on the forest for their livelihood, even for survival.

Today, two main threats weigh on the world’s forests: deforestation and forest degradation.

In France, even if species are not directly affected by deforestation, the quality of the forests remains a concern. In Europe, no less than 40% of tree species are threatened with extinction. European forests are gradually degrading, in particular due to climate change. They are also experiencing increasingly frequent and significant periods of drought, storms and diseases, gradually leading to the disappearance of many tree species. For Stéphane Hallaire, these European forests must be adapted to climate change and fight against their erosion.

Globally, the problem of deforestation mainly concerns the equatorial and intertropical forests, which serve agribusiness and coal mining. The vegetation is burned there to be replaced by various crops such as soybeans or palm trees (to produce palm oil), which serve to meet our agro-industrial and agro-food needs, both locally and international

To allow us to act on these two threats, the President of ReforestAction suggests several avenues applicable to everyday life.

Rethinking consumption

For example, industrial meat production relies mainly on the cultivation of soybeans from Brazil, from areas that have been deforested. Reconsidering your consumption of meat, especially industrial meat – in concrete terms, eating “less” and “better” – is already acting on your own scale.

To plant trees

When you plant a tree, you put your hands in the ground, you become aware of its gesture and you understand the interaction between the tree and the living thing that surrounds it. Having the opportunity to plant a tree, whether in your garden or elsewhere, allows you to reconnect with nature and feel involved.

Participate financially in reforestation

Not everyone has a garden or the opportunity to plant trees. On the other hand, organizations such as ReforestAction or others allow action to be taken by providing financial assistance for various reforestation actions such as the restoration of degraded forests.

Go to the forest, observe nature

Nothing like soaking up nature directly to understand it and be aware of its preservation. For Stéphane Hallaire, it is by walking in the forest that one realizes the importance of forests. The forest is not just a simple reserve for birds and insects but is in reality much more than that. It acts on the climate, on the development of biodiversity and even on our health. The forest is the “starting point for a model of sustainable society” .

Want to know more, to better understand the situation, to discover tools and resources to raise awareness and act? Visit the Month of the Forest website . And if you want to calculate your carbon footprint, offer a tree or plant a forest, just visit ReforestAction website.