In 2024, the International Day of Forests has the theme “Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World”.
The content of the message is to emphasize how innovation can help people restore, protect, manage and use forests in a sustainable way.
“A revolution in innovation is unlocking the long-held secrets of forests and allowing people to use trees in ways we never imagined. Materials derived from forests and trees are being developed as sustainable alternatives to plastics, construction materials, fabrics, medicines and many other everyday items. At the same time, rapidly developing satellite and drone technology helps us monitor and manage forests, detect and prevent forest fires, and protect ecosystems.”
Mr. Tran Quang Bao, Director of the Forestry Department, said that this message can be considered a "return" for people to realize the great potential of forests. Materials originating from forests have been used by people around the world throughout the formation and evolution of humanity. However, we have only accessed a small part of that "treasure".
Over the past decades, the United Nations Committee on Climate Change has developed analytical frameworks and methods to correctly and fully determine the potential and use value of forest ecosystems, specifically as follows:
– Direct value: Includes the value of raw materials and physical products taken from forests and used directly in human production, consumption and trading activities such as wood and firewood. , non-timber forest products, genetic materials;
– Indirect value: Is the economic value of environmental services and ecological functions that forests create such as maintaining and regulating water sources, limiting floods, controlling erosion, absorbing and storing carbon, climate regulation, biodiversity conservation;
– Selection value: Are the unknown values of genetic resources, wild animals in the forest and forest ecological functions when they are applied in the fields of entertainment, medicine, agriculture. career, in the future;
– Residual values: Are direct or indirect values that future generations have the opportunity to use;
– Existence value: Is the intrinsic value that comes with the existence of species in forests and forest ecosystems, regardless of direct use such as cultural, historical, aesthetic, or genetic significance. property, inheritance,...
Today, the development of technology allows people to exploit values from nature more effectively and wisely to sustainably replace plastic materials, construction materials, fabrics, medicines and many more. other value. This is also consistent with the perspective and orientation of Vietnam's forestry industry in the coming time on innovation in perspective, awareness and action, to promote and exploit the multiple values of forests. These contents have been specified in the Project for developing multi-use values of forest ecosystems to 2030, with a vision to 2050, approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. February 208, 29.
The message of this year's International Day of Forests also emphasizes the need to restore, develop, protect, manage and use forests in a sustainable way - based on the achievements of scientific and technological progress and innovation. innovative innovations, such as satellite technology, drones, biological technology, plant varieties, or materials technology,...
Through innovation in approach and action, together, we build a better world: more ecological environment - more developed economy - improved quality of life - Mr. Bao emphasized.
