Stutong Forest Nature Reserve is one of the few green lungs found in Kuching and is popular among joggers.

 

KUCHING: World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia (WWF-Malaysia) is calling on urbanites in the state to plant a tree to mark the globally-celebrated International Day of Forests tomorrow.

Its Sarawak programme leader Dr Jason Hon said this year’s celebration is themed ‘Forests and Sustainable Cities’, which emphasises on the importance of forests and trees as part of the urban landscapes.

He said urbanites should do their part in greening their cities and towns as trees provide many benefits such as reducing temperature and noise pollution, removing harmful pollutants in the air, and storing carbon which helps to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

“In WWF-Malaysia, we also hope that local authorities, particularly those involved in urban planning, and developers will set aside more areas as public parks or nature reserves to act as green lungs for cities,” he said.

The recent news that Canada Hill and its surrounding areas in Miri City might be gazetted as a green lung is a much welcomed move, he said in a statement yesterday.

“Forests in and around urban areas help to filter and regulate water, contributing to high-quality fresh water supplies for hundreds of millions of people. Forests also protect watersheds and prevent flooding as they store water in their branches and soil.

“Trees also improve the local climate, helping to save energy used for heating by 20-50 per cent, provide home and food to wildlife including birds and insects,” said Dr Hon.

He pointed out that the third week of March is a significant time as World Water Day is observed on March 22, followed by Earth Hour on March 24.

“The messages from these green days are closely intertwined and ultimately, having healthy standing forests will help to conserve our water and mitigate climate change.”

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, forests cover one third of the Earth and land mass, performing vital functions around the world.

Around 1.6 billion people – including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures – depend on forests for their livelihoods, medicines, fuel, food and shelter.

Forests are the most biologically-diverse ecosystems on land, home to more than 80 per cent of the terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.

The International Day of Forests is held annually on March 21 to raise awareness of the importance of forests to people and their vital role in poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and food security.