Trees bind carbon which helps to fight climate change. In Scandinavian countries the forests are replanted, and the biodiversity develops. The trees take about two decades to grow back and the soil to accumulate carbon again. In Sweden, for every one tree felled 3 are planted and Norway has been the first country to commit to a Zero deforestation policy.

As the ongoing climate emergency and unbridled human activity continue to have a direct, catastrophic impact on biodiversity, the destruction of our habitat and environmental degradation are creating the perfect conditions for diseases like COVID-19 to emerge; this in turn, accelerates climate change. Successful management of the world’s forests, natural capital is of critical importance to the planet, people, and commerce.

Humankind has cleared nearly half of the world’s forests. Luckily, woodlands have an extraordinary ability to recover. They are called the “Lungs of the Earth.” In just 25 years we lost over 100 million square kilometers of forests and still clearing 10 billion trees a year. The forests absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store it in their trunks, roots and in the soil. They clear almost 15 billion tons of CO2 each year. As the forests are cut and if not replanted or protected for the biodiversity to return, dangerous amounts of carbon back into the atmosphere increasing the rate of climate change and global temperatures.

We need to move soonest to a lower carbon economy and optimize the use of forests and wood resources that are available. With discretionary monetary resources expected to remain constrained for significant period time, the ability of governments and consumers to take action has been effected. Organizations at all levels have the obligation to embark on sweeping initiatives to fight climate change while the cost of doing so is relatively bearable. The cost of these initiatives in the next 10 to 20 years will increase exponentially and may become a financial burden that is not feasible and therefore negate the sustainable initiatives taken by the rest of the world!