Civilisation and nature, city and forest - can they coexist? Around the world, natural areas are suffering from rapidly growing urbanisation, but now there is a project in which cities are working to preserve forests. Learn more about Cities4Forests here.
Green spaces, trees and forests are indispensable for cities and their citizens, because green zones offer a variety of benefits and bring nature into the city. Trees clean the air, provide a home for wildlife even in the city and are a local recreational opportunity for people that is simply good for you. At the same time, parks and forests in and around cities are a link to the forests far away. They remind us of the global added value of large forest areas in the tropics, but also in northern latitudes, which regulate our climate and contribute to the preservation of biodiversity.
What is Cities4Forests?
Cities4Forests aims to harness the political, social and economic support of city administrations and city citizens to include inner, near and distant forests in urban development plans and programmes. All participating cities and citizens are united in their efforts to reduce deforestation, reforest forests and manage forest habitats more sustainably.
The starting point is the inner forests: the forests in the city, but also the nearby areas. The inner forests - these are the trees in the city. Avenue trees and parks. Shade trees, cooling groups of trees, groves. They all keep out the sun, purify the air and provide city dwellers with plenty of oxygen. And they remind us that there is much more forest outside the city - forest worth preserving. If city dwellers can be made aware of how important forests are, even in big cities, and how valuable they are for human health and regeneration, then the step towards protecting the "distant" forests on other continents will not be so difficult.
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Preserving forests - in and outside the city
As forests become more valuable, even in cities, more and more supporters of forest restoration and sustainable management are found worldwide.
Nevertheless, forest areas are shrinking everywhere. Every year, about 5 million hectares of forest are cleared. This has terrible consequences for the species living there, but also for the increase in greenhouse gases. In order to create awareness for the value, but also the beauty of the forest, forests must be brought back into the cities. Only in this way will it be possible to awaken and maintain a bond with the forest in people.
Who participates in Cities4Forests?
Cities4Forests is a voluntary coalition of city governments from around the world, supported by water utilities and sustainability organisations. Cities from all over the world are already participating, some with ambitious and innovative projects such as Milan's "Vertical Forest", a green high-rise building. Learning, awareness-raising and inspiration are promoted. At the same time, the organisation offers technical support in the areas of forests and water, climate change, communication and politics.
These are just a few of the many cities that are participating.
In addition, training is provided to help overcome challenges and put further work on solid scientific foundations. Cities4Forests also helps with one-to-one meetings when needed. Participating cities can join one or more working groups to jointly develop a deeper understanding of thematic issues, challenges and opportunities.
We are committed to forests
We at NIKIN donate to the planting of a tree through our partner OneTreePlanted with every product purchased from us, thus also doing our part to preserve the world's forests. The activities of organisations like OneTreePlanted help to ensure that the world's forests are managed more sustainably and that lost areas can be restored.
More information about the projects can be found here: Cities4Forests
