Key ecosystems for life
THE FORESTS
Globally, only 20% of the Earth’s forests remain intact. But intensive agriculture, urbanization, unsustainable logging, mining and other factors are accelerating their demise.
Mature forests harbor the highest concentration of terrestrial biodiversity, and generate a multitude of vital ecosystem services for the beings that inhabit them and for humans from their near or more distant environment (water purification, air quality, CO2 emissions reduction, etc.) In general they are a key source of health and well-being.
In a territory like Catalonia (example in a developed country), between 5 and 10% of the total wooded area corresponds to minimally mature forests of high ecological value which are urgent to preserve.
They are like the equivalent of the old town. Before they were the most degraded areas of the metropolis, and later we discovered that they represented the essence and the basic personality of the urban areas, and that we had to protect them at all costs for their beauty, their authenticity and for the value that they contributed to the whole city. We would not think to dismantle stones from the cathedral to build an urbanization in the outskirts or sell them by weight, right? Then, with mature forests should be, at least, the same concept.
Protecting forests is key to having a healthy nature. And having a healthy nature is key to having a healthy society.
