FOREST and food are indeed crucial to the survival of humanity, as well as the entire forest ecosystem and as custodians we, humans have a responsibility to ensure it is sustainably managed and are not being overexploited.
Forestry Permanent Secretary, Richard Raomae highlighted in commemorating International Forest Day on 21st March 2025. This year’s theme is – “Forests and Foods”.
He says forest plays one of the very important roles in complimenting the very means of providing food for us and off course, the bigger picture of food security.
“Forests through its ecosystem cycle decomposes and eventually forms the rich nutrients top soil, it also holds the biggest reservoirs of underground water that continues to sustain agricultural subsistence farming.
“Likewise, forests help maintain the good soil fertility making sure our foods are harvest at its highest yield.
“More so forest has provided us its essential service through provision of household materials and fuel wood, used for cooking ever since our ancestorial days. And so, it is very important that we do not unnecessarily cut our forests.”
The Permanent Secretary adds on the other hand, forests have played significant role in our economy; its industries operation has provided for revenue generated in our country through round log, veneer and sawn timber.
Whilst these are all important roles forests play, we as custodians to these resources must step up to the call to properly manage our forest resources sustainably going forward.
In doing so it is paramount that as custodians, we must see into how best a balance between cutting forests and planting forest; thus, if you cut one tree replace it with five trees, elaborated PS Raomae.
Mr Raomae further adds with these crucial roles, the significance of making forest day around the world yearly on 21st March shows that we are not alone on the struggle to sustainably manage the worlds forest resources.
Solomon Islands is blessed with enormous forest resources and it is being identified as one of the fastest tree regrowth rate regions in the world, an advantage to us. Even so, we cannot neglect our efforts to ensure we sustainably manage our forest resources for our children and children’s children.
He then urges the students, “the presence of you students in commemorating this day is a way forward, as youths you must know your surroundings including forest. Understanding forest’s importance is crucial at your age as you will be the advocators in the years to come.”
The one-day International Forest Day was marked at the Botanical Garden attended by students from Mbokona and Tamlan who participated in various activities including a clean-up campaign around the garden, tree planting, information session and quizzes, together with staff of the Ministry of Forestry and Research including other partner stakeholders such as JICA.
Source: MoFR Press
