A local forest in the central province of Nghệ An.—VNA/VNS Photo Văn Tý

HÀ NỘI —This year, The International Day of Forests (March 21) has the theme "Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World."

The message emphasises how innovation can help humanity restore, protect, manage and sustainably use forests.

Trần Quang Bảo, head of the Forestry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the message was considered a "return" for humanity to recognise the immense potential of forests.

Materials sourced from forests have been used by people worldwide throughout human evolution. However, we had only scratched the surface of the "treasure trove", he said.

According to Bảo, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has developed frameworks and methods over decades to assess the potential and value of forest ecosystems accurately.

Specifically, direct values included the worth of raw materials and physical products extracted from forests and directly used in production, consumption and trade, such as timber, firewood, non-wood forest products and genetic materials.

Indirect values were the economic value of environmental services and ecological functions provided by forests, such as water conservation and regulation, flood mitigation, erosion control, carbon absorption and storage, climate regulation and biodiversity conservation.

Optional values were the unknown values of genetic resources, wild forest species and forest ecosystem functions when they were applied in pharmaceuticals and agriculture in the future.

Legacy values represented direct or indirect values that future generations could utilise.

Intrinsic values accompany species' existence within forests and forest ecosystems regardless of direct use, such as cultural significance, historical value, aesthetics, heritage, and inheritance.

Today, technological advancements enable humanity to extract natural values more efficiently and cleverly, providing sustainable alternatives to materials like plastics, construction materials, textiles, medicines and others.

This aligned with the Vietnamese forestry sector's perspective and direction in the future, which is towards innovation in mindset, awareness, and action to maximise and exploit forests' multi-value.

The concepts had been concretised under the Project on developing the multiple values of forest ecosystems until 2030, a vision until 2050, approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 208/QĐ-TTg on February 29, 2024.

This year's International Day of Forests message also underscored the need to restore, develop, protect, manage, and sustainably use forests based on the achievements of scientific and technological advancements and innovative solutions, such as satellite technology, unmanned aerial vehicles, biotechnology, crop varieties or materials technology.

Bảo said: "Through innovative approaches and actions, together, we build a better world, a more ecological environment, a more prosperous economy, and an improved quality of life."

The United Nations General Assembly approved the International Day of Forests (March 21) on November 28, 2012, and first launched in 2013. Since then, the event has been celebrated annually with different themes. — VNS