Importance of Wood
Most of us take the Importance of Wood in Our Everyday Life for granted.
But when people admire wood and timber products, they rarely think for a moment of the country of origin of the forest from which the wood is taken.
Nor indeed do they think of the conditions in which the population of that country live or the damage caused to their environment by the destruction of their forests.
Nor do they realise that the accumulated destruction of forests in all countries is contributing in a massive way towards overall global warming leading to a serious decline in biological diversity - the foundation of life. See NEW EU Timber Regulation
Just Forests aims to heighten general awareness of the implicit/explicit role wood, trees and forests play in our lives – from the man or woman who works with wood for a living here in Ireland, to the Africans and others around the world, who rely on wood merely to survive. Just Forests also endeavour to guide society towards a more responsible stewardship of the world's finite timber resource before it’s too late.
WOOD is one of the earth’s most versatile and probably most familiar natural raw material and the important role it plays in our daily lives often goes unnoticed. Each day millions of people around the world derive their livelihoods working with wood. The quality of our lives has been greatly enhanced because of this wonderful resource.
ITS MYRIAD OF USES is staggering. Wood, in its easy to recognise natural state provides us with furniture, building components, musical instruments, sporting equipment, household utensils, etc. In its altered (processed) form its role is not so obvious, yet it is there, under the guise of paper, fabric, glue, alcohol, rubber, food medicine, etc.
IN MANY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES fuelwood is the major source of energy, supplying as much as 97% of total consumption. Already millions of people in Africa experience dreadful hardship on a daily basis in their search for fuelwood just to boil water to render it suitable for drinking. Over the coming years 3 billion people worldwide will face acute fuelwood shortages as this dwindling resource dissappears from traditional fuelwood sources.
Rathcobican, Rhode, Offaly, Ireland
Phone: +353 (0) 86 8049389 | E-mail: info@justforests.org