CHAPTER 2: CIRCLE OF LIFE


products than secondary or degraded forests, as well as the vital link between biodiversity and pollination service (Hicks et al. 2014).


Soaking up carbon dioxide and water


Plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse gas, from the air, then store the carbon (C) in soil and release the oxygen (O) to create the air that humans breathe. It has been shown that by conserving forests in the tropics, total global CO2 emissions can be reduced by 8 per cent, helping to mitigate the impact of climate (Figure 5).


Feeling down? Go forest bathing!


Forests are important areas for recreation, aesthetic appreciation and stress relief, all of which are of great importance to the health and well-being of people. The experience of forest bathing reduces the possibility of mental illness and depression (Bratman et al. 2015), as well as improving the quality of life and stress (Yu et al. 2016). In Japan, a study showed that forest bathing trips significantly improve human immunity functions in both male and female subjects (Li 2010). These all shows that forests provide intangible or immaterial values to human health, and this connection to nature has been termed biophilia.


11


Oxygen 8%


Carbon dioxide


Carbon 75%


Total global CO2 emissions reduced by


8 per cent through conserving forests in the tropics.


Forests provide 75 per cent of world’s accessible freshwater for agricultural, domestic, urban, industrial, and environmental uses


Figure 5: Planting and growing trees is one of the cheapest and most effective ways of soaking up excess CO2 from the atmosphere and is key to achieving sustainable and secure water supplies


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