21 March is International Day of Forests!

Officially, the area of forests in Ukraine is 10.4 million hectares, of which 9.6 million hectares are covered with forest vegetation. The country's forest cover is 15.9%. However, the actual area of forests is much larger due to self-seeding forests. There are at least 60 thousand hectares of such forests in Ukraine.

Ukraine's forests are composed of more than 30 species of trees, including pine (35%), oak (28%), beech (9%), spruce (8%), fir (8%), birch (7%), aspen (7%), alder (4%), ash (2%), hornbeam (2%) and other (5%).

Forest cover in Ukraine by natural zones:

• Carpathians - 42%;
• Polissya - 26.8%;
• Forest-steppe - 13%;
• Crimea - 10%;
• Steppe - 5.3%.

Life is about balance. A balance based on what we give and receive. And forests give us so much! They clean our water, purify our air. They fight climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. They provide us with food, essential medicines and improve our well-being.

But our forests are vulnerable, threatened by fires, pests, droughts and other hazards. That is why we must take care of them. Not only to take, but also to give.

Healthy forests mean healthy people. Take care of the forest!