2018 World Forest day focuses on forests and sustainable cities

COLOMBO (News 1^st) - Strategic placement of trees in urban areas can cool the air by up to 8 degrees Celsius, reducing air conditioning needs by 30%. This is a key message as today (March 21) marks World Forest day focusing on Forests and Sustainable Cities. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21^st of March the International Day of Forests (IDF) in 2012. The first International Forest Day celebrations were held in Sri Lanka in the year 2014. In the Island, the Sinharaja forest has been named as a national heritage. The Knuckles forest reserve, the Samanala Adaviya reserve, and the Horton place National park in the central highlands of Sri Lanka are a few forests that are world heritages. Forests and trees store carbon, which helps mitigate the impacts of climate change in and around urban areas. Trees also improve the local climate, helping to save energy used for heating by 20-50%.