Green Lungs of Mother Earth

Globally, Forests are often recognized as the ‘green lungs’ because they exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide with the atmosphere.

As the green lungs of Mother Earth, they are vital to our health and survival. Following are some of the reasons for saying so.

·         It provides clean air (oxygen) for living beings

·         It restricts the air pollution. 

·         It provides habitat for plants and animals

·         It protects the soil from erosion. 

·         It absorbs CO2 that fuels global warming

People began life on this planet as forest dwellers. They were food gatherers and depended on the forest for all their needs such as food, clothing, and shelter. They gradually became food growers, clearing a small patch in the forest to grow food. But they continued to depend on forests to meet a lot of their needs. Even today people depend on the forest for paper, timber, fuelwood, medicine, fodder etc.

Some of the useful products derived from forests are mentioned below:

·         Timber	·         Grasses
·         Cane	·         Medicinal use
·         Fruit	·         Rubber
·         Fibre	·         Essential oils
·         Bamboo	·         Wax