The world is rapidly urbanising – more people than ever live in cities. To make our cities more liveable and climate-resilient, Cities4Forests is bringing cities together to better conserve, manage, and restore forests. This includes ‘inner’ forests in the urban environment; ‘nearby’ forests that supply clean water, jobs, and recreation; and ‘faraway’ forests that help to keep climate change in check. Cities4Forests supports peer-to-peer learning and provides technical assistance to improve policies and promote local action. Together, we can ensure forests can support residents’ health & wellbeing, climate resilience, water management and biodiversity. #Cities4Forests
Cities depend on forests—and can do a lot to support them. More than half of humanity already lives in cities, and it is likely this will increase to over 2/3 by 2050. Because urban areas are increasingly where people live and work, the public policies and procurement practices of cities—as well as the values, votes, and consumption patterns of citizens—have enormous potential to support the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of forests. Many cities already support forests in some way, from parks and urban forests to “green infrastructure” and watershed management programs. Few, if any, have efforts to support the faraway forests that are vital for combating climate change.
1. Accra, Ghana 2. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 3. Aguascalientes, Mexico 4. Amman, Jordan 5. Antalya, Turkey 6. Antananarivo, Madagascar 7. Auckland, New Zealand 8. Baltimore, USA 9. Belo Horizonte, Brazil 10. Bogotá, Colombia 11. Brussels, Belgium 12. Cali, Colombia 13. Campinas, Brazil 14. Culiacán, Mexico 15. Detroit, USA 16. Dublin, Ireland 17. Eugene, USA 18. Greater Manchester, UK 19. Haifa, Israel 20. Honolulu, USA 21. Jakarta, Indonesia 22. Johannesburg, South Africa 23. Kigali, Rwanda 24. King County (WA), USA 25. Kochi, India 26. León, Mexico 27. Lin’an, China 28. Little Rock, USA 29. Los Angeles, USA 30. Mérida, Mexico 31. Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara, Mexico 32. Mexico City, Mexico 33. Nairobi, Kenya 34. New York City, USA 35. North Little Rock, USA 36. Oakland, USA 37. Oslo, Norway 38. Philadelphia, USA 39. Portland (OR), USA 40. Quito, Ecuador 41. Raleigh, USA 42. Sacramento, USA 43. Salem (OR), USA 44. Salt Lake City, USA 45. Salvador, Brazil 46. São Pauælo, Brazil 47. Seattle, USA 48. Skopje, Macedonia 49. Toronto, Canada 50. Vancouver, Canada 51. Vienna, Austria 52. Washington, D.C., USA
40 beautiful forests across the world
1. Tongass National Forest, Alaska, USA 2. Boreal Forest, Canada 3. Acadian Forest, Canada 4. Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA, USA 5. Salmon-Challis National Forest, ID, USA 6. Green Mountain National Forest, VT, USA 7. White Mountain National Forest, NH, USA 8. Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica 9. Amazon Rainforest, South America 10. Wistman’s Wood, Dartmoor, UK 11. Killarney National Park, Ireland 12. Caledonian Forest, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, UK 13. New Forest National Park, UK 14. Amsterdamse Bos, Netherlands 15. Mastbos, Netherlands 16. Ardennes, Belgium 17. Cévennes National Park, France 18. Pyrenees National Park, France 19. Cork Oak Forests, Alentejo, Portugal 20. Black Forest, Germany 21. Kellerwald-Edersee National Park, Germany 22. Aggtelek National Park, Hungary 23. Moss Swamp, Romania 24. San Vito Cork Oak Forest, Lazio, Italy 25. Bosco Archiforo, Calabria, Italy 26. La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain 27. Azrou Cedar Forest, Morocco 28. The Congo Basin 29. Drunken forest, Kaliningrad, Russia 30. Stolby National Park, Russia 31. Yili Apricot Valley, China 32. Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Japan 33. Yakushima National Park, Japan 34. The Sundarbans, India & Bangladesh 35. Mossy Forest, Malaysia 36. Brindabella National Park, Australia 37. Hump Ridge Track, Waitutu Forest, New Zealand 38. Karri Forest, Australia 39. Hill Country Heights Trek, Sri Lanka 40. Taiga Forests, Finland
Urban trees in auckland, New Zealand. Photo: Matthew blaikieWaterfront park in detroit, USA. Photo: Kahari KingKa’AU crater trail, honolulu, USA. Photo: Drew farwelGreen roof of the national library, jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Satria SPTree planting initiative in King county (WA), USA. Photo: King countyThe city of trees initaitive aims to plant 3 million trees, manchester, UK. Photo: Chris bullCentral park, New York city, USA. Photo: Roberto nicksonTree-lined boardwalk under the Benjamin Franklin bridge, philadelphia, USA. Photo: Devon wellesleySonian Forest, brussels, Belgium. Photo: Michel petilloUrban trees, portand (Or), USA. Photo: LexscopeFall in salt lake city, USA. Photo: Jennifer castnerView of the 23 de maio avenue and the ibirapuera park, são paulo, Brazil. Photo: Davi costaJacaranda trees bloom in johannesburg, South Africa. Photo: Pranesh luckanUrban trees and coloful houses, guadalajara, Mexico. Photo: Joël de vriendGreen mobility, mérida, Mexico. Photo: Jorge zapataBelvedere palace, vienna, Austria. Photo: Daniel planCherry blossom trees in Washington, d.C., USA. Photo: Karl fredricksonFlowered street, dublin, Ireland. Photo: Mark Dalton
