The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management and conservation of all types of forests. Healthy forest ecosystems are ecological life-support systems. The natural benefits that a forest ecosystem provides are known collectively as “forest ecosystem services.”
Tropical forests provide many valuable products including fruits and nuts, meat, medicines and drugs, tropical plants (such as bromeliads and orchids), lumber, firewood, and charcoal.
Tropical forests also provide a number of services that are vital to human health and livelihood, such as air and water purification, flood and climate regulation, biodiversity, and scenic landscapes. For example, in the Guánica Bay Watershed, forests moderate stream flow. Trees slow the onslaught of tropical downpours, use and store vast quantities of water, and help hold the soil in place. When trees are cleared, rainfall runs off more quickly, contributing to floods and erosion.