The benefits of the urban forest are such, that the overall urban forest can be regarded as a vital component of the urban infrastructure essential in maintaining a liveable and sustainable environment. |
Urban trees and forests can contribute immensely to the quality of life in towns and cities in the region. In low-income settlements the most important benefits of the urban forest may be directly productive ones such as supply of building materials, fuelwood and even fodder. Many other functions are environmental, including protection of water-supply catchments for the cities, protection against landslides, climate mitigation. Yet others are aesthetic - the beauty and the room offered for recreation. Some roles cannot be quantified in money terms but this does not mean they are any less important.
Annex 2 presents forest and tree roles in urban areas in some detail; this should be treated as a checklist and not in any way as implying that all the functions are important in all circumstances or equally important at any one time in all cities. For example, as cities become more wealthy, the relative importance given to aesthetic functions may grow, and value as sources of fuelwood may tend to decline.
