Recreational forests for co-benefits: conservation, tourism and well-being

Global Risk Report 2023 denoted climate change, natural disasters and ecosystem degradation are the most challenging factors of the next decades. Natural ecosystem loss and climate change are intrinsically interlinked. Forest ecosystems, harboring over 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, are decreasing rapidly in many parts of the globe. As the world’s forests absorb 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, protecting and restoring this vast carbon sink is essential for mitigating climate change. Forests are also essential resources for climate change adaptation strategies as they are the stronghold of food safety, safeguarding climate extremes and disasters and helping regulate water flows and microclimate. On the other hand, there is a growing concern for health, well-being, and recreational activities and many suggest forests and natural parks are the best places to do so. Besides, the urban population is growing and maybe 70 percent of the global population will live in cities and towns by 2050 which will increase the demand for recreational urban forests.

This growing demand is also being considered by global initiatives such as the United Nations World Tourism Day 2023 (UNWTO) through approaches such as “Investing in Planet: Supporting Tourism’s Green Transition”. This transformation is important for both green tourism and to safeguard natural habitats from further degradation for mitigating climate change.

In light of the UN World Tourism Day, this Research Topic aims to highlight the importance and implementation of recreational forest systems in diverse regions, their challenges and future impacts, particularly in relation to co-benefits for other ecosystem services. Scholarly contributions from original research, methods, reviews, mini-reviews, opinions, and perspectives may include, but are not limited to, the following subtopics:

- Green tourism and natural park systems: importance and challenges
- Urban forestry: perspectives, role in conservation and well-being
- Sustainable urban forest management; connecting nature and people for co-benefits
- Recreational forests for safeguarding remnant forests in highly populated regions
- Health forests for co-benefits; conservation through recreational & health forests
- Policy and governance framework for designing effective recreational forest systems
- Use of technology and innovative approaches for designing a robust sustainable forest management system in line with the theme.

Keywords: Green tourism, sustainable forest management, urban forestry, health-forest, people and forest, forest conservation, co-benefits

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.