A new limited-edition book tells the story of Size of Wales’ first fifteen years, celebrating the people, partnerships and communities that have helped turn a bold Welsh idea into global action for tropical forests.
Maint Cymru: Yr Hanes Hyd Yma / Size of Wales: The Story So Far was written by Nicola Baird and launched as part of Size of Wales’ 15th anniversary celebrations at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff.
The bilingual hardback traces the charity’s journey from its beginnings in 2011, when Wales set out to help protect an area of tropical forest equivalent to its own size, to a growing movement connecting communities across Wales with Indigenous Peoples and local communities protecting forests around the world.
Through stories, photographs and reflections from the people involved, the book explores Size of Wales’ partnerships in countries including Brazil, Peru, Kenya, Uganda and Indonesia. It also highlights action here in Wales through schools, communities, businesses, public bodies and campaigns for deforestation-free supply chains.
The book celebrates what has been achieved through fifteen years of partnership and solidarity, while looking ahead to Size of Wales’ ambition of helping to make Wales the world’s first deforestation-free nation.
The commemorative book is a limited-edition publication and is not currently available for public sale. Copies have been presented to key supporters and partners in recognition of their contribution to the Size of Wales journey.
Below, Size of Wales Chair Tim Birch reflects on the meaning behind the organisation’s name, why tropical forests matter to people in Wales and the urgent work that remains.
Why the Size of Wales still matters
By Tim Birch, Chair of Size of Wales
The phrase “the size of Wales” is often used as a powerful comparison to help people understand the true scale of the destruction of the world’s tropical forests. It is also why the name was chosen for our unique organisation.
Making the relentless destruction of tropical forests understandable helps drive the urgent action needed to protect and restore them. That remains at the heart of Size of Wales’ mission.
Size of Wales helps bring an enormous global challenge closer to home. By raising awareness, we can inspire changes in behaviour, public policy and purchasing decisions, both in Wales and overseas, that help protect tropical forests.
Our work takes place not only here in Wales, but alongside Indigenous Peoples and local communities on the frontline of forest destruction in places including the Amazon, Uganda and Indonesia. Protecting tropical forests also means supporting the rights, traditions, livelihoods and well-being of the people who have cared for them for generations.
The destruction of tropical forests cannot be addressed through forest protection alone. We must tackle the logging and burning of forests while also reducing global demand for products linked to their destruction. Many of these products, including commodities found in everyday food and goods, ultimately reach Wales through international supply chains.
People often ask why tropical forests matter so much. They are home to an extraordinary proportion of the world’s plant and animal life, and we cannot halt the global nature crisis without protecting the forests that remain.
They also absorb and store vast amounts of carbon, helping to regulate the Earth’s climate and slow global warming. When tropical forests are destroyed or burned, that stored carbon is released into the atmosphere, further accelerating climate change.
Protecting and restoring the world’s tropical forests has never been more important as the climate and nature crises deepen. It is also vital for the millions of people, including Indigenous communities, whose cultures, livelihoods and identities are closely connected to these forests and who call them home.
The mission of Size of Wales is both ambitious and critically important: to help make Wales the world’s first deforestation-free nation and to play a meaningful role in protecting and restoring tropical forests around the world.
Over the past fifteen years, we have achieved a great deal through partnership, solidarity and action. Our anniversary book tells that story.
But it is not only a record of what has already been achieved. It is also a reminder of how much more there is still to do.
