May 6, 2025 (ForeignAffairs.co.nz) –
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Representing 27% of all forests worldwide, boreal forests are the planet’s terrestrial “second lung” after tropical forests. Encircling the
Despite their importance, boreal forests do not receive the same visibility and attention among policymakers and the public as their tropical forest counterparts. A new study published by the
The comprehensive study on boreal forests and accompanying series of national overviews (for
Call for Action
The study highlights the need to place greater focus on boreal forests in global discussions on sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, sustainability indicators and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
A commonly agreed definition of boreal forests would help to delineate the area they occupy as a precondition for a consistent monitoring of the boreal forest biome. This could be achieved through the development of a set of dedicated criteria and indicators for monitoring long-term effects of forest management activities, natural and human-caused landscape disturbance, as well as climate change, including fires and insect infestations.
Such assessment instruments, resulting from the joint efforts of countries with boreal forests, would generate evidence on the state of the biome for improved policymaking for the sustainable management of boreal forests and help raise their overall profile.
Key Facts
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Carbon storage: These forests contain about 32% of global terrestrial carbon stocks, with boreal soils holding vast amounts of carbon, significantly impacting atmospheric carbon levels.
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Economic importance: They contribute substantially to sustainable livelihoods, including to rural, remote and Indigenous communities, and economic growth, providing 37% of the world’s stock of growing timber. Activities such as berry or mushroom picking, hunting, and recreation/tourism also make important contributions.
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Rising threats: Boreal forests face increasing threats from climate change, including wildfires, pest outbreaks, and thawing permafrost.
Boreal forests are characterized by short, moist, and moderately warm summers and long, cold, and dry winters. Their flora consists mostly of cold-tolerant evergreen conifer trees, such as spruce, larch, pine and fir, with some broadleaf species such as birch, poplar and alder. The world’s boreal regions are among the least densely populated on earth.
Boreal forests contain approximately 48% of global primary forests and are vital for the conservation of biodiversity and climate regulation. They play an important role in global carbon sequestration and storage, and therefore, are key to climate change mitigation. In addition to providing significant ecosystem services, for example, the protection of freshwater resources, boreal forests play a substantial role in contributing to the sustainable economic development of countries in the boreal zone, and provide a sustainable supply of wood and energy to world markets.
Boreal forests, like other forest biomes, are important to global goals such as the
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