FAO/Bill Ciesla: Boreal forests line a foggy fjord in Southeast Alaska (file).
UN News
Global View Human Stories
Boreal forests: A great unknown despite being the second lung of the planet
A new study calls for greater visibility for these forests, which cover 9.3% of the global land surface and play a vital role in biodiversity conservation, climate regulation, and sustaining societies and economies.
Boreal forests represent 27% of all forests in the world, making them the planet's terrestrial 'second lung' after tropical forests. They surround the North Pole and extend across North America, Europe, and Asia, playing a vital role in carbon sequestration and storage, biodiversity, and sustaining societies and economies.
Despite their importance, they do not receive the same visibility and attention among politicians and the public as their tropical counterparts.
A new study published by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), presented this Monday at the United Nations Forum on Forests in New York, highlights the urgent need to increase understanding of and protect this 'global treasure.'
The comprehensive study and a series of accompanying national summaries (for Canada, Finland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States) conclude that, despite the importance of the boreal biome, there are significant gaps in our knowledge of its forests , their role in sustainable development, and their future.
This can be attributed to fragmented research, based on site-specific national conditions, and the lack of a harmonized and agreed-upon definition and framework across the boreal region.
A common definition is missing
The study underscores the need to pay more attention to boreal forests in global debates on sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, sustainability indicators, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
To begin with, a commonly agreed-upon definition would help delimit the area they occupy as a prerequisite for consistent biome monitoring.
This could be achieved by developing a set of specific criteria and indicators for monitoring the long-term effects of forest management activities, landscape disturbances, and climate change, including fires and insect infestations.
Such assessment tools would generate evidence on the state of the biome to improve policy making for its sustainable management .
Vital for biodiversity and climate regulation
According to data from the UNECE Committee on Forests and Forest Industry, boreal forests cover approximately 1.21 billion hectares ( 9.3% of the world's land area ).
They are characterized by short, humid, and moderately warm summers and long, cold, and dry winters. Their flora consists primarily of cold-tolerant evergreen conifers, such as spruce, larch, pine, and fir, with some broadleaf species such as birch, poplar, and alder.
Boreal forests contain approximately 48% of the world's primary forests and are vital for biodiversity conservation and climate regulation . They play an important role in global carbon sequestration and storage (they contain approximately 32% of the world's terrestrial carbon reserves) and are therefore key to mitigating climate change.
In addition to protecting freshwater resources, they play a substantial role in contributing to the sustainable economic development of boreal zone countries and provide a sustainable supply of timber and energy to global markets.
Despite their importance, they face increasing threats from climate change, such as wildfires, pest outbreaks, and thawing permafrost .
The boreal regions are among the least densely populated on the planet.
ON SOURCE: NACIONES UNIDAS