Dr. Suzanne Simard: The theme for the next International Day of Forests should be Saving our Primary Forests

In this beautiful video, author, professor, and forest ecologist Dr. Suzanne Simard explains why forests are so important to keep our planet liveable. Filmed in British Columbia, Canada, Simard walks us through an old-growth forest to examine the complex and wondrous systems these forests truly are.

Forests are the “biggest photosynthetic creatures on land”. They take in CO2 and turn it into food for the ecosystem and in return the air we breathe comes from the forests.

But as integral as forests are, they continue to be logged at an alarming rate.

“The world’s forests are really suffering right now, and they are suffering because of our abuse. They are suffering under global change, loss of biodiversity, drought stress… When we look at the state of forests around the world, we know that we have lost one-third of forests over the last thousand years. We also know that over 80% of the remaining forests we have today are affected, in a lot of ways negatively, by human beings.”

Fortunately, she explains, there are solutions. Like ending the cutting of old-growth and primary forests, as they contain such essential stores of carbon and biodiversity.

“For the last 500 years, we’ve had this worldview that forests and nature are here for our taking, that we can exploit them and not give back – that is a very unhealthy and unsustainable worldview. What gives me hope is my kids, my students, the next generations. They are so creative and ingenious – they’re like the forest. The forest bounces back, it regenerates, it creates new space for itself. So do our kids. When I teach kids or hang around with my own children, I have complete faith that we are going to figure our way out of this.”

We are honoured to work with Suzanne Simard, and with over 900 global companies to save forests like the iconic old-growth forests of British Columbia seen in this video. We look forward to continuing to shift supply chains out of vital forests to low-impact, circular options. We hope you enjoy this thought-provoking video and take a moment to ponder and celebrate its message. Now is always the time to protect the irreplaceable.