How old-growth forests protect our climate | DW Documentary
Giant trees that have stood for decades or even centuries are an elixir of life on our planet. They help purify the air, preserve biodiversity and are key to slowing down climate change. But the number of these age-old giants is dwindling fast.
Deforestation, drought, and pests pose a huge threat to old-growth trees and destroy their ecosystems. But unconventional ideas on how to raise awareness and increase our understanding of the role these trees play, as well as rethinking how we use our forests, can all help to protect them.
“Big trees are the most important bar of gold on the planet”, says US biologist Meg Lowman. She was the first scientist to begin studying forest canopies in the 1970s with the help of self-built hoists. Now aged 70, she’s pursuing the ambitious goal of safeguarding the future of ten of the world’s most biodiverse forests, by building walkways high up in the forest canopy for both ecotourists and scientists. The walkways are maintained by local residents, who also work as tour guides and provide catering and accommodation for the visitors. We accompany Meg Lowman and a group of ecotourists on an expedition to the Peruvian Amazon.
In Germany, most forests are not natural – and none are primeval as defined in the classic sense. But the “woodify” startup is looking to change that, by ensuring that large areas of woodland are left to grow wild. The company’s goal is to withdraw 50% of Germany’s forests from commercial use.
The start-up works by leasing areas of forest and signing a contract that no trees will be felled there for 30 years. Any trees that fall to the ground naturally are left to rot, meaning: no human intervention whatsoever. This eventually leads to a more natural forest that stores CO2. Woodify issues certificates for the additional amount of CO2 sequestered and sells them to companies.
The scientifically substantiated model relies on calculations carried out by the Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development. At a time when large areas of commercial forest with monocultures are dying off, the model is becoming increasingly attractive. If the idea works, says founder Anselm Schneider, it will result in the generation of a lot of natural woodland.
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20 comments
Nice Information
Topside st. At their co- oprative groce .
Agreed!
Eccept st free $$$max labek returns .
That's great that they showed Explorama. A legendary eco lodge worth visiting 💯
Please..Do not Disturb
I’m gonna get everyone’s tax dollars to make me rich and you’re all to blame for ruining the earth.
Sustainable development is important for our future generations
As a hungarian i really appreciate the armband she is wearing lol
An informative and wonderful introduction and incredible warning ⚠️ for protecting old Gaint trees (🌳) . Stopping deforestation . thank you, respectful 🙏( DW) documentary channel.
To protect the forests the world needs to give financial incentives for countries with the forests to keep them vs plowing them for agriculture otherwise it will steadily disappear.
Please universe let the humans leave the trees alone 🙏💙
Please add the information of the people/projects/companies etc in the description.
20:35
Yep that is the way to go, if you want forests, grow them in your country
Uuuggghhhhhhhh even more climate stuff 😩 I love and appreciate DW, but it's such a massive world out there, overdoing this specific topic to this degree is very…. odd.
Beautiful forests!
The tourists that visit the forests burn carbon and pollute the atmosphere which causes more problems than it solves.
Unfortunately a civilization as ignorant as ours, has no chance of survival. Things will get progressively worse until the end.
It's not enough that a handful of people devote their lives to the cause of saving the environment, while others could care less about it until too late.
I am sure not too many civilizations as aggressive and violent as ours, make it into space and onto other worlds.
The ozone layer, acid rain, rising sea levels, earth core temperature, climate change, shortages, pandamics… oh no
The old forests should be protected worldwide and taxes should be given to countries to discourage deforestation of "lungs" of our society.
Also, we should lower our energy consumption as in some parts of the world we are consuming almost as much energy as sun gives off per area, this means that lowering CO2 should be our number 2 priority, after energy decrease!