In Memoriam

The clearcutting method means you cut down all the trees of a specific area, plant new seedlings, wait 80 years and start the cycle over. So, what’s wrong with that?

Well, for starters it uglifies the world. Turns nature into the equivalent of the modern office landscape, with neat rows of desks and fluorescent lights. But if that were the only problem maybe we could live with it. So what else?

• It makes the area uninhabitable to nearly all of the species that previously lived there, causing loss of biodiversity on a huge scale.
• The clearcut area emits tremendous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere for 10-15 years, before the new plantation is big enough to start sequestering more than the scarred land emits.
• The new plantation lacks variation in species and age and does not have the support of the soil based mykorrhiza network that makes old growth forests so resilient. It is therefore much more vulnerable to pests, fires and storms.

In short, the modern forestry model of clearcutting is no longer modern. In fact, it’s dead. Only, the forestry industry hasn’t realized this just yet. It’s clinging to old ways, as yet unwilling to transform to eco forestry methods. And as evolution will tell you: those unwilling or unable to adapt, will die.

More of Everything

A documentary by Viktor Säfve and Geir Hansteen Jörgensen

Scientists, biologists and filmmakers have been teaming up in Sweden of late to help bring awareness to the toxicity of the old ways, and to enlighten us about new forestry methods. Ecologically respectful ways, that will still provide timber and paper, but without putting stress on nature’s capacity to enable life on our planet.

Today’s featured film is called “More of Everything”, and it focuses on how the forestry industry in Sweden is promoting clear cutting ways while portraying themselves as environmental heroes. It has brought together a number of highly knowledgeable experts who combine for a devastating debunking of the forestry industry’s multi-million dollar propaganda.

Watch the film by clicking the image above (will open in a new window) or use this link: moreofeverything.org.
The film is in English and Swedish, with English subtitles available.

More Films on Sustainability in Forestry

A Tale from the Woods

This is Campfire Stories own contribution on the matter; a film that we put out last spring. Slightly more poetic and philosophical than the two other films highlighted today. It features, among others, Maria “Vildhjärta” Westerberg (artist, poet), Mikael Karlsson (ecoforestry spokesperson) and Andris Fågelviskare (tracker, nature guide).

Synopsis
In spite of the forestry industry’s attempts to be viewed as “green”, the sadness in one’s soul at the sight of a clear cut is palpable. Is it really possible to chop down an entire woods and still use labels like “environmental care”? And how does our view of the forest change when we stop seeing her as an economic resource and instead as an invitation to an ecological partnership?

Click the image to watch the film.