From scientists to global companies, forests are identified as a key to mitigating climate change. At the same time, deforestation continues unabated. Meet one of the enthusiasts protecting forests – with the support of outdoor companies.

“Forests are like cookie jars. If you open the lid, the good cookies will soon be gone. If you want to keep them, you have to lock them in a safe,” says Lo Jarl, Director of the Swedish foundation Naturarvet.

The analogy is a bit flawed, because who would lock cookies in a safe? But the message is still easy to understand, especially when we look around. We are on Gräsö in the Roslagen archipelago north of Stockholm, Sweden. In front of us is a wild meadow. It is surrounded by a beautiful old-growth forest that extends several hundred meters to the coast. A real treat for every nature lover – and for the forestry companies.

In 2020-2022, Naturarvet bought 88 hectares of forest here. A unique “cookie jar” to be preserved for the future. Since 2004, the foundation has been raising money from individuals, companies and organizations to buy high-value forests and save them for future generations. In total, Naturarvet has raised over 2.5 million Euro and as of today protected six unique forests. Three more are almost secured.

The Foundation’s statutes prohibit logging or other forestry operations and preclude sales. Instead of financial gain, it promotes forest biodiversity and red-listed species, as well as research and outdoor recreation.

“This property appeared on the market in 2020. We are very happy and grateful that we got it. It is not easy to find forests with such high natural values,” says Lo Jarl.

There are very few areas left in Sweden that meet Naturarvet’s criteria in terms of biodiversity, stand age and uniqueness. And even then, the Foundation needs to be able to buy the land in the first place – it is extremely rare for such forests to come onto the market.

Completely untouched land since 1950

Lo Jarl is an ecologist and has been a nature lover since he was young. Together with his wife Ywonne, he has spent much of his life committed to nature and the environment, engaged in small-scale farming and active in various non-profit contexts. Today, the couple spends a lot of time in the Foundation’s forests. They make inventories, pick mushrooms, sleep in tents and meet government officials, journalists and neighbors. Lo Jarl is good at explaining. It’s exciting to follow him through the forest and suddenly see details that you might otherwise miss or not understand – small insect holes, miniature mushrooms, rare mosses and bird calls. The walk feels like an inventory.

We walk through the tall grass, past an abandoned barn and into the forest. A forest that has never been clear-cut or affected by modern industry. According to Lo Jarl, there has probably been forest grazing at some point in time, but nature has been completely untouched for at least seventy years.

The fallen trunks are surrounded by moss, fungi and berry bushes. Spruce and pine mixed with aspen and other deciduous trees. Dry, upland rocky areas covered with white lichen change into moist, deep and dense hollows. Near the water, we pass a beach forest consisting of primarily alder, but also ash and other deciduous trees that thrive in the marshy ground.

“The mangroves of the North!” exclaims Lo Jarl.

Tough competition for Sweden’s forests

Sweden’s natural and ancient forests have an important function as biotopes for rare species and as carbon sinks with a positive climate effect. But there are not many left. In southern Sweden (below the border with mountainous forests), only 3% of the forest is formally protected. In addition, only 3% of the unprotected productive forest has such high natural values that it can be called a natural or old-growth forest. In addition, every year large areas of forest with high nature values are logged in Sweden. At the same time, fragmentation is increasing, and areas of high biodiversity value are scattered across the country and lack corridors for species to spread.

According to the Swedish government’s environmental objectives, “the value of forests and forest land for biological production shall be protected while preserving biodiversity and safeguarding cultural and social values.” But in its latest report from September 2022, the Swedish Forest Agency states that this goal is far from being achieved. In 2021, more forest was harvested than ever before and fragmentation and reduction of habitats for threatened species continues. Strong economic drivers that want to see more production in the forest instead of other values are cited as an explanation.

International movement for conservation

Internationally, a movement has also emerged that does not want to leave all the responsibility to politics, legislation and the forestry industry, and instead wants to invest in forests to conserve them. The most famous example is Tompkins Conservation, founded in the 1990s by Kris and Doug Tompkins. She had been the CEO of Patagonia, he the co-founder of The North Face. They began raising money and buying up large tracts of land in Patagonia. Over the decades, Tompkins Conservation has helped create or expand 17 national parks in Chile and Argentina. (Read Suston’s interview with Kris Tompkins)

In some high-profile cases, initiatives by international actors have had negative consequences locally, where people living off nature no longer have access to it. How to ensure that rich actors do not grab the natural resources of poorer regions and determine the conditions, so-called “green grabbing”? Transparency and cooperation with local people are seen as key, and this is how Tompkins Conservation, for example, works.

Cooperation with neighbors, organizations and authorities is also an important part of Naturarvet’s work, and is anchored in the statutes.

Supported by several outdoor companies

Naturarvet’s map of the Svartsundet old-growth forest shows sub-areas named after Swedish outdoor companies. In the northern part of the area, Naturkompaniet, Sweden’s largest outdoor retail chain, has helped preserve around seven hectares of forest. On the other side of the strait, the shoe company Icebug has sponsored an area of three hectares, securing “its” place in the natural forest. (NORR Agency, Suston’s parent company, has also supported Naturarvet since 2010).

“Outdoor companies like Naturkompaniet and Icebug have their roots in Swedish nature and want to do something concrete to preserve it. At the same time, they have conscious customers who would like to see some of the revenue they generate used to protect natural areas like this,” says Lo Jarl.

We sit down for lunch on a rock by the sound. The reeds below sway slowly in the wind and we hear the characteristic cry of the sea eagle. Old-growth forest should be a place for outdoor life, where everyone can move freely and experience nature in a conscious way, he says.

“One of the many great ways to get here is by kayak,” says Lo Jarl.

That old-growth forests are also needed for wildlife becomes clear at the end of our walk. At a meadow further into the forest, Lo Jarl tells us about a project carried out last year to try to re-establish the red-listed gill frog. With the support of the county administrative board, a pond was dug out in the damp meadowland.

“The pond warms up quickly in the spring and becomes a perfect living and breeding environment for the gopher frog. But to overwinter, the frog needs an old-growth forest with roots and cavities in the ground where it can stay warm. And this is possible thanks to all the gifts that helped us buy the land,” says Lo Jarl.

 

 

Photos: Karin Alfredsson