Thirty percent of all trees on earth are found in the boreal forests, a band of mainly coniferous trees that extends across Europe, Asia and North America. These forests, also called taiga, form an essential part of the ecological balance on earth, converting carbon dioxide into oxygen on a large scale. The boreal forests are the Earth's largest terrestrial carbon sink. Yet less than twelve percent of these forests are protected.
For Borealis, Photographer Jeroen Toirkens and journalist Jelle Brandt Corstius have researched the stories of the forests and the people who inhabit them. At a time when the effects of climate change can be seen and felt more clearly, there is an urgent need to share these stories.