Michael Becker reports for the BBC:
Knut Ole Viken’s history is tied to the forest. As a child he spent summers with his father in remote woodlands close to the Arctic Circle. There they measured the growth of trees, the foundation of Norway’s wilderness.
27 years later, Viken has been working in the forest long enough to notice it change. Unlike many other forests, that change has been positive.
Norway was once at risk of losing much of its forests. After centuries of logging for timber and firewood, the country had consumed much of this previously vast natural resource.
All that has changed. Today, Norway has triple the amount of standing wood in forests than it had 100 years ago. The annual harvest of wood only takes about half the amount that grows each year, so overall the forests are growing. This forest growth is enough to offset roughly 60% of the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
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