WHY NORTHERN SWEDEN?

A landscape of challenges and opportunities

WHY NORTHERN SWEDEN?

A landscape of challenges and opportunities

A vision for people, wildlife, and the planet

Located in the cultural and historical heart of Sápmi in northern Sweden – the homeland of Europe’s last Indigenous people, the Sámi – the Nordic Taiga encompasses a diverse array of habitats. These include coniferous forests, peatlands, and rivers nestled between the mountains of the west and the Baltic Sea to the east. One of the region’s most striking features is its vastness, where water, trees, and wildlife continue to shape both the landscape and people’s lives.

Yet, this landscape bears the deep scars of centuries of human-induced degradation. Activities such as river channelization, damming, ditching, mining and intensive forestry have profoundly altered this once-pristine environment. Today, many species struggle to survive in the face of habitat loss and fragmentation. The forests and expansive wetlands, vital components of the global carbon balance, are losing their capacity to sequester carbon – a sobering reminder of the urgency to protect and restore nature in this unique region.

But hope lies in its resilience. The Nordic Taiga offers a rare opportunity to heal, to rewild, and to unlock nature’s full potential to be a solution to the future environmental challenges we are facing. By restoring the Nordic Taiga ecosystems, Rewilding Sweden aim to breathe new life into this landscape and unlock the countless benefits of coexisting with nature – not only for the environment but also for the people and wildlife who depend on it. Rewilding efforts here are already driving meaningful change, paving the way for a future where nature and humanity thrive together.

“In the Nordic Taiga, the keystone species are often present but unable to fulfil their vital roles due to restricted and fragmented habitats.”

Landscape challenges

The majority of the forests in northern Sweden are managed as planted production forests with 60–100-year clear-cutting rotations. Intact or old-growth forests are now fragmented – surrounded by uniform low biodiversity forests. The majority of the rivers have been dammed or historically channelised for timber floating. Forests and wetlands have been drained to boost productivity.

This long history of land use has resulted in widespread degradation of wildlife populations and habitats. Although most ecologically significant species still survive, their populations are often unnaturally low and restricted to degraded and fragmented habitats, which diminishes their ability to fulfil essential ecological roles.

Rewilding opportunities

Despite the challenges, and partly because of them, the Nordic Taiga holds significant potential for landscape rewilding. Rewilding Sweden’s primary focus is to revitalise ecological processes by enhancing the functional potential of existing wildlife through the restoration and connection of their habitats.

The goal is to restore nature to a self-sustaining state, prioritising the coexistence of people and wildlife. This often involves expanding and improving habitats in forests, rivers, and wetlands. Opportunities for reintroduction and reinforcement include species such as broadleaf trees, lichens, and aquatic organisms, including key benthic macroinvertebrates, freshwater pearl mussels, salmon, and trout.

Nordic Taiga rivers

Challenges and solutions

Historically, the vast majority of northern Swedish rivers were modified and straightened to facilitate timber floating, and now many of them are dammed.

By restoring river morphology, dynamics, function, and removing migration barriers, we revitalise natural processes, restore habitats, and reconnect the river with adjacent land areas.

Nordic Taiga forests

Challenges and solutions

Most forests are planted and managed for production purposes, clearcut every 60 to 100 years. Pristine old-growth forests are fragmented into isolated patches, surrounded by habitats unsuitable for species dependent on old or dying trees.

By slowing water drainage, increasing broadleaf trees, thinning dense stands, and mimicking age diversity by damaging selected trees, we create the variation needed for richer, more resilient biodiversity.

Nordic Taiga ecosystem engineers

Challenges and solutions

Depleted or absent populations of keystone species reduce habitat quality for other species sharing the same environment.

Reinforced populations of keystone species, such as the water-cleansing freshwater pearl mussel, enhance living conditions for a wide range of other species.

“In the Nordic Taiga counties of Västerbotten and Norrbotten alone, there are 271 159 km of ditches in forests and wetlands – enough to circle the planet almost seven times. Since moisture levels in the ground ultimately determine which biological communities establish themselves, rewilding hydrology is a major focus of our work.”

Henrik Persson, Director & Team Leader, Rewilding Sweden