Luc MARESCOT

Synopsis

Neglected for many years and regarded as an obstacle to development and modernity, the planet’s large forested areas seemed inexorably fated for destruction. Yet today, while deforestation continues to be a major concern, significant changes have appeared all over the world. In Tasmania, the Republic of Congo, France, Bangladesh and Latin America, landscapes once believed to be doomed are experiencing a revival.

Reinventing Forests showcases five forests that best represent these ongoing changes. Five films paint a vivid portrait of unique forests, filled with exceptional flora and fauna. They introduce the men and women who have made their forests innovative places where mankind and nature can work together for a better future. Whether scientists, farmers, residents or environmental activists, they are all working to reconcile economic development with ecological concerns.

In Tasmania, the forest is a sanctuary for animals and plants that have survived from the most distant past; in the Landes (France), it is fueling a dynamic industrial sector that targets the green economy; in Bangladesh, it protects the impoverished populations from deadly storms; in Guiana, it bolsters cutting-edge scientific research; and in the Republic of Congo, sustainable management of the primary forest reconciles cultural traditions with modern economic life.

Whether they are timber forests, protective forests or conservation forests, each of these five major forested areas proposes a fresh approach to the environmental and human needs of the future. And what if the forests were a valuable resource for the future?