Coastal temperate rainforests are more endangered than tropical rainforests, having only ever covered less than one per cent of the earth’s surface. 

Close to the ocean, protected by mountains, these temperate rainforests are cool, shadowed worlds. They're topped by red cedars, Douglas fir and Sitka spruce. Berry bushes feed the bears. Shade keeps water temperatures cool for salmon spawning in the streams. Underfoot, lies a thick layer of ferns, salal bushes, Devil’s club and other medicinal plants. 
                  
Over the years, heavy logging and development destroyed much of these areas. Today, only half of the world's coastal temperate rainforests remain, two-thirds along North America's Northwest coast. One quarter of these rainforests are in coastal British Columbia.

The Great Bear Rainforest - a narrow band the size of Switzerland stretching north of Vancouver Island to the Alaskan Panhandle - represents much of what is left on the planet.

The biological richness of the Great Bear Rainforest is the result of 10,000 years of evolution. The biomass (weight of organic matter) in some locations is four times greater than comparable areas in the dense jungles of the Amazon.

Because temperate rainforests have only one season – mild and wet – they stay lush and vibrant green all year long. And natural disturbances, such as fires, rarely occur allowing the forest and ecosystems to achieve a great age.

photos: Adrian Dorst (banner), Greenpeace (centre)