The Great Bear Rainforest: A Global Climate Solution Rooted in Indigenous Wisdom

First Nations of the North Pacific Coast have been stewards of the Great Bear Rainforest for millennia. Their knowledge of one of the world’s last remaining intact temperate rainforests is shaping the future of climate action.

Deep in the Great Bear Rainforest, an Elder Guardian[1]  walks beneath ancient cedars, pointing out a wildlife trail barely visible to the untrained eye. A younger Guardian follows close behind, listening to his mentor's words and the forest itself.

This isn’t a training session you’ll find in a classroom. It’s lived experience, shared between generations and rooted in responsibility to the land.

"The intergenerational knowledge exchange that happens with our youth and our knowledge keepers and the Elders is so important," says Chief Danielle Shaw of the Wuikinuxv Nation and President of the Great Bear Carbon Credit Corporation. The commitment to passing on wisdom shapes sustainability and conservation in the Great Bear Rainforest.

Conservation is not a new concept in the Great Bear Rainforest—it’s ancestral. For thousands of years, First Nations have stewarded the lands and waters along British Columbia’s north and central coast. They’ve done so with care, respect, and an understanding of the area’s natural cycles. It’s knowledge that informs the protection of ancient forests, salmon management strategies, bear population monitoring, habitat restoration projects, and more.

Indigenous-led conservation is a careful blend of science and memory, of present-day monitoring and knowledge accumulated over time. It’s an approach that doesn’t just observe the land—it remembers, protects, and passes that responsibility to the next generation.

The Rainforest that Fights Climate Change

The same ancestral stewardship that protects salmon, bears, and forests also safeguards one of the most powerful natural climate solutions available. The Great Bear Rainforest supports life on the coast and helps sustain life across the planet. As the largest coastal temperate rainforest in the world, the Great Bear Rainforest plays a vital role in the global climate system by absorbing and storing carbon.

Towering old-growth trees—some more than 1,000 years old—lock carbon in their trunks, branches, and root systems. Beneath them, the rainforest’s soil and wetlands act as massive underground carbon vaults. At the same time, its coastal waters absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The carbon storage within these ecosystems makes the Great Bear Rainforest a significant and powerful natural climate solution.

Spanning more than 6.4 million hectares, the Great Bear Rainforest stores more carbon per hectare than the Amazon. So far, more than 9.4 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions have been sequestered.

The Great Bear Rainforest is home to countless species, including wolves, salmon, grizzlies, and the rare white Spirit Bear. But its value can’t be measured by biodiversity alone. Every acre protected here helps buffer against climate change.

That protection hasn’t come easily. Decades ago, industrial logging seriously threatened the rainforest’s carbon stores. Each felled tree or drained wetland released centuries of captured carbon back into the atmosphere. The Coastal First Nations fought to change that trajectory.

Today, more than 85% of the Great Bear Rainforest is permanently off-limits to industrial logging. The rainforest’s protected areas are now co-managed by Coastal First Nations, the Government of British Columbia, environmental groups, and forest companies. While these efforts preserve trees, they also safeguard one of the world’s best hopes for a stable climate. The health of this expansive forest depends on more than the trees, but the waters and wildlife within it.

This approach reflects an ecosystem-based management (EBM) model, ensuring that ecosystems remain whole and healthy while supporting the livelihoods and cultural practices of the people who depend on them. It’s part of a broader vision where climate action links to Indigenous knowledge and place-based stewardship.

Indigenous Wisdom in Action

Long before climate change became a global concern, First Nations of the North Pacific Coast cared for the Great Bear Rainforest using systems of governance and knowledge rooted in generations of experience. That stewardship continues through programs, practices, and people who blend traditional teachings with science and research. Their greatest tools, however, are the stories and knowledge passed down and carried forward.

When Kitasoo/Xai’xais leaders developed their marine use plan, they didn’t start with satellite maps or datasets. They started by sitting with Elders—asking where to fish for halibut and rockfish, where sea lions gather, and which waters are spawning grounds for herring. One Elder explained why a certain rockfish area was traditionally avoided; it was a juvenile habitat, protected by practice. Information from these knowledge keepers became the backbone of a modern, science-backed marine plan.

Doug Neasloss, Chief Counsellor of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais Nation, notes that there are plenty of traditional laws in place to protect ecosystems within the Great Bear Rainforest, “We have conservation laws, sustainability laws… laws on herring where you're supposed to be quiet, how you operate in those areas. You’re not supposed to hunt when blood touches the water during the herring spawn. There's lots of intimate knowledge.”

Traditional practices may also encourage wildlife populations to return to areas where numbers have dwindled. According to Chief Shaw, in Wuikinuxv territory, Guardians are placing branches along ancestral herring spawning grounds to enhance habitats and provide cover, which encourages the fish to return to places where they once thrived. In other regions, they’re reviving dip net fishing for ooligan. This technique protects the fish through key parts of their life cycle, ensuring they swim upstream to spawn unharmed and then are harvested sustainably when they drift back downstream.

These practices support the long-term health of ecosystems and represent sustainable harvesting methods passed down over time.

"We're not just thinking about what we need to eat and what we need to survive,” says Chief Shaw, “If there's not enough salmon for us, then there's not enough salmon for bears, eagles, and wolves. We steward our land in a way that is not for human consumption. It's really for the benefit of the ecosystem itself." It's a holistic view that illustrates the interconnectedness of all living things in the Great Bear Rainforest.

And it doesn’t stop at monitoring and acting in the moment. Nations bring youth into the forest to learn berry picking, medicine making, and how to watch over the territory; it's a cultural hand-off.

Through the Great Bear Forest Carbon Projects, that care is fueling climate action. By keeping forests and their ecosystems standing, First Nations of the North Pacific Coast protect biodiversity while generating carbon offsets that support Guardian jobs, cultural revitalization, and long-term self-determination.

All of this begins with the knowledge held in Indigenous communities. It is knowledge that can’t be downloaded or fast-tracked.

Two Ways of Knowing

Western science often looks at data and numbers, but data isn’t always available. Indigenous knowledge sees the whole picture: the relationships between forests, animals, rivers, people, and the land.

In the Great Bear Rainforest, governments didn’t have the data needed to protect vulnerable bear populations. So, the Coastal First Nations stepped up, using Indigenous wisdom to protect their territory and the life within it. They combined traditional stewardship knowledge with scientific research to fill in the gaps; in doing so, they transformed conservation in British Columbia.

When it became clear that so-called protected areas weren’t safeguarding grizzly and black bears, Chief Neasloss and the Coastal First Nations formed a Bear Working Group. With the blessing of their communities, their message was clear: You’re not going to shoot our bears anymore.

 The group launched one of the largest bear studies in B.C. history to support that stance. With partners at the University of Victoria and Raincoast Conservation, they set up over 150 hair-snagging research stations. They conducted DNA analysis to identify individual bears, track population health, understand genetic diversity, and monitor stress levels while grounding their work in traditional knowledge of bear behaviour and habitats.

They also brought in Stanford researchers and the CREST economic think tank to measure the financial value of live bears through ecotourism, culture, and ecosystem services. Their boots-on-the-ground gumboot science proved what they’d always known: protecting bears was more valuable than killing them.

After years of advocacy and media attention, the province banned grizzly bear hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest in 2017. In 2022, the Nations successfully pushed to extend the ban to black bears as well. Today, this is one of the only regions in British Columbia where all trophy hunting of bears is prohibited.

As Chief Neasloss says, “Lines on a map do not protect areas. People do.”

This story is just one example of what happens when two knowledge systems come together. Western science contributes tools, tests, and leverage. Indigenous knowledge comes from ecological relationships and centuries of stewardship. Together, they create conservation practices that are both effective and sustainable.

The Co-Benefits of Carbon Offsetting

Carbon offsetting is one tool for reducing global emissions. Through the Great Bear Forest Carbon Projects, carbon offset sales help protect old-growth forests that store vast amounts of carbon.

When organizations purchase those offsets, they’re also supporting Indigenous-led conservation. The co-benefits are wide-reaching. Carbon revenue protects salmon streams, bear habitats, and ecosystems that support everything from ooligan to ancient cedars. It helps restore damaged landscapes and monitor species' health, ensuring forests, rivers, and coastal waters continue to thrive.

The projects are one source of sustainable funding for the participating First Nations. Sixty-five percent of all offset sales go directly back to communities. These funds support:

• Full-time Guardian Watchmen positions

• Science and environmental monitoring

• Land and marine use planning

• Cultural revitalization programs

• Youth mentorship and intergenerational knowledge sharing

Some of the most powerful outcomes aren’t measured in data or dollars. Carbon revenue helps support Indigenous ways of life, where children learn from Guardians, Elders pass on knowledge, and communities lead with wisdom that's been passed down for thousands of years.

Back Indigenous-Led Conservation

The Great Bear Rainforest shows us what’s possible when people live in a respectful relationship with the land. In a world facing rising temperatures and shrinking forests, this place offers hope.

By following the leadership of those who know this territory best, we can protect a living climate solution and learn from it. The Great Bear Rainforest offers a model for sustainable development rooted in Indigenous wisdom, where the health of ecosystems and communities is treated as inseparable.

The Great Bear Forest Carbon Projects go beyond offsetting carbon emissions. They invest in Indigenous stewardship, cultural resurgence, and the vitality of the ecosystems that sustain us all.

Want to be part of the solution?

Learn more about how your carbon offset purchase can support Indigenous-led climate action and help protect the Great Bear Rainforest for future generations.