|
Press
release March 14, 2000
Metsäliitto
bought wood from a Russian company logging in a planned protection area
in the Murmansk region
According
to the Kola Scientific Centre and the Environmental NGOs in the Murmansk
region, the Finnish company Metsaliitto purchased last year at least
12.000 cubic meters wood from a Russian company logging at the planned
protection area "Lapland Forest". Metsaliitto has claimed earlier
that it does not operate in the Murmansk region at all. The wood purchased
by Metsaliitto has been logged by the local company Priroda, told
researcher Dennis Smirnov from the Kola Scientific Centre today morning.
Lapland
Forest is an intact old-growth forest area of 420.000 hectares located
close to the Finnish border. The logging that has now been found was
performed in an area that belonged not only to the protection plan
of the Scientific Centre, but also to the old-growth logging moratorium
of the Murmansk region. Furthermore, Lapland Forest is one of the
four territories to be inventoried because of the nature protection
plans according to the agreement between the Ecology Committee of
Murmansk and the Finnish Ministry of the Environment.
The case
is especially interesting as Metsaliitto has earlier claimed not to
operate in the region at all. The regional director of the company,
Jari Hurskainen, said in the Finnish newspaper Lapin Kansa (26.1.2000)
that "Metsaliitto has not had any logging plans or contacts in the
area for the last two years".
"After
the logging in Lapland Forest got some publicity, Metsaliitto stopped
direct purchases from AO Priroda, but has continued by circulating
the wood through Norwegian middlemen", told Irina Zaytzeva from the
BCC (Biodiversity Conservation Centre) Kola branch.
"Lapland
Forest is one of the most important territories in the Green Belt",
emphasises Aulikki Lipponen from the Finnish Nature League. "It is
hard to understand, that one of the biggest Finnish forestry companies
purchases wood from a company logging in this area at the same as
the Finnish Ministry of the Environment finances the protection plans
of the local researchers."
Metsäliitto
has been critisized by the Russian NGOs also before
Metsaliitto
was nominated in January 1998 to the black list of Greenpeace Russia
and BCC, as it refused to commit itself to the old-growth logging
moratorium of Karelia and Murmansk. The majority of the other big
Finnish forestry companies committed not to purchase wood from the
old-growth forests of these regions already in 1996-1997.
"Metsaliitto
has been on its own path during the last few years. While we made
a research of the Finnish companies last year, Metsaliitto refused
to give any information of its operations in Russia. At the same time,
all the other major companies were ready to give very detailed information",
told Otso Ovaskainen from the Finnish Nature League.
For
more information, please contact:
Dennis
Smirnov / Kola Scientific Centre, tel. +7-81555-77605, e-mail smirnovd(@)inep.ksc.ru
Irina Zaytzeva / BCC Kola branch, tel. +7-81555-75025, e-mail lepores(@)aprec.ru
Aulikki Lipponen / Finnish Nature League, tel. +358-9-68 444 210,
e-mail aulikki.lipponen(@)helsinki.fi
Otso Ovaskainen / Finnish Nature League, tel. +358-50-309 2795, e-mail
otso.ovaskainen(@)helsinki.fi
|