|
Monthly report on Finnish
forests, March 1999 Finnish Nature League FNL / forest
department
1. Environmental policy of StoraEnso was demanded to be unified. No support from the company for individual shareholders' proposals Four individual shareholders demanded StoraEnso to abandon procurement of old-growth forest timber and to certify its Finnish forest holdings according to the Forest Stewardship Council criteria. Shareholders' demands were discussed in company's annual meeting on March 23. Stora Enso has FSC-certified its forest holdings in Sweden. According to the FSC-certification standard the company's old-growth forests and other key biotopes in Sweden will not be logged. FSC-certification also means the company has committed to a procurement policy which avoids old-growth forest timber from other areas. This policy in Sweden has not yet influenced company's forest management and wood procurement policies in Finland. "Part of the shareholders of the new company have supported a more advanced environmental policy than what has been customary in Finland", stated shareholder Mr Matti Ikonen. In the following discussion the head of the company, Mr Harmala, and the member of the board, Mr Kalela, both stated that the company follows those environmental, economical etc. principles in each operating country which are typical and commonly accepted in countries in question. Mr Harmala mentioned Finland, Sweden and Canada as examples. Mr Kalela said, that the company's forest holdings in Finland are divided in so small pieces compared to Sweden, that FSC-certification would not make sense from economical point of view. According to Mr Kalela, enough old-growth forests in Finland have already been protected. More information: shareholder Matti Ikonen tel. +358-9-68 444 210
2. Finnish Forest and Park Service continues OGF logging in Kainuu-district Finnish Forest and Park Service (FPS) continues logging of the old-growth forest sites marked in the maps the Finnish NGOs distributed to the FPS in January 1998 and sites included in the WWF Hot Spot -campaign. Surmansuo area in Kuhmo municipality bordering Russia was listed in the old-growth forest protection programme in 1992 as an area with status "to be inventoried later". After the internally compiled ecological landscape plan (ELP) of the FPS, two thirds of the Surmansuo OGFs will be logged. The parts left unmanaged are located dispersedly, and the biggest continuous forest areas have been left without management limitations. Also two roads are planned to be constructed to the area. The ongoing clearcutting takes place in a forest patch in the middle of open mires. According to the governmental regional environment center the clearcutting of Surmansuo "..cannot be recommended. The area is part of an ecological corridor.". Surmansuo is a good example of the problems within ELP. Areas are usually not considered as functional entities, and even if so, this will not be seen in the planning nor the operations. The FPS has logged several other valuable OGFs in Kuhmo also this year. Logging have been carried out e.g. right by the Elimyssalo nature conservation area. According to the FPS environmental guide logging bordering protected sites are to be planned together with the forestry and nature protection units of FPS, but this has not been reality. Further OGF logging is planned at many locations, like neighboring the protected Issakka old-growth forest, the Laamasenvaara area near Ulvinsalo strict nature reserve, Heinavaara near Elimyssalo and Pirttivaara in Northern Kuhmo. These loggings were planned, marked in the forest and roads constructed in late 1998 without informing the nature protection unit of FPS nor the regional environment centre. According to the FPS the logging in the areas marked on the NGO maps are to be planned in co-operation with the FPS forestry and nature protection and regional environment centres. Some of the final logging plans have been shown to the other parts, but there have not been any co-operation in the actual planning. For more information: Matti
Liimatainen, tel. +358-9-68 444 214
3. Road construction threatens Malahvia wilderness. Ecological landscape plan on western part of the area protects only small patches of old-growth forests In the beginning of this year, several Finnish NGOs together with local people took action in the Malahvia wilderness area in the Suomussalmi municipality north from Kuhmo against large-scale loggings in the middle of the wilderness. Malahvia was demanded to be protected by e.g. the Finnish Association of Nature Conservation, the Finnish Nature League and Greenpeace. At that time, the Forest and Park Service had compiled the first part of the ecological landscape plan including Malahvia. The second part has now been compiled. The maps of the plan reveal, that also in western part of the area, most of the forested areas will be logged. According to local representatives of the Finnish Forest and Park Service, construction of two logging roads to the old-growth forests in the area will be finished in summer 1999. Environmental NGOs and local people demand the FPS to stop logging and road construction operations in Malahvia at least during the preparation of the Finnish-Russian Kalevala-park. The authorities have already promised to consider Malahvia wilderness area as a part of the planned Kalevala-park. There will be a working group considering the issue and presenting its results to the Ministry of the Environment in the fall 1999. For more information: Matti
Liimatainen, tel. +358-9-68 444 214
4. Greenpeace still guards the old-growth forest area of Kukkuri in Hyrynsalmi, Kainuu Greenpeace Nordic has now been protecting the state-owned Kukkuri old-growth forest in Hyrynsalmi municipality in Eastern Finland (neighboring Suomussalmi and Kuhmo) for one month. Before arrival of GP some 4 hectares had been clearcutted. The Kukkuri forest is one of the sites marked on the NGO valuable OGF-maps and part of the WWF Hot Spot-campaign. The regional body of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation has publicly supported the ongoing Greenpeace action and stated that Kukkuri situation brings the attention to the problems of ecological landscape planning. Once again, the FPS has planned the logging internally. The ELP leaves some tens of hectares of old-growth forests unlogged even though the Kukkuri area is already badly fragmented by previous logging. The old-growth forest working group proposed the 500-hectare Kukkuri to be protected with FPS's own decision. This did not happen. The regional environment centre proposed parts of the area to be protected in Natura 2000 -protection programme. The FPS denied this proposal, too. For more information: Hanna
Kivinen, tel. +358-9-684 375 40
5. Old-growth forest wood from Russian moratorium areas to Finland Old-growth forest wood from the moratorium area north from Kostamuksa, right by the planned Kalevala-park have been exported to Finland during March 1999. The logger of the pine pulp wood was Kostamuksa Lespromhoz and it is brought to Finland by Finnish trucking company Laulumaa. This is the first time after spring 1997 when wood from moratorium forests is known to be imported in Finland. StoraEnso, UPM-Kymmene, Vainionpaa and Kokkoniemi have claimed not doing business with Laulumaa. The final receiver of moratorium wood is still unknown. Moratorium wood from the Russian border zone is also imported in Finland via boundary station in Salla in Northern Finland. Some of the wood is apparently being carried further to Sweden. Finnish mining company Outokumpu has withdrawn from mining operations threatening the Laplandsky Les area in Murmansk region. The reasons for withdrawal were mainly economical, but the pressure from NGOs had no doubt some effect. However, loggings in the area have supposingly started. The wood will be imported to both Finland and Norway for unknown buyers. For more information: Otso Ovaskainen, tel. +358-50-309 2795
6. Moratorium expanding towards east in Archangel, Komi and Vologda regions Greenpeace Russia has published first versions for moratorium maps in Archangel, Komi and Vologda regions. After seeing the maps, the Swedish company "East-West Forest" withdrew from vast logging of Archangel natural forests. The company also committed to the moratorium in the future. At least the Finnish companies StoraEnso, UPM-Kymmene, Thomesto, Aranna, Koskitukki and Inerpuu still procure wood from these areas. However, the first Finnish moratorium commitments from these companies are expected during May. For more information: Otso Ovaskainen, tel. +358-50-309 2795 |
|
|