In Norway the forests have been intensely harvested for hundreds of years, and virgin forests are almost completely gone, while some regions still holds larger tracts of rather old forests that have been subjected only to selective loggings in the past. More than 50% of the forest is under 60 years of age, and it has been estimated that no more than 10% can be classified as near-natural.
When the world thinks of forests and their value to offset global warming, tropical forests come to mind. A report released today shows that the global impact of Canada’s boreal forest, which stores nearly twice as much carbon per hectare as tropical forests, has been vastly underestimated.
The forests in Southern Finland are the richest in the country in terms of habitat and species diversity. These forests are important also for the people for many reasons: recreation, education and nature services like berry picking and hunting
Leading Swedish scientists warn that the nation's natural heritage is at stake: We are ashamed of our decision makers’ negligence regarding the environment. The Swedish forest has been turned into a giant cultivation area. Areas where numerous species once lived together in harmony are nowadays dominated by spruce, pine and planted exotic tree species.
The natural pine forests around the lakes Stor-Flaten and Stora Snesen in Leksand, Dalecarlia, Sweden are critically endangered by logging. The loggings has already begun and more than 500 hectares are notified for logging to the Swedish Forest Agency by Bergvik Skog AB which is owned to a majority by Stora-Enso.
2008 was the year when SCA, after many years of criticism from the NGOs of Sweden, was close to loose its FSC-certificate. The company received in the last revision (2007-11-02) a major CAR, the most serious Corrective Action Request a company can get before the FSC-certificate is suspended.
– international wood and paper customers deceived New organization confronts old-growth forest destruction Sweden, which will take over the EU Presidency in July 2009, has a considerable proportion of Europe’s remaining old-growth forests. However, many of these forests are being ravaged. The Swedish government has reduced its budget for forest protection and proposes to [...]
A mere 1.8% of the productive forest land in Norrbotten below the sub-alpine zone is protected by Swedish law. Unprotected High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) exists and should be protected as soon as possible in order to guarantee a sustaineble biological diversity in the forests of Norrbotten.
Finnish forest industry has actively sought to produce FSC controlled wood since 2006. Lack of transparency in their risk assessment and subsequent audits has made it very difficult for the civil society to gain access to the process. Some certifying bodies have carried out their audits without any consultation with environmental NGOs or indigenous organisations. [...]
257 Finnish researchers have been demanding an end for logging in Finnish old-growth forests by appealing to the Minister of Forestry Juha Korkeaoja. The researchers also present reasons why they think the preservation of the old natural forests that are still located outside of protected areas is necessary from ecological, social and cultural points of [...]
