Road building on Hossa Hiking Area, November 29th

Metsähallitus (The Finnish Forest and Park Service) is planning to log forests on Hossa Hiking Area, which fulfill the criteria of old-growth Western taiga forests. These forests should be protected according to the Natura 2000 Habitats Directive.

The building of a winter road to the logging site has already started. The Finnish Nature League has appealed to Metsähallitus to stop the road building and to the environmental authorities to investigate the Natura values of the stands marked for logging.

Many of the forests on Hossa Hiking Area are in natural state. According to species surveys, this is one of the most valuable areas in Finland for polypore species characteristic to old pine-dominated forests.

Hossa Hiking Area is one out of nine national hiking areas in Finland. The main purpose of national hiking areas is recreational use, but fellings are still permitted. Finnish environmental organizations have repeatedly proposed to turn the hiking areas into national parks or protected areas, due to their high potential for biodiversity conservation.

Give feedback to Metsähallitus! Write a few sentences to express your concern about these loggings. 

- Metsähallitus’ electronic feedback form (write your comment, name and contact details in the main box)

- Metsähallitus on Facebook

- Hossa Hiking Area on Facebook

More information:

The map of Hossa Hiking Area

Hossa Hiking Area on Outdoor.fi

The location of stands marked for loggings in GoogleMaps

Environment in the forest at Jos-Olatjärn Photo: Olli Manninen

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has made 78 findings of seven different red-listed species in the forest at Jos-Olatjärn, Malung, Dalarna. According to Bergvik Skog, whoch is owned to a majority by Stora Enso, that is not enough to save the forest from being logged. One of the found red-listed species is Oligoporus lateritius which is considered Vulnurable in Sweden.

Oligoporus lateritius in Jos-Olatjärn Photo: Olli Manninen

Old-growth pine-forest in Ormtjärnen. Photo: Olli Manninen

Stora Enso is planning to log Ormtjärnen in Ovanåker municipality, Gävleborg, Sweden. Even though the forest consists of old-growth pine-forest. According to the field inventory that the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has made these kind of forests have high conservation values in the region. Even though there are some traces of old selective logging the old-growth structures persist and the biological diversity is high. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has made 35 findings of seven red-listed species in the area. One of them is Sceletocutis lenis which is considered vulnerable to extinction in Sweden.

Natural pine-forest at Vallsjön. Photo: Olli Manninen

A natural pine-forest that Bergvik Skog, which is owned to a majority by Stora Enso, has notified for logging. The older part of the forest indicates such High Conservation Values that it shouldn’t be logged according to the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
42 findings of six red-listed species has been made. One of them was Antrodia albobrunnea which is considered vulnerable to extinction by swedish biological expertise.

Antrodia albobrunnea in the forest at southern Vallsjön

Environment of natural pine-forest at Grotthöjden. Photo: Olli Manninen

A natural pine-forest notified for logging. The forest is part of a big continuos forest area. Stora Enso will log and therefore fragmentize this High Conservation Value Forest area. 63 findings of nine red-listed species has been made in the area. One of them is Oligoporus placenta which is classified as Vulnerable on the swedish red-list.

Natural pine-forest at Grotthöjden that Stora Enso will log. Photo: Olli Manninen

Karats-Råvvåive is a huge unprotected sub-alpine wilderness area in the municipality of Jokkmokk, Sweden. The area contains pristine forest, bare mountains, moor with old-growth pine forests, huge mires and large waters.

Granuddenskiftet. Foto: Eva Ydrén

Northern Karats-Råvvåive

The northern parts of Karats-Råvvåive is about 30 square kilometers in size. There, on the mountains Råvvåive and Kuossavaratj, is an area of around 5 square kilometer with virgin forest. The forests are dominated by spruce with segments of old-growth aspen and sallow. On the mountain tops wide areas of flat rock where old ancient pines are growing sparse – for centuries affected by the mountain winds.

Old-growth spruce on Råvvåive Photo: Eva Ydrén

The other parts of the area is a rather fine exemple of old-growth spruce forest. There is a great abundance of standing and lying dead wood. Some old trees were cut in the early 20th century but there are still lots of them.

Old-growth twin pines at Råvvoive

Some 60 hectares were notified for logging in 2009 by a private owner. It has though not been approved by the Swedish Forest Agency – the regeneration in these forests at 500 m above sea level is very low.

Download this map of Northern Karats-Råvvåive

Eastern Karats-RåvvåIve

In the eastern parts there are unprotected old-growth forests by the lakes Pälkasjaure, Tjäkkaure Lekeljaure and the mountain Lekelvare.

Karats-Råvvåive wilderness area with the mountains in the background. Photo: Daniel Rutschman

Eastern Karats-Råvvåive wilderness area

Even though fragmentarization exists there are still large undisturbed areas which never has been clear-cut. The mountain Lekelvare exhibits some 7 square kilometers of old-growth forest. There are planned loggings to made here in 2009. In the slopes there are moist spruce-forests with lots of deciduous trees. On the top of the Lekelvare there are several hundred year old pines that grows on flat rocks. More or less all of Lekelvare is above the sub-alpine zone (where regeneration is low).

Old-Growth pine, Lekelvare Photo: Daniel Rutschman

Around the lakes Pälkasjaure and Täkkaure the forest consists of old pines on heathland. There’s an abundance of old trees and many of them show traces of old forest fires. such a large area with unprotected coherent pineforest with high conservation values is very hard to find in Sweden.

Old-growth forest notified for logging, Lekelvare Photo: Daniel Rutschman

This inventory was made by Nature and Youth Sweden and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation during 2008-2009. The pristine like parts of the area has though been identified in a report by Mats Karström in 1993.

Småhöjderna, Krokom Photo: Olli Manninen

All around the mighty Hotagen nature reserve in Northern Jämtland, unprotected old-growth forests are directly bordering the reserve. These old-growth forests are still being fragmented. The timber market situation in Sweden is, at the moment, putting a large pressure on these forests.

There are hundreds of hectares of forests planned to be logged in the surroundings of Hotagen. A few of the plans have been withdrawn, at least for the time being, because of protests from NGOs. But many of the plans are still valid.

Blankvattnet, Krokom Photo: Sini Saarela

In particular, the forest company SCA has planned and lately done many old-growth forest loggings around Hotagen. SCA is notorious for its poor environmental standards and its hostile attitude towards nature conservation. Other forest owners include forest company Korsnäs, National Property Board (Fastighetsverket) and some smaler forest owners. The surroundings of Hotagen and the bordering Lierne National Park in Norway make by far the biggest intact forest landscape in the whole Central and Southern Scandinavia.

A logging in Stor-Foskvattnet in Krokom. Photo: Olli Manninen

The protection and logging situation is very similar on the Norwegian side of the border. There are many unprotected forests close to Lierne National Park. The National Park mainly consists of very low productive scrubland and bare mountain land. In Norway, the forests are mainly privately owned. The Norwegian State owns about 7 percent of the productive forest land.

Map of forests in and around the Hotagen-Lierne Intact Forest Landscape. Download the NordicForests.org Map for Google Earth here .

Greenpeace Sweden and SSNC visited the planned logging sites during 2008 and revealed logging plans in very high conservation value forest areas. Some of them were virgin ancient forests.

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The pictures in the photo galleries can be downloaded at:

• Rusvattenån, Strömsund, SCA
• Ytter-Renaflyn, Strömsund, SCA
• Linjeviken, Strömsund, SCA
• Hällingsåfallet, Strömsund, SCA
• Småhöjderna, Krokom
• Finnvattshöjderna, Strömsund, SCA
• Stor-Foskvattnet, Krokom
• Blankvattnet, Krokom

Hotagen-Lierne is included in the World Intact Forest Landscapes –report. Also this magnificent area is scandalously losing its natural values for good as the fragmentation continues. see more at: IntactForests.org

Ytter-Renaflyn, Strömsund, SCA Photo: Olli Manninen

Status: Unprotected
Size: 200 hectares
Landowner: Jukkasjärvi sockenallmänning
Municipality: Kiruna

Paurankivaara is a big mountain with pristine-like pine and spruce forest. The amount of hanging lichens is remarkable and the forest is more or less untouched – possibly because of the low productivity.
17 red-listed species were found in the forest such as: Antrodia infirma (EN), Antrodia primaeva(EN), Laurilia sulcata (VU) & Oligoporus lateritius (VU).

See more at Naturskyddare.se

Old-growth forest environment in Gjeddvatnet. Photo: Sini Saarela

In the northeastern corner of Norway near the Arctic Ocean and Murmansk lies one of the largest old-growth forest areas in Norway. It’s on the border to the vast wilderness areas of Vätsäri on the Finnish side. These sparse, rocky pine forests have to a large extent survived untouched because of their remoteness and low productivity.

There are more than 4000 hectares of unprotected old-growth forests and thousands of hectares untouched subalpine birch scrublands in Pasvik. The forests are situated between and around Øvre Pasvik National park and Store Sametti Nature reserve. These two protected areas could be easily joined together and to the Vätsäri wilderness area by protecting the remaining old-growth forest areas. Vätsäri and Pasvik forests make are one of the largest untouched forest areas in the whole Fennoscandia. Almost all of the forests on the Finnish side are protected. If the forests on Norwegian side would be fragmented by loggings this possibility would be gone. The Norwegian state was logging in Pasvik until it was found out that the loggings were not economically sustainable(!). Now the whole Pasvik area is being governed by the co-operation body of local communities called Finnmark Eiendom. It is uncertain what will happen in the with the area, no decisions of protection or logging activities have been made.

More information about the Øvre Pasvik National park and the Pasvik-Inari area can be found at pasvik-inari.net

This map shows unprotected High Conservation Value Forest areas in Pasvik, Sør-Varanger. If you click on the red pins you get a link to an album with pictures from the area. Download the whole NordicForests.org Map for Google Earth here .

Vätsäri-Pasvik is also included in the report “Worlds Intact Forest Landscapes” by Greenpeace. It shows all the intact forest areas in the world that are more than 50 000 hectares of size. Actually, the contour in northern Pasvik is not quite correct; forests around Store Sametti should be included also by the definitions of the report! Read more at: intactforests.org.

Føllvasshögda. Photo: Olli Manninen

More photos of unprotected Old-Growth Forest in Pasvik

See all forests and more at picasaweb

Status: Unprotected
Land-owner: SCA
Size: >100 ha ha
Municipality: Gällivare

Pristine like pine forest exists at the top of Ratnivaara. The oldest pines are more than 300 years old. The area has got sub-alpine characteristics and contains lots of dead wood. 11 red-listed species were found in the forest such as: Hydnellum gracilipes (EN), Antrodia albobrunnea (VU) & Haploporus odorus (VU)

Read more at Naturskyddare.se. (In Swedish only)

Old-growth forest environment in Haippakotavaara. Photo: Olli Manninen

Inari is located in northernmost Lapland and it is the biggest commune in Finland. The forests of Inari have had a shorter and much less intensive use history compared with other forests in Southern Finland. Vast areas in Inari are very low productive pine and subalpine birch forests with scrublands where there has never been much pressure from the commercial forestry.

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The ancient pine forests of Inari are seen as a national heritage in Finland. The old-growth forests of Inari are indeed the essential resource for almost all the livelihoods there. Tourism and reindeer herding; the two big employers in Inari are directly dependent on the old forests. The most productive lowland forests have been more intensively commercially logged since the 1920’s. Since the 1950’s also large-scale clear-cuts took place in Southern Inari north from Urho Kekkonen NP. Huge area in SE Inari is practically a one huge young pine plantation after large clear-cuts done mostly in the 60′s and 70′s.

Nowadays forestry in Inari is mainly based on smaller-scale selective loggings and more labour-intensive work without harvesters. However, all the logging operations in the remaining old-growth forests are severely harming the other livelihoods and the fragile northern nature. In many areas all the new loggings directly weaken the possibilities for reindeer husbandry. Changes in the nature by forestry have also caused unnecessary tensions and conflicts between the people in Inari.

The ancient trees, very often more than 400 years of age have mainly been used for very basic products: pulp, bio-energy and railway sleepers. With wiser use of the unique, extra hard and durable old pine material it would be well possible to make more profit and create more jobs without destroying the forests.

There are several large, famous protected areas in Inari; Urho Kekkonen and Lemmenjoki National Parks, Hammastunturi, Vätsäri and Muotkatunturi Wilderness areas being the biggest. These are beautiful and important areas but they consist however mostly of scrubland and bare subalpine hills together with low-productive forests. The most productive forest lands in Inari are in fact very poorly protected (and to large extent already exploited).

This map shows many of the unprotected High Conservation Value Forest areas in Inari. If you click on the red pins you get a link to an album with pictures from the area. Download the whole NordicForests.org Map for Google Earth here .

Based on studies made by Metsähallitus and Finnish environmental NGOs there are about 35.000 hectares of state-owned unprotected old-growth forests in Inari (of which around 10 000 hectares are already voluntary set-asides at the moment). Many of these areas are situated next to present protected areas and some are scattered around the municipality in smaller patches. Protecting these areas would benefit all in Inari and make a big difference in Finnish biodiversity protection work. Scandinavian countries have also a big international responsibility to preserve this type of very slowly growing dry old-growth pine forests.

Unprotected low-productive old-growth forests near Suorsapää by the Russian border in south-east Inari. Photo: Olli Manninen

The current Natural Resource Plan (NRP) in Inari has lowered the logging volumes substantially. Therfore protecting all the remaining old-growth forests would be most possible! It still would be possible to have “normal” forestry in the vast secondary forests and fragmented areas in Inari. Most of old-growth forests in Inari are owned by the Finnish State and managed by the State forest company Metsähallitus (some thousands of hectares are owned by Inari Forest Common and other private owners). Metsähallitus has been reluctant to make new protection decisions because of the aggressive resistance of some of the forestry people in Inari. There are now better possibilities than ever to make the right decision and protect what is left.

Nellim

In 2005 three Sámi reindeer herders in Nellim area, southeast from lake Inari made a lawsuit to UN Human Rights Committee against Metsähallitus. They claimed the loggings were making it impossible for them to continue free grazing reindeer herding in the area.

As a result of the legal process and the international attention to the situation a temporary agreement of halting the old-growth forest loggings in Nellim was made in 2009. According to the agreement with Metsähallitus and the Paadar brothers, who raised the lawsuit, most of the old-growth forests in Nellim area will not be logged now in 20 years. The future of the forests is not clear yet but at least the agreement gives the forests a bit more time and hopefully a permanent protection programme will be carried out during the 20 years.

Read more at Metsähallitus.

Links

Photo galleries of unprotected forests in Inari: picasaweb.google.com/inariforests

All the Finland’s 4 large Intact Forest Landscapes are situated at least partly in Inari. All of them have unprotected parts and are in danger of getting smaller because of the loggings. intactforests.org

Greenpeace Finland’s webpages about Inari and the actions in 2005: weblog.greenpeace.org/forestrescue

A documentary film about the situation in Inari by Hannu Hyvönen: elonmerkki.net

Unprotected old-growth forests near Suorsapää. Photo: Olli Manninen