Today, more than 2000 forest dwelling species are endangered, vulnerable or threatened, mainly due to the modern forestry methods. Between 2007 and 2009, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) has conducted field documentation of close to 500 threatened and unprotected old-growth boreal forests with high conservation values owned by large forestry companies as well as smallholders.

A rare finding of fertile Lobaria Pulmonaria found at Lill-Gravberget, one of the forests in the report. Photo: John Lööf Green

Lill-gravberget after the felling. Photo: Hans Sundström

“The natural forests of Sweden are about to disappear. It is time that consumers and procurers all over Europe become aware that present forestry methods biodiversity in unique ecosystems in Sweden,” says Mikael Karlsson, President of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, the largest environmental organization in Sweden.

The largest forest companies in Sweden are FSC-certified. Numerous field studies carried out by SSNC during the past three years show that a remarkable number of logged areas do not live up to the FSC-standard´s key criteria. However, these violations of the FSC-regulations have not altered the companies’ possibilities to continue with using the FSC label. In as much as one third of the cases, forestry logging is also violating Swedish laws on nature protection, according to the Swedish Forestry Agency.

The SSNC has now released the report “Cutting the Edge – the Loss of Natural Forests in Sweden” in order to make buyers, traders and consumers in Europe aware of the downside of the Swedish forestry model.

“A new Swedish forestry model is needed, with regulations that safeguard the biodiversity and the forest ecosystems in Sweden. In a short-term perspective, new and strict sanctions are needed to force the forestry industry to follow present legislation. In addition, a new environmental law is needed, with the aim to protect the nature values in Swedish forests,” says Mikael Karlsson.

During SSNC´s field studies, hundreds of old-growth forests with high conservation values and woodland key habitats have been found slated for logging or logged. The forest companies have been contacted, but follow-up reviews shows that very little has changed in the companies’ procedures.

Download and read the report

See some images from the visited Swedish forests

See and download more pictures here

http://picasaweb.google.com/swedishforests2009
http://picasaweb.google.com/swedishforests
http://picasaweb.google.com/swedishforests2
http://picasaweb.google.com/swedishforests3
http://picasaweb.google.com/swedishforests4

See some pictures from clear-cuts

See and download more pictures here

http://picasaweb.google.com/destroyedforests

See Scandinavian forestry behind the curtains. Photo: John Lööf Green / Green Media

Come join us for a road trip across mid Sweden and Norway. We’ll stop by some of the hottest sites of dispute in the Scandinavian Old Growth Forests and Clear-cuts. By taking part in this excursion you will visit sites on the lands of all the big enterprises.

FOR WHOM?
This tour is especially aimed at international guests of the 10th Taiga Rescue Network World Conference.

HOW MUCH IS IT?
Participants pay their own food, lodging and travel costs. There is no total price yet but prices will be moderate.

Download our promotion pdf with a map of the route here!

Enter your contact information to register your interest in the tour.

Photo: John Lööf Green / Green Media

Download PDF-invitation with Open Days Programme

The biodiversity and eco-services of the boreal forests – the Taiga – are at stake! Due to industrial forestry, climate change, mining, hydrogen power, road building and many other causes there is an ongoing biodiversity crisis. In the UN Year of Biodiversity 2010 still some 2000 forest dwelling
species are red-listed only in Sweden. We need to take care of the world’s forest resources in a far better way than at present. The Taiga Rescue Challenges will take on this committment.

Programme for the Open Days

Wednesday 8th September
Biodiversity and Forestry – forever competitors? Bege Jonsson, professor, Sweden | Will the Forest Save the Climate? The role of natural forest vs. forestry | A Brief History of the Taiga, Roger Olsson, journalist, Sweden | Too much paper, too little consideration? Mandy Haggith, author, UK | Sami People: Rein-deering and Forestry

Thursday 9th September
State of the Boreal forest: Canada, Finland, Sweden and Russia | Protect the Forest, grassroot NGO | A Forest Company’s View, Olof Johansson, Chief ecologist, Sveaskog | FSC – greenwashing or a tool for consumer power? Seminar with discussion | Debate: The Scandinavian Forestry Model vs. the Forest of Siberian Jay

Friday 10th September
White Paper on the Conservation Politics, Chair of Board, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation| Forest Protection in Sweden, government spokesperson | Discussion and Dialogue about Forest and Forestry, government spokesperson and SSNC Chair of Board … and much much more.

Also on the agenda
Dinner Party | Youth Conference: Taiga Ambassadors | Exhibitions | Entertainment | Excursion | A Great Selection of Seminars, Lectures, Discussions et cetera.

Saturday 11th to Sunday 12th NGO Days, for TRN-members (separate programme to come)

Register at: naturskyddsforeningen.se/trn-conference
Also check out the NordicForests.org tour that will take part in days ahead of the conference: http://NordicForests.org/tour

Taiga Rescue Challenge takes place at Stiftsgården, located at lake Siljan in the heart of Dalarna (250 km from Stockholm).

View over “Stiftsgården”

A map which shows the location of Rättvik

Environmentally certified logging of High Conservation Value Forest in mid-east Sweden. Photo: John Lööf Green

For immediate release

21 January 2010, STOCKHOLM / SWEDEN

NordicForests.org – new website on threatened High Conservation Value Forests in Fennoscandia

NordicForests.org is a new website about unprotected High Conservation Value Forests under threat in Norway, Sweden and Finland from the Taiga Rescue Network.

Today forest based consumer goods from Norway, Sweden and Finland often come from controversial loggings in High Conservation Value Forests. NordicForests.org aims to provide this information and news to producers, buyers, NGOs and the general public who are concerned about biologically and socially valuable forests in Fennoscandia. It does so by presenting media, reports, statistics and maps about forests in general and concerning specific districts and countries.

“Much of the forest based consumer goods from Fennoscandia are sold to the European markets, especially to countries like Germany and the UK. What the consumers do not know is that the source may be valuable forests from Fennoscandia. That’s why we want to provide a source of information that’s easily accessible also to consumers and buyers from these regions,” says Sini Eräjää from the Taiga Rescue Network.

Some of the forest areas described are still standing and some have recently been logged. By providing information Nordicforests.org aims to present a comprehensive picture of realities facing those Fennoscandian forests.

“We believe that well informed people can help to preserve biologically rich forest landscapes in balance between different interests in society. Now we have a valuable tool for doing that,” says Mirjam Lööf Green forest network co-ordinator in Sweden.

The site’s main contributors are actively engaged in either forest research or Environmental NGOs in Fennoscandia. All the forests described on NordicForests.org have documented High Conservation Values. All of the areas are under threat of being logged as they are not protected.

“In our network we have dozens of experts and local activists with years of field experience. The long running work made by these persons is the solid ground that the facts of the site are built on,” says Olli Manninen, Finnish forest activist.

NordicForests.org will be a reliable source for forest news in Fennoscandia for several years onwards.

“NordicForests.org will continuously be updated with new examples of unprotected forests and will be our main source to provide information on the situation in Norway,” says Gjermund Andersen, forest campaigner of FoE-Norway.

For more information please contact:
Gjermund Andersen
forest campaigner of FoE-Norway
+47 952 264 02
gjermund@noa.no

Mirjam Lööf Green
Co-ordinator of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation’s national forest network.
+46 70 556 95 22
mirjam.loof-green@naturskyddsforeningen.se

Olli Manninen
Finnish forest activist
+35 850 594 04 29
ollimanninen@yahoo.se

Sini Eräjää
Co-ordinator Taiga Rescue Network
+35 850 358 38 38
sini.erajaa@sll.fi

—————————-
NordicForests.org is a joint Taiga Rescue Network-project realized and supported by several environmental organizations from all the Fennoscandic countries and the general boreal zone.

Taiga Rescue Network is the only international network of non-governmental organizations, indigenous peoples and individuals working to defend the world’s boreal forests. Today more than 200 organizations are participants of the network. See more at: taigarescue.org.

Subscribe to the NordicForests.org Newsletter here: NordicForests.org/newsletter/

Knappelva, Oppland Photo: Tom Hofton

Oppland County is the second largest county in Norway, and besides Oppland, it is the only county in Norway that have no shoreline to the sea. In addition, the county is “packed” with biodiversity hot spot forests. Unfortunately less than one percent of the counties forests are protected by law.

Although Oppland is an interior county, humid forest sets its mark on Oppland. The dry valley of Gudbrandsdalen is the exception. In Ottadalen, the largest arm of Gudbrandsdalen, in the communes of Skjåk and Lom, the annual rainfall are the same as in Sahara. The glaciers are though providing the regions with water in the summer. The forests of southern Oppland in Nordmarka and Totenåsen are bordering the Oslo region, and here you find Europe’s richest Usnea longissima forests. This special lichen is perhaps the most well known species of the valuable Nordic old growth forest species.

Further north in Oppland County, in the Lillehammer-Valdres-Gudbrandsdalen region, there are extremely biodiversity rich canyon forests. In the old growth forest, an incredible high amount and variety in old growth forests dependent forest are packed in the same forests. Most of these forests have been thoroughly inventoried during the last years. Even though this information exists, yet no process for protection have started for these forests.

Gjøvik, Oppland Photo: Kim Abel

The forests of Oppland are mostly owned by private owners. The norwegian state (Statskog SF) owns some larger areas in Gausdal commune. Many of these old growth forests are in a process to become protected when Ormtjernkampen national park will be enlarged in 2010. As elsewhere in Norway the forests are poorly protected (less than one percent). This is an odd situation as Norway is the richest country in Europe.

Thanks to the last two years of surveys initiated by the Friends of the Earth Norway and certain official surveys, the knowledge is quite good about the remaining old-growth forests in Oppland, and many valuable old-growth forests are now well documented.

Oppland is a big county and a bit hard to show on a google map like this. Gausdal can be seen in the middle. Zoom in and it will become a bit more clear with the disadvantage of the county being framed.

Vardeberget Old-Growth Forest, Engerdal, Hedmark Photo: Olli Manninen

Hedmark county is the region in Norway with the highest percentage of forest cover. It’s a county with big differences – the southern part of the county is almost totally transformed into young plantation forest, whereas you can still find areas with old-growth forests in the northern parts which are more mountainous.

The communes of Stor-Elvdal, Engerdal and Rendalen play a key role when it comes to the preservation of biodiversity of certain old-growth species in Norway. For instance are the old-growth pine forest in Engerdal and adjacent communes Idre and Särna in Sweden, the most important core-area for pine dependent old-growth species in southern Scandinavia.

The forests are in general owned by private persons. The company Borregaard owns quite large forests in Trysil and Rendalen communes, and in Engerdal the state thru its forest company Statskog, owns 80% of the forest area.

The protection situation is as other places in Norway very poor, and several very valuable old-growth forest are unprotected both on private and state land. During the last years, most of the state owned forests are surveyed and the remaining old-growth forests are well documented and a protection process is likely to be started for this forests the coming years.

Old-growth forests in Stor-Elvdal municipality. Photo: Olli Manninen

For the private owned forests, the situation is much more uncertain, since there have not been any overall official surveys of remaining old-growth forests. For private owned forests the only way the governments deals to protect them, is if the forest owners voluntary wish to protected them (frivillig vern), leaving the faith and their protection 100% in the hands of the forest owners.

Thanks to the last two years of surveys initiated by the Friends of the Earth Norway and certain official surveys, the knowledge is quite good about the remaining old-growth forests in Hedmark, and many valuable old-growth forests are well documented.

The county is located in south-eastern Norway bordering Sweden in east, Sør-Trøndelag County in north, Oppland County in west and Østfold County in south.

By SCA logged pristine forest. Photo: Hans Sundström

Even though the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has revealed several major offenses against the swedish FSC-standard in the forestry praticed by SCA the company is now only given som minor Corrective Action requirements by the certifying body SGS.

– It’s astonnishing how cheap SCA gets away with this – the company have clearly broken the rules of the FSC-certification. Persistent serious offences of the rules like the logging of key habitats must have a consequense fot the forestry companies – otherwise FSC is not working the way its supposed to, says Mikael Karlsson, chairman of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.

The forestry company SCA, which is one of the biggest forestry companies in the world, has gotten lots of critique lately for its forestry practices. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation found this summer a large number of offences to the forest-certification FSC on several clear-cuts in Sweden. Five formal complaints has been made to the certifying body who has approved the FSC-certificate of SCA.

The reports concerns logged High Conservation Value forests in Västernorrland and Jämtland in mid-Sweden. The company has clear-cut among other things pristine like forest and key habitats. In the reports a large number of other concerns has been documented such as logged trees with high conservation values, poor respect for dead wood and red-listed species.

– The rules of the FSC-certification doesn’t work satisfactory when it comes to grave infringements. The certifier agrees that the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has made a correct assessment but the consequences for SCA are insignificant. This means that the certifying body SGS are legitimizing the logging of nature that should be protected, concludes chairman Mikael Karlsson.

An old-growth pine forest in Finland Photo:Olli Manninen

There are 22,9 million hectares of forests (forest and scrublands) in Finland and they cover some 75% of the total land area. Strictly protected forests cover 5,1% of the forest land, and if the scrub lands are included, the total number was 8,9% in 2008. No silvicultural management is allowed in these areas. Most of the protected forests in Finland are situated in the northernmost parts of the country.

Forests are the most important ecosystem for endangered species in Finland. 564 species (37,5 %) of all endangered species live in forests. Forestry is also the most common reason why both species and habitats become endangered. It was estimated in 1995 that some 5 % of the Finnish forests were old-growth forests and only half of them were protected. Not much is known about other biologically valuable forest types, because they have never been systematically mapped.

Forest industry and forestry have been significant for the national economy throughout the whole 20th century. The forests have been in “intensive care”. For example 120 000 kilometres of forest roads have been constructed and some 5 million hectares of peatlands have been ditched for forestry purposes. Some 120 000 – 150 000 hectares of clear-cuts are carried out annually. Young forests (age less than 40 years) cover currently one third of the Finnish forests (37 %) while forests older than 120 years only cover 12 %.

There are more unprotected High Conservation Value Forests in Finland which will show up in later updates of the NordicForests.org Map. Download the NordicForests.org Map for Google Earth here .

More than 90 per cent of Swedish forests are, or have been, in commercial use and are affected by systematic forest management. Old, natural forests are and have been clear-cut and replaced by plantations and industrial forests that have low biodiversity values. Only a few per cent of the productive forests below the mountain region (sub-alpine forests) are old-growth forests with high conservation values.

Although, Sweden holds a considerable proportion of the remaining old-growth forests of Europe. Over 1 800 animal and plant species in the Swedish forests are red-listed and many of them are dependent on old trees, dead wood and deciduous trees to survive. In order to reverse the ongoing biodiversity degradation, between 10 and 20 per cent of the total productive forest land below the mountain region need to be protected. There is a consensus among Sweden’s leading biological scientists that the Swedish forest politics is threatening the biological diversity in the forest.

In 2007 only about 3.3 per cent of the Swedish productive forests were formally protected from logging as national parks, nature reserves, habitat protection areas and by nature conservation agreements. Less than 2 per cent of the Swedish forests below the mountain region were formally protected.

Environmentally certified logging of High Conservation Value Forest in mid-east Sweden. Photo: John Lööf Green

One of the Swedish environmental quality objectives, “Sustainable forests”, states that the value of forests and forest land for biological production must be protected and biological diversity safeguarded, by year 2010. A recent review of the national environmental quality objectives concluded that this quality objective will not be achieved by either 2010 or 2020.

In order to live up to national and international obligations, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, Sweden has a legal responsibility to protect the biological diversity and to ensure that forestry operations are carried out in a sustainable fashion.

There are more unprotected High Conservation Value Forests in Sweden which will show up in later updates of the NordicForests.org Map. Download the NordicForests.org Map for Google Earth here .

Unprotected High Conservation Value Forest in Pasvik, Sør-Varanger Photo: Olli Manninen

The forests of Norway 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.

Less than 4% of the country’s coniferous forests are truly old-growth, with old trees and abundant dead wood in different stages of decay. Forests are, by far, the most important habitat for threatened species. The Norwegian 2006 red-list contains about 3800 species, of which 48 % (1827 species) are forest dwelling (632 of these are dependent on dead wood).

As of January 2009, 1,7% of the productive forest area is protected as national parks or nature reserves where logging is prohibited. Most of this is situated in high-elevation areas and to the north. Less than 0,4% of the lowland forests are protected. This is far less than recommended by leading scientists, estimating 4,6% as an absolute minimum, and 9,3% as a more likely necessary level.

At present, the protection of Norwegian forests is to a large extent controlled by the forest owners and their organizations, through a cooperation project with the authorities – “voluntarily protection”. In this way, forest protection is not primarily guided towards the biologically most important and/or threatened areas, but to the areas where the forest owners consider protection to be more economically profitable than logging. In addition, this is a process where it is difficult for environmental NGOs and others to have any impact.

Norway is the most far-stretching country in Fennoscandia. Therefore it might be a little hard to see that it’s Norway that is centered in this map. Download the NordicForests.org Map for Google Earth here .

Almost all the Norwegian forestry is certified according to PEFC-standards, but these standards are far from adequate from a biological point of view. Often only around 1 % of the area in a forestry landscape is put aside as key habitats. On a daily basis, forests of high conservation value are being logged – including forests that are well documented with large numbers of red-listed species.

The Norwegian authorities have ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and have also joined the international goal of ceasing biodiversity loss within 2010. But, the amount of protected forests, as well as the forestry practices, makes this an impossible ambition. By far, the most important action for safeguarding biodiversity in Norway will be to drastically increase the amount of protected forests – especially the biologically important hot-spot forest types. And they are many as the forest habitats of Norway exhibit some of the greatest variation in Europe. This is due to the mountain range stretching south-north through the length of the country, combined with rugged topography and the north-south gradient (from nemoral to high alpine and arctic zone). There are still many forests and unique habitats left but they are disappearing at an alarming rate.

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

Carbon-rich wetlands in the Northwest Territories. Credit: Chad Delany, Ducks Unlimited

– Report Calls for Global Climate Talks to Consider Boreal’s Impact

OTTAWA, Ontario—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.

Breakdown of Carbon Stored by Global Forest Biome

“The Carbon the World Forgot” identifies the boreal forests of North America as not only the cornerstone habitat for key mammal species, but one of the most significant carbon stores in the world, the equivalent of 26 years of global emissions from burning fossil fuels, based on 2006 emissions levels. Globally, these forests store 22 percent of all carbon on the earth’s land surface.

Read the whole report here. Read scientist comments here.

“Past accounting greatly underestimated the amount and depth of carbon stored in and under the boreal forest,” said Jeff Wells, an author of the report. In addition to carbon storage in trees, organic matter accumulated over millennia is stored in boreal peatlands and areas of permafrost. Some of this boreal carbon has been in place for up to 8,000 years.

The boreal forest’s status as the most intact forest left on earth also offers a unique opportunity for plants and animals forced to adapt to shifting habitats. Most other habitats today are highly fragmented by human activity, creating a variety of additional obstacles for species survival.

In light of these findings, today’s report urges that international negotiations on carbon and forest protection consider ways to account for and protect the boreal.

“Any effective and affordable response to climate change should include preserving the world’s remaining, carbon-rich old-growth forests,” said Steve Kallick, director of the Pew Environment Group’s International Boreal Conservation Campaign.  “This report makes clear that nations must look not just at the tropics but at all the world’s old-growth forests for climate change solutions.”

“Keeping that carbon in place by protecting boreal forests is an important part of the climate equation,” said Dr. Andrew Weaver, “If you cut down the boreal forest and disturb its peatlands, you release more carbon, accelerating climate change.”  Dr. Weaver of the University of Victoria is a lead author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Prize.

“The collision of climate disruption and massive human degradation of ecosystems is seriously worrying globally,” said leading conservation biologist Dr. Stuart Pimm of Duke University. “These changes are surely novel in earth’s history.”   Maintaining the boreal forest’s intactness will be critical to slowing ecosystem shifts and to providing migratory corridors for displaced wildlife.

“Conservation can be an important tool in the fight to mitigate climate change” said Larry Innes, Director of the Canadian Boreal Initiative. “International protocols and legislation need to create opportunities to maintain the carbon stored in intact boreal forest soils, peatlands, and wetlands while enabling indigenous and local communities to take a leadership role in determining how to best conserve not only carbon, but the full suite of ecological, cultural and economic values that the boreal forest represents.”

More than 1,500 international scientists led by authors for the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommended in 2007 that at least half of Canada’s boreal forest be protected from further disturbance – in large part to keep both the boreal forest carbon bank and internationally significant wildlife habitats intact. Despite the current lack of international protocol, several Canadian First Nation, provincial, and federal governments have taken important steps to protect hundreds of millions of acres of Canada’s carbon rich boreal forest.  In all, scientists are recommending that at least 300 million hectares be protected.

Unprotected state-owned forest in Vatajinkangas, Jämsä, Finland. Photo: Sini Saarela

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.

The southern part of the country has been intensively inhabited for a long time: the cities and the population has been growing bringing more land use in terms of agriculture and forestry. The biggest industries, even in paper and wood industry are based in the Southern Finland. This all has led to a heavy managed and fragmented landscape. Today the forests and forest biodiversity are threatened because of the same reasons.

Unprotected forest near Väärä-Väihi protection area in Jämsä, Finland. Photo: Greenpeace/John Jordan

Unprotected forest owned by UPM-Kymmene in Kymenlaakso, Finland. Photo: Mari Niemi

Most of the forest land in Southern Finland is owned by private owners (74,1%). Other big owners are the companies (12,0%) and the state (7,6%). The biggest company owners are UPM-Kymmene, Tornator/Stora Enso and Metsäliitto Group (Finnish Forest Research Institute).

Only 1,9 % of the forest land in Southern Finland is protected. (Finnish Forest Research Institute) The biggest threat for the unprotected forests is the pressure of paper and wood industry and the colonization in the populous parts.

There is no governmental or regional system to effectively protect the valuable forests in the southern part of the country. The existing protection program METSO is too slow and has too few resources to be able to take care of the needed protection alone. Many valuable forests are cut all the time on private, company and state owned land.

Another view of the unprotected forest near Väärä-Väihi protection area in Jämsä, Finland. Photo: Greenpeace/John Jordan

Due to the heavy forestry history both in the forests and on peat lands ecological restoration of areas is needed. Greenbelts need to be created in order to enhance the protection efficiency. By effective protection planning it is possible to preserve a lot of the southern forest biodiversity and habitats despite the earlier degradation and fragmentation as the forests are rather productive and can regain old-growth structures relatively fast.

Unprotected forest owned by UPM-Kymmene in Kymenlaakso, Finland. Photo: Mari Niemi

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.

This forest cultivation is a threat to the biological diversity and it violates the Parliament’s national environmental quality objective. Swedish forest policy officially relies on the production of raw forest material being of equal importance to the environmental objective. But in practice, production is prioritized higher.

The survival of almost 2,000 forest living species is now threatened because of the present policy. We are deeply concerned and ashamed of the rich country Sweden, which is not working effectively to fulfill its national and international environmental commitments. This is what 14 leading Swedish scientists in the field of plant ecology, ecological zoology, botany and other disciplines write.

Swedish forestry has been successful, and in many ways the Swedish forests are among the best managed in the world. Production has increased by 50 percent over the last 80 years. During the last 15 years, the volume of growing forest has increased by 25 percent, and yearly loggings have increased by 30 percent. The forestry is one of the backbones of the Swedish economy.

However, this story of success has a darker side. Today, after more than 100 years of intense forestry, we have a landscape almost completely dominated by managed forests in different stages after clear-cutting. We have replaced naturally growing forest trees with refined plants. The new forest proposition emphasizes increased production of raw forest material and highlights stump pulling, ditching, fertilization and intensified forest cultivation of exotic tree species as methods to achieve this.

The Swedish forest is becoming a giant cultivation where spruce, pine and exotic tree species dominate, similar to the few cereals grown in our fields. These forest cultivations pose a threat to the biological diversity. The forestry has led to a large-scale change in the ecosystem, and a large number of species and processes which belong in natural forests have been forced back and become endangered. Complex relationships between thousands of plants and animals that regulate flows of energy, nutrients and water have been disrupted.

The Swedish forest is becoming a giant cultivation where spruce, pine and exotic tree species dominate, similar to the few cereals grown in our fields.

Among other things on the long list of threatened species, the bryophyte Cephalozia macounii is found, just like the beetle Pytho kolwensis, which lives in spruce wetland forests, and the beetles Stephanopachys spp, which live in fire-induced pine trees and the white-backed woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos, which is found in old deciduous forests. These species are just a few examples of the nearly 2.000 forest living species, whose future survival is not safeguarded in Sweden.

The single most important threat to these species is that the size of areas and the remaining protected natural forests are insufficient to accommodate viable populations. This despite the fact that one central ambition, the so-called “zero vision”, in the Swedish environmental policy states that “all naturally occurring species shall be preserved in viable populations”.

Modern forestry has also led to a change in the genetic composition of naturally occurring forest trees, since plants and seeds used for regeneration come from refined cultivations or are imported from other countries. Genetic studies have shown that the naturally occurring Swedish spruce forests have a different genetic composition than that of much of those that has been spread over the country. On top of this, there are now proposals to increase the extent of planting non-native species, even though Sweden has signed international agreements not to spread alien species in the country.

Changing the genetic composition is what is consciously pursued in forestry. Trees with a genetic composition that improves the wood production more than naturally occurring trees have been cultivated. What this genetic manipulation might lead to in terms of biological development of forest trees in the long-term, and their interaction with other species, is definitely not clear at the moment.

In Sweden, there is broad political consensus on the national environmental objectives, including the objective of “Sustainable forests”. The same objective is defined by the EU and is in compliance with international agreements which Sweden has signed. Also, in the so-called 2010-target a “zero vision” is specified, which means that the loss of biodiversity should have ceased by 2010.

Today, only 5 percent of the productive forest land below the mountain region consists of protected natural forest (only about 1.5 per cent of the productive forest below the mountain region is formally protected. /editor). From an international perspective this is a low number. Worldwide, more than 12 percent of the world’s forests are protected and single countries like Costa Rica, a poor country compared to Sweden, has protected more than 25 percent of its forest area. Even our neighbor in the East, Estonia, has a natural reserve system that within a year will cover 10 percent of the productive forest area.

The Swedish Forest Agency is now proposing that the new environmental objective for the 2010-2020 period should include an increase in the proportion of protected natural forests below the mountain region to nearly 8 percent. The proposal means that we will have increased ability to meet our objectives adopted in a democratic consensus, while 92 percent of Sweden’s productive forest land will remain available for commercial forestry.

The proposed increase represents an absolute minimum to achieve the environmental quality objectives at all. We recommend a higher level of ambition, and that at least 10 percent of the productive forest area is protected. This level is also in line with what previous studies have shown to be necessary to protect biodiversity, and it complies with current international guidelines. In addition, these objectives must of course be implemented in the budget work, so that the necessary resources will be available to compensate landowners economically.

The effects of the extensive genetic changes to forests must be investigated. Billions of plants with different genetic background than the naturally selected plants have been spread across Sweden. Today, basic documentation as well as follow-up studies of this large-scale manipulation are lacking. It is not clear what and where genetic stocks are planted in the country. And it is unknown what potential effects this has led to or could lead to in the future.

It is well known that genetic variation is the backbone of biodiversity, and it is central to create resistance to changes in, for instance, the climate. Ecological and genetic research show that the capability of ecosystems and populations to continue to resist changes are directly linked to biodiversity. Modern forestry risks weakening the ecological resistance of the dramatic climatic and environmental changes we face. The proposals for more intensive forms of forestry and the introduction of exotic tree species must therefore be subjected to careful environmental assessments.

The Swedish forest policy relies on production and environment being equivalent objectives. While production in forests and logging volumes set new records, the Parliament’s environmental objectives for biodiversity face an uncertain future. This clearly shows that the desired balance has not been achieved. In practice, production has precedence. We are deeply concerned about this development and ashamed that Sweden – one of the world’s richest countries and with a profile of being progressive on environmental issues – is not working effectively to meet its national and international environmental objectives and commitments.

Bengt Gunnar Jonsson, Professor Plant ecology, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall.
Linda Laikre, Scientist Population genetics, Stockholm University.
Frank Götmark, Professor Ecological zoology, University of Gothenburg.
Nils Ryman, Professor Population genetics, Stockholm University.
Gunilla Almered Olsson, Professor Human ecology, University of Gothenburg.
Lars Björk, Scientist Ethnobotany, Uppsala University.
Torbjörn Ebenhard, Scientist Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences/Uppsala University.
Joakim Hjältén, Professor Animal ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå.
Margareta Ihse, Professor Ecological geography, Stockholm University.
Sven Jakobsson, Scientist Zoology, Stockholm University.
Per Milberg, Professor Plant ecology, Linköping University.
Sven G. Nilsson, Professor Animal ecology, Lund University.
Henrik Smith, Professor Animal ecology, Lund University.
Per Wramner, Professor Environmental science, Södertörn University.

This article was originally published in Swedish in Sweden’s biggest daily newspaper “Dagens Nyheter”  on the 14th of April 2008 as a comment on the government’s forest proposition and the situation for the Swedish forest. The government reduced the funds for nature conservation in their budget proposition later the same year.

The english translation is made by Amanda Tas, Protect the Forest 2009.  Link to the original article in Swedish.

The Greenpeace report “The Nordic Myth”

Sweden and Finland hold a large proportion of the remaining high conservation value forests in the European Union. These house a significant proportion of sensitive and threatened forest species. The commitments to biodiversity protection that Finland and Sweden have made are important not only as an expression of support for the principle, but also as a foundation for necessary action to prevent the loss of forest biodiversity in EU.

Unfortunately the governments of Sweden and Finland often ignore their commitments to biodiversity protection. Despite some protection programmes and legislation, the policies of the two countries are primarily geared towards maximization of production in the forests rather then establishing protection for the forest values and legal protection for the high conservation value forests. Government support is given to the forest industry to increase logging and clear cutting although much of the forests of the two countries have already been converted to monotonous industrial landscapes where many threatened forest species are unable to sustain their populations.

This report presents the current situation of the forest in Sweden and Finland and analyzes the weaknesses of the biodiversity protection policies of these countries.«

From the Foreword to the Report “The Nordic Myth”

Read the report

Some of the endangered forests around Stor Flaten and Stora Snesen in Leksand, Dalecarlia, Sweden

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After a field-study in Dalecarlia the summer of 2008 the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation gave attention to the High Conservation Value Forests around the lakes of Stor-Flaten and Stora Snesen in the municipality of Leksand. More than 130 findings of 16 different red-listed species were made in the critically endangered forests. All areas that were visited had Old-Growth Forest structures and the biological diversity was well preserved. These forests are interesting from a nature conservation perspective as they together constitute a big coherent High Conservation Value Forest area. With that knowledge Bergvik Skog, part of Stora Enso, has logged areas around lake Flaten.

A logged forest by lake Stor-Flaten Photo: John Green

– This is a catastrophe as larger well preserved natural pine forests with high conservation values are rare because of modern forestry. Bergvik Skog has planned to log almost all High Conservation Value Forests in this area. As there is a lack of funds to protect the area for the state the land-owner Bergvik Skog should protect these forests on a voluntarily basis, says Mikael Karlsson, Chairman of the SSNC.

Flaten-Snesen

The lakes of Stor-Flaten and Stora Snesen are visible in the map. Roughly one can interpret the image in the following way: large continuos areas of darker green are old forest. Light green areas are plantations and the light grey-brown-purple colour represents clear-cut areas.

Åsa Rydell, ecological officer at the municipality of Leksand has since a couple years reacted on the fact that Bergvik Skog is notifying High Conservation Value Forests for logging to the Swedish Forest Agency. In a statement on the website of the Forest Network of the SSNC she says that such a fine area as the forests around Flaten should not be logged. Especially as the land-owner Bergvik Skog is certified according to the FSC-standard. Bergvik Skog should know better.

Despite the obvious high conservation values Stora Enso is still planning to clearcut the forests. The county board has not enough money to buy it for protection and Stora Enso refuses to make voluntary protection decisions. The lack of resources for nature protection and cynical attitude in the forest companies makes this case very typical in Sweden today. Nobody seems to be responsible and as a result old-growth forests are destroyed all the time.

These High Conservation Value Forest are not only biologically valuable but it’s also an area for outdoor life and recreation. This mosaic of old forest, mires and lakes makes the area a unique place for wilderness area experience that both the local population and tourists have been enjoying.