»Under the terms of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Sweden and Finland have made a commitment to protect biodiversity and to use natural resources sustainably. To achieve this, signatory countries to the CBD have decided on a goal to establish comprehensive, effective networks of protected areas for terrestial ecosystems by 2010. In the programme of work on protected areas, Finland and Sweden have also committed to, “as a matter of urgency, by 2006, take action to establish or expand protected areas in any large, intact or relatively unfragmented or highly irreplaceable natural areas, or areas under high threat”. Similar and more detailed commitments have also been made under the terms of a number of EU and national legal instruments.

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