Yesterday an agreement was reached between regional actors and Greenpeace in a dispute of several years concerning old wilderness-like forests in Central, or Forest Lapland. After the agreement all major disputes between Greenpeace and state-owned forestry company Metsähallitus on the use of forests in Lapland are solved with the exception that Greenpeace aims to “follow” the development of relations between Metsähallitus and reindeer herders in Inari municipality.

According to Ms. Sini Harkki from Greenpeace Finland, the agreement concludes Greenpeace’s campaign for unprotected wilderness areas in Forest Lapland and thus completes the organisation’s most important campaign in Lapland during the last few years.

Several stakeholders participated in the discussions: local municipalities, reindeer owners’ co-operatives, state-owned forestry company Metsähallitus as the landowner, local sawmills and Greenpeace. Discussions have concerned the maps of Forest Lapland; presented by Greenpeace and other environmental organisations in 2006, where they had marked the areas they required to be protected.

For Greenpeace, this was the first time in Finland when it participated a multi-stakeholder process with a principle of equality. For the municipalities and the Regional Council this was the first time to negotiate with Greenpeace.

The concluded negotiations were a part of Metsähallitus’s interim review on Natural Resource Planning in Eastern and Western Lapland, which has just started. The most valuable areas in terms of nature protection in these areas will be permanently excluded from forestry by Metsähallitus’s own decision.

Reindeer herders are satisfied as well
The final agreement was reached in a steering group which consists of, in addition to Metsähallitus and Greenpeace, the Regional Council of Lapland, Lapland Regional Environment Centre, Finnish Reindeer Owners’ Association, and representatives from the forest industry and the Sámi Parliament.

Mr. Esko Lotvonen, Region Mayor of Lapland representing the Regional Council and the chairperson of the steering group, characterises the negotiation process as a new beginning: “It’s remarkable that all the parties for whom these areas are important were willing to participate in the negotiations. The result is a compromise which provides a reasonable operational basis for all the stakeholders as regards future needs for changes in land use,” says Lotvonen.

According to Harkki, this solution should restore the reputation of forest products from Lapland in the European market. Also the reindeer herding cooperatives of Lapland, North Salla, Kyrö and Kuivasalmi took part in the negotiations and the agreement, as they all consider the areas to be important reindeer grazing grounds.

The jointly agreed result moves 20,700 hectares of forest land totally out of forestry use. Some 62,000 hectares of the areas on the maps are low-productive forest land, such as open peatland and hilltop areas, which have not been in forestry use even up to this day.

Additionally, 14,200 hectares of the areas in question are productive forest land, but have been previously set aside from forestry use by Metsähallitus’s own decisions, under the status of a valuable biotope or an important reindeer grazing area.

Problems for sawmilling
All in all, the agreement covers some 44,200 hectares of forest land in the map areas. Of them, 6,600 hectares will remain available for normal multiple-use forestry. 2,700 hectares remain in restricted forestry use, and 35,000 hectares are excluded from forestry operations.

The solution prevents future fellings of 1.7 million cubic metres of wood. The effect on annual felling possibilities will be assessed more accurately at a later stage.

However, excluding mature forests from forestry operations will create problems for local sawmilling industries. Approximately two percent of the wood resources in the state-owned forests areas in the municipalities of Kittilä, Sodankylä, Savukoski and Salla were set aside from forestry.

Mr. Hannu Virranniemi, director of forestry department of Pölkky sawmill in Kuusamo, who represented the forest industry of northern Finland in the steering group, comments that the agreement aimed at a compromise. “The target was to not jeopardise the wood supply of sawmills, but improve the image of the exporting industry and thus safeguard the overall preconditions of success for the forest industry in northern Finland,” says Virranniemi.

Reputation of the paper production is safeguarded
According to Ms. Kii Korhonen, Regional Director of Western Lapland region in Metsähallitus, the solution was possible because of the favourable age structure of Lapland’s forests. There were large clearcuts in Lapland in 1950s and 1960s. Afterwards these forests regenerated well and are now growing fast. “This provides good possibilities for thinning and already even regeneration fellings,” says Korhonen.

The vitality of forests in Lapland is also good. “All in all, felling possibilities are increasing,” says Korhonen.

The significance of wood as a renewable resource will increase after the recession both for the construction, wood product industries and energy production. Despite this, paper making will continue to consume most of the timber of Lapland. The international image of the paper from the Kemi mills is a major issue for all of Lapland.

The negotiation process was a continuation of several processes: the Old-growth Forest Conservation Programme for Northern Finland, expansions of national parks, Metsähallitus’s own land-use decisions, the dialogue with environmental organisations and the Nellim agreement of this autumn between three reindeer herders, which ended the Nellim disputes for twenty years.

Local reconciliation of the uses of state-owned forests and co-operation between reindeer herders’ associations, tourist entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders will naturally continue even in the future.

By Hannes Mäntyranta



Press release of Metsähallitus
The southernmost part of Forest Lapland vegetation zone 46,47 Kb
Protection status of southernmost Forest Lapland 23,71 Kb