Forest planning on several levels

Forest policy is implemented through a multi-level forest planning. The forest programmes and forecasts of forest resources are used to draft natural resource plans, landscape-ecological plans and regional forest programmes. The landscape-ecological plans are generally forest management plans drawn up by large-scale forest owners for their own forests. In Finland such plans have been adopted by the Forest and Park Service, in charge of state forests. As an example, all plans and decisions concerning felling in state forests are based on regional natural resource plans. These plans are drawn up in broad stakeholder co-operation, in practice open to all interested parties.

The regional forest programmes are the responsibility of Forestry Centres. They are drawn up in co-operation with forestry organisations and other stakeholders, including private citizens and NGOs. A regional forest programme includes, among other things, the general goals of forest management and use and of forestry development. The first regional forest programmes were completed in 1998. Other types of plans cover individual farms or broader contiguous areas of, say, 2,000–5,000 hectares – such as the forests held by the inhabitants of a village.

Holding-specific forest plans cover the management and use of one forest holding. Plans of this type exist for about 6.4 million hectares of privately owned forests. All in all there are 126 000 specific plans for those forest holdings. The state forests and forests owned by forestry companies are all subject to plans. A plan is drawn up for 10–20 years, and the purpose is to update it after every measure, though this has not been reached so far. A plan is drawn up for all holdings whose owners want this, in connection with regional planning.

The plan describes the measures intended for each part of the holding during its validity, as well as when they will be carried out. The plan always starts out from the owner's goals and is based on the forest resources of the holding, their forecast fluctuation, felling potential, management needs, and the economic impact of the measures.

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