Habitats are also threatened

The Forest Act defines habitats of special importance in commercial forests and requires forest owners to maintain their characteristics in connection with activities such as felling. The Forest Development Centre Tapio monitors the success of this activity annually. The habitats of special importance defined by the Act are, however, also being identified in privately-owned forests through a systematic survey activity. This survey was started in 1998, and by May 2003 eighty percent of the private forests in the country had been surveyed. A similar survey was completed earlier in forests owned by the state and the forestry companies.

By the date mentioned, a total of 48,000 hectares of habitats looked for had been identified in privately-owned forests. Among them, one third consisted of the immediate surroundings of streams. The average size of the sites was about 0.6 hectares. In addition to the habitats looked for, about 56,000 hectares of other habitats valuable for forest biodiversity were found.

The survey of habitats of special importance as defined in the Forest Act will be completed during 2003, with the exception of Northern Ostrobothnia and Lapland, where the work will continue during 2004. In addition to the habitats defined in the Forest Act it is recommended that, in connection with felling, the following types of habitats are preserved: shores of waterways, the tops of the highest hills, hot south-facing slopes of eskers, beds of meltwater streams and kettle holes formed during or after the Ice Age, former grazing forests and wooded meadows and old groups of trees and copses. The Nature Conservation Act requires the preservation of natural woods rich in broad-leaved deciduous species, hazel woods, common alder woods, sandy shores in their natural state, coastal meadows, treeless or sparsely wooded sand dunes, juniper meadows, wooded meadows, prominent single trees or groups of trees in an open landscape. However, the protection of these requires an official decision and the marking of the protected area in the terrain.

Certain habitats and species must also be protected by virtue of the Natural Habitats directive of the European Union.

20. Preservation of typical characteristics of valuable habitats during felling.

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