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Stora Enso is committed to protecting old-growth forests

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Some Finnish environmental organisations have called for further protection in  
the Finnish Forest Lapland areas where Metsähallitus has been logging during the
winter. They claim that the areas are old-growth forests since they have found  
some 300-year-old trees in the log piles. Stora Enso is among the recipients of 
the wood and has therefore been criticised.                                     

The average age of the harvesting sites under criticism vary from 80 to 200     
years. According to the Finnish Forest Act, forests in the region reach         
regeneration age after about 140 years. While it is possible to find single     
trees which can be up to 300-year-old, they are normally left standing as       
retention trees.                                                                

Stora Enso is committed to protecting old-growth forests and has supported many 
multi-stakeholder processes in doing so in northern Finland since 1996. We do   
not buy wood from forests which have been defined as old-growth in a national   
stakeholder process.                                                            

Metsähallitus has recognized the demands of the environmental organisations and 
thus carried out further inventories in these areas. Some of these areas were   
reclassified as ‘natural forest with special nature values' and have been left  
out of commercial logging. The other areas remain classified as ‘normal         
commercial forests' where logging can be carried out. Metsähallitus, however,   
has no plans for further logging in the areas defined by the environmental      
organisations in Forest Lapland this winter.                                    

According to the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, a uniquely diverse network
of both protected and wilderness areas have been created in Lapland. The EU     
Commission also recognises that Finland has achieved an adequate level of       
protection in its boreal forests. Stora Enso also sees that the ecological      
values of the forests in Forest Lapland have been safeguarded, as already 43% of
the forests are protected.                                                      

Stora Enso's position is that it can receive wood from those areas now addressed
by the environmental organisations, as they meet FSC Controlled Wood            
requirements. Audits carried out by Stora Enso Wood Supply Finland in the       
logging areas confirm this.                                                     

Stora Enso has recently discussed the matter with Greenpeace and Metsähallitus, 
and encourages all relevant stakeholders to participate in the dialogue         
face-to-face.                                                                   

For further information, please contact:                                        
Pekka Kallio-Mannila, Environmental Manager, Wood Supply Finland, tel. +358 2046
24967                                                                           
Pirjetta Soikkeli, Communications Director, Wood Supply, Sustainability, tel.   
+358 2046 21294                                                                 

www.storaenso.com/wood-forest                                                   
www.metsa.fi > Topical > Forest Lapland (Metsähallitus' web site)





                                            

                

            

        

    

    



    

        
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