Greenpeace pleased with the resolution on Nellim forests

One of the long standing conflicts between Saami reindeer herders and Finland's State forest service Metsähallitus has been resolved in Nellim, in northernmost Finland. The law suit filed in 2005 by three Saami reindeer herders was settled with an agreement between the reindeer herders and Metsähallitus.

The agreement published today saves the majority of mature forests in the area for the next 20 years. This means that practically all old-growth forests and important reindeer pastures of Nellim are protected until 2029. Nellim is a part of the municipality of Inari in the Homeland of the Saami, indigenous people of North Europe. - This is a great result of Greenpeace campaigning and the persistent struggle of the reindeer herders. Twenty years is enough time to find a permanent solution to the conflict between traditional reindeer herding and forestry. We hope that the negotiated solution will work as a model for Metsähallitus to resolve similar conflicts in other parts of the Saami Homeland as well, says Sini Harkki, Greenpeace forest campaigner in Finland. The Greenpeace campaign on Nellim forests began in 2002 when Greenpeace, Finnish Association for Nature Conservation and reindeer herders published maps of the most important reindeer forests of Inari and asked Metsähallitus to agree to moratoria on all logging in the forests and fair negotiations on their use. The campaign continued with an international Forest Rescue Station that was set up by Greenpeace in the forests of Nellim. From the camp Greenpeace volunteers helped the local reindeer herders to demarcate their important reindeer forests which were threatened by logging. The court process became international in 2005 when Metsähallitus continued logging the forests in spite of the on going court process and the UN Human Rights Committee recommended Finland to seize the logging until the case has been handled by the court. Forestry affects traditional reindeer herding as logging destroys tree hanging lichen, an important source of winter food for the reindeer. Logging also has an impact on ground lichen and it causes serious fragmentation of pastures.