Forest management in Finland

1
Forest management in Finland
Slovakia 7.11.2006

• Marko Mäki-Hakola
• Research manager
• Central union of agricultural producers and
  forest owners (MTK)
• Marko.maki-hakola_at_mtk.fi, 358 40 5026810

2
This presentation

1. Finnish forest sector and family forestry in
   Finland
2. Forest legislation and forest policy
3. Nature protection
4. Everymans right
5. Something to remember

3
1. Finnish forest sector
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Well-being from Forests Is Spread Far and Wide

• In 2003 the forest sector was responsible for 7,3
  of the countrys GNP.
• In monetary terms this came to over 9 billion
  euros.

Publishing and printing are incorporated in the
pulp and paper industry because in some provinces
separating these would endanger information
security. The contribution of these towards the
GNP of the whole countrys forest sector is
approximately 15 percent.
Source Pellervo Economic Research Institute
(PTT), Statistics Finland, 2005
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(No Transcript)
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FINLANDA Land of 188 000 Lakes

• Forest area (FAO)
• 22 million hectares
• 73 of land area
• (EU-25 36 of land area)
• Utilized agricultural area
• 2.2 million hectares
• 6 of land area
• (EU-25 42 of land area)
• Water area
• 3.4 million hectares
• 10 of total area
• TOTAL AREA
• 33. 8 million hectares
• Population density (land area)
• 17 persons/km2 (EU-25 117/km2)

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Wood Production Is the Backbone of Sustainable
Forestry

Logging Natural
Source Finnish Forest Research Institute
8
Forest Ownership Structure in Finland(according
to an inventory of 1996-2003)
according to an inventory of 2004-2005
Source Finnish Forest Research Institute
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2. Family forestry
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Average size of private forest holdings (ha)

• Average size in Finland 31,4 ha

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Family Forestry is characterised by

• Multiobjectivity
• family forestry incorporates multiple values and
  functions
• Over-generational thinking
• the needs of future generations are constantly
  borne in mind and the forest holding is handed
  down to the next generation in a further improved
  condition
• Various benefits and services provided to the
  society
• e.g. Everyman's Right - the forests and waters
  are free for everyone to visit and enjoy

12
Family Forest Owners' Priorities

• MTK promotes sustainable family forestry in
  accordance with the following principles
• Landowners constitutional rights are respected
• Forest owners have the right and the opportunity
  to manage and use their forests in compliance
  with their objectives
• Forestry is economically profitable
• Forests are managed in compliance with the
  principles of sustainable forestry.

13
In Finland the Forest Management Association is
forest owners own association

• There are 154 Forest Management
• Associations in Finland
• more than 300 offices, i.e. one in every
• municipality
• more than 1100 forestry professionals and 750
  forest workers, additional contractors and
  entrepreneurs employed by the associations
• FMA serves the forest owners in all matters
  relating to forest e.g. planting, harvesting,
  ownership issues

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Forest Management Association at forest owners
service

• FMAs are members of regional Forest
• Owners Unions
• The Unions are members of the Central Union of
• Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK).
• This ensures the protection of forest owners
  interests on all levels national, regional and
  local
• The certification of the Finnish family forests
  is organised through the FMAs

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FMA is financed and controlledby the forest
owners

• Forestry management fee is statutory
• Forestry management fee ensures the
• possibility to all forest owners to get
  guidance, training and services in any matters
  relating to the forest
• Every fee-paying forest owner is a member of the
  local FMA
• The Council of the Association is the highest
  decision- making body. Members elect the Council,
  every member has one voice.

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Public Support to Private Forestry

• Act on Financing of Sustainable Forestry
• sustainability of timber production and vitality
  of forests
• maintenance of biological diversity of forests
• forest ecosystem management
• Support to
• long-term investments
• non-productive investments
• environmental investments
• government subsidies increase also private
  investments in forests

17
Investments in Silvicultural and
Forest-Improvement Works in Nonindustrial Private
Forestsreal prices (cost-of-living index, year
2005)
p preliminary data
Source Finnish Forest Research Institute
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Ownership structure and sustainable forest
management

• Sustainability- Long term commitments long
  term property rights and secure ownership
• Family forestry (private forestry)
• each generation hands forests to the next
  generation in an even better condition that they
  inherited the property.
• Needs an effective forest owners organization
  and cooperation
• Economic viability is a precondition to SFM in
  private forests
• Extremely important in rural areas, incomes,
  employment
• Multi-objectivity from roundwood production to
  nature values
• Market-based action, private forestry often
  increases the effectivity and productivity and
  expands forest resources
• Respects the forests and their many values
• State forestry
• Is the over generation thinking possible?
• Often many pressures
• Suitable when the goal is primarily to produce
  conservation or other public goods.
• The success and suitability of forest ownership
  models is largely dependant on a number of
  factors ranging from historical political
  stability, economic development, cultural
  traditions and other considerations which vary
  among countries (R. Toivonen, PTT)

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3. Forest legislation and forest policy
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Forest Legislation in Finland
Has developed from sustainable wood production to
sustainable forest management

• framework for forest owners decision-making
• forest owners need to be involved in development
  and decision-making processes
• The Forest Act (1997)
• wood production and biodiversity have equal
  importance
• utilisation of forest resources written in the
  law - important for forest owners
• National Forest Programme 2010 (update 2007)
• economic, ecological, social sustainability goals

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Development of Finnish Forest Policy in the 1990s

• Environmental Programme for Forestry (1994) and
  its monitoring (1995-97)
• Environmentally friendlier forest management
  recommendations (1994)
• new Forest and Park Service Act (1994)
• National Criteria Indicators for Sustainable
  Forest Management (1995) based on the Pan-
  European process
• Old-growth Forest Protection Programme (1996)
• new Forest Act on Forest Centres (1996)
• new Forest Act (1997)
• new Act on the Financing of Sustainable Forest
  Management (1997)
• new Nature Conservation Act (1997)
• Development of Forest Certification (1997-1998)
• new Act on Forest Management Associations (1999)
• National Forest Programme 2010 (1999)

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Act on Financing of Sustainable Forestry

• sustainability of timber production and
• vitality of forests
• forest regeneration (not following conventional
  final cutting)
• prescribed burning
• tending of young forest stand
• harvesting of energy wood
• remedial forest fertilisation
• remedial ditching
• forest road construction
• public support 62 million euros yearly

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Act on Financing of Sustainable Forestry

• maintenance of biological diversity of
• forests
• if maintenance of biological diversity is taken
  into account more extensively than what is
  provided in the Forest Act
• if additional costs or economic losses related to
  the maintenance of biological diversity are
  significant (environmental aid)
• contract between the forest owner and Forest
  Centre
• compensation for forest owner

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Act on Financing of Sustainable Forestry

• Forest ecosystem management
• management and restoration of the important
  habitats
• landscape management
• other significant undertakings emphasising
  ecosystem management, multiple use of forests,
  landscape, cultural and recreational values
• based on contract between the forest owner and
  regional Forest Centre

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Family forestry manage for both wood production
and biodiversity

• Forest owners invest 50-65 million per year in
  forest environment and biodiversity.
• Forest Act, 10 Habitats of special
  importance for biodiversity shall be
  preserved
• 100 000 sites in family forests
• 60 000 ha
• not included in the statistics on protected area
• Evaluation of environmental quality of forest
  operation 2003
• 94 excellent or good

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4. Forest protection
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Three ways of forest nature protection

• Nature conservation programs The old way
• New voluntary based conservation methods
• ensuring the preservation of biodiversity in
  commercially managed forests
• Some lessons learned from the NATURA process
• Are the NATURA areas been chosen in right way
• The importance of transparency is high
• Even one wrong species may have great influence

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Voluntary forest protection

• METSO, The Forest Biodiversity Programme for
  Southern Finland 2003-2007, is experimenting with
  several new methods based on voluntary action by
  the forest owner
• forest owners can offer their forests for
  protection in natural value trading
• authorities can put out competitive tenders to
  forest owners for rare biotopes
• forest owners can create joint action networks
  with local stakeholders to protect biodiversity
• the State supports projects financially
• protected areas are returned to their natural
  state in order to increase natural values by, for
  example
• increasing dead wood
• prescribed burning of forests
• blocking existing drains on mires. forest owners
  can offer their forests for protection in natural
  value trading

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The Forest Biodiversity Programme for Southern
Finland METSO

• Responds to the forest owners' values and
  priorities, attitudes of the Forest Owners
  towards Forest Conservation are positive if
• the ownership remains
• voluntary
• fully compensated
• no grey areas are formed in commercial forests
• the work done is appreciated
• corresponds to the MTK's Forest Biodiversity
  Action Plan
• has gained forest owners' support and active
  participation, there is no way back to old
  methods,

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Acceptability of Conservation Important factors
to acceptability of conservation contract
92
Property rights
and
sovereignty
82
Amount
of
compensation
80
Determination
of
compensation
78
Cancellation policy
78
Form
of
compensation
74
Duration
of
contract
69
Restrictions
on
forest use
65
Continuation
of
contract
62
Distribution
of
compensation over time
57
Initiator
of
conservation project
47
Achieve
the
goal
of
conservation
42
Local employment effect
32
Importance
on national
scale
0
20
40
60
80
100
of
respondents
Source Paula Horne/Finnish Forest Research
Institute
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Agreements and laws for safeguarding biodiversity

• Constitution responsibility for nature and its
  biodiversity, the environment, and cultural
  heritage lies with every citizen.
• Forest Act
• applies to managed forests, requires ecological,
  social and economic sustainability and specifies
  especially important habitats whose natural
  values must not be weakened.
• Nature Conservation Act
• applies to strictly protected areas.
• EU regulations
• Natura 2000 protected area network based on the
  Habitats and Birds Directives.
• Natural management methods for managed forests
  are incorporated in
• the Forest Act
• recommendations for good forest practices
• forest certification
• 95 percent of Finlands forests have been
  certified
• landscape ecological planning and natural
  resource planning in State forests and regional
  multipurpose planning in forests belonging to
  forest companies.

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Effect of additional protection of forests in
southern Finland

• Studies reveal that forest protection reduces
  both harvesting and jobs.
• Sawlogs harvesting in general is reduced more
  than pulpwood harvesting.
• Problems would especially increase for small and
  medium sized sawmills.
• Because protection in practice is never dispersed
  evenly over an area to be appraised, the problems
  are all brought to bear on certain mills.
• A harvesting reduction of one million cubic
  metres would mean the loss of 1,600 jobs overall.
  If no timber is available to replace this, the
  loss of one forestry job due to protection would
  lead to the loss of three jobs in the forest
  industry and three other jobs elsewhere in the
  community.

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Voluntary forest protection

• Voluntary protection would considerably relieve
  the adverse effects on the economy and
  employment.
• For example, the loss of jobs would be reduced by
  one half.
• The effects of voluntary protection on the
  economy and employment are generally less
  harmful than with compulsory protection.
• Voluntary protection is more cost-effective.
• Citizens and forest owners prefer voluntary
  protection.
• Taxpayers are willing to pay for it.

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Public interests common goods

• Land Use Planning Impacts on Forest Uses
• Forests Protect Water Systems
• Soil Protection Is Part Of Forest Management
• Forests are Efficient Carbon Sinks

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Family forests are open to all everymans righte

• Everyman.s rights mean that everyone is entitled
  to enjoy the bounties of nature, including
  picking of wild berries and wild mushrooms
  irrespective of whose land they happen to grow
  on.
• Forest owners provide this opportunity free of
  charge.
• There are two fundamental preconditions for
  making use of everyman.s rights
• they need to be occasional or temporary
• must not cause nuisance or damage.
• Everyman.s rights are so-called yielding rights.
• One cannot demand that a landowner should
  restrict his legal operation in his forests, e.g.
  felling operationsand forest regeneration, for
  the sake everyman.s rights.

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Something to remember

• I would like You to remember two fine examples
  from Finland
• Sustainable family forestry and the role of
  forest management associations
• Voluntary based forest conservation - METSO

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Thank You