WWF: Most of Finland and Sweden’s old-growth forests at risk of not being protected

Snowy fir trees in an old forest. — According to WWF, Finland should protect all remaining old state forests.

The Finnish government’s strict criteria for identifying old-growth forests appear to be misguided, according to the environmental organisation.

According to a recent report by the environmental organisation WWF, most of the old-growth forests in Finland and Sweden are at risk of not being protected.

Most of the EU’s remaining old-growth and semi-natural forests are in Sweden, Finland and the former Eastern Bloc countries. According to WWF, the protection of the EU’s old-growth and semi-natural forests rests heavily on the shoulders of Finland and Sweden.

Together with other EU countries, Finland has set out in the EU Biodiversity Strategy that the remaining old-growth forests should be protected.

In its report, the organization urges Finland, among other things, to protect all known old-growth forests owned by the state and to map the situation of privately owned old-growth forests.

\”They play into the pocket of the forest industry\”

The protection of the remaining old state forests has been included in the current Finnish government program. However, according to WWF, the government has presented such strict criteria for identifying old forests that most of these forests are in danger of being left unprotected.

– The criteria presented by the government seem to be goal-oriented and play into the bag of the forest industry to ensure the supply of wood, says Suominen in the organization’s press release.

According to Suominen, the EU’s political credibility and citizens’ trust in decision-making are also at stake.

– Finns must be able to trust that the government will implement the records of its program, and not just do nature conservation. The European Commission must monitor that the biodiversity strategy is implemented in accordance with the Commission’s instructions, says Suominen in the press release.

The purpose of WWF’s recent report is to give recommendations for the protection of old forests to the governments of Finland and Sweden, the European Commission and the business sector.