Forest companies are thriving on the crest of a wave of good economic times. For example, UPM issued a positive profit warning last week. Paula Lehtomäki, who has taken over as CEO of Metsäteollisuus ry, is pushing for companies’ right to use wood, which the EU is trying to regulate.
The autumn hike is crowned by a moment together at the campfire and in the lodge. When grandma is there, all the goodies are there too,” says Lotta Hulkko, summing up the atmosphere.
Every Christmas, around one million Finnish households buy a Christmas tree. It takes about ten years from the time a Christmas tree plantation is established until the first harvest is ready for the season.
A dozen or so people listen to two speakers armed with a pair of penknives at the edge of a Salo forest. In front of them, a Christmas tree plantation opens up, with rows of trees of different lengths every couple of metres in neat rows.
Organised by the Forest Centre’s Well-being from Forest Livelihoods project, the aim of the tour is to learn about Christmas tree growing, and perhaps even convert a few visitors to the Christmas tree industry. This would come in handy.
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A proposal to halt the loss of biodiversity would cost Finland just under a billion euros a year, the European Commission estimates.
Lehtomäki, who was a guest on Monday evening’s A-studio, refers above all to the costs of restoration, i.e. the costs of returning the area to its natural state. The Commission estimates that restoration would cost Finland almost a billion euros a year.
– This is the most significant cost for Finland in terms of the size of the economy. In that sense it is disproportionate,” says Lehtomäki.
– The Commission has wanted to adopt this regulation precisely because it is not enough for us to simply protect more areas and nature. We must also be able to improve the natural state outside protected areas.
Ohisalo throws the ball to Lehtomäki by also stating that the industry itself makes billions in profits. Ohisalo would like the industry to participate in improving biodiversity, for example by reducing logging.
– Sometimes it feels as if forests only have value as wood cubes, when they have value as a habitat for diverse nature.
Lehtomäki replies to the minister:
– The percentages in these goals are so high that it does not allow targeting in the most cost-effective way.
Ohisalo estimates that the progress of the presentation will take several more months and the details related to it will be refined. However, he believes that its estimated costs will be lower in reality.
The public event will take place on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Among other things, you can try flagging for free. You can also buy the necessary licences at Kuusisaari.
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