WWF claims Finnish forest service violates its own felling guidelines
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Harri Karjalainen of the conservation organisation WWF, who is responsible for matters relating to Finnish forests, says that the tree felling currently under way in Koljatinjärvi in Suomussalmi in the east of Finland violates the guidelines set by the new environmental guide of Metsähallitus [the government forest and parks administration].
On Monday activists of the young people's environmental organisation Luonto-Liitto stopped ongoing forest work in the area by placing themselves near a mechanical tree harvester.
Taking part in the drafting of the Metsähallitus environmental guide, which was published last summer, were forest experts of the Finnish section of WWF. The guide was meant to be a major step toward a more responsible forest policy. About 2,000 employees and contractors were given training in implementing the guidelines.
WWF also agreed to follow events and to report on how the guidelines were implemented in practice in state forests covering about five million hectares.
"Using football terminology, the felling at Koljatinjärvi deserves a yellow card, because Metsähallitus does not operate according to its own rules", says Harri Karjalainen.
"Metsähallitus is translating the guide into English and German, the languages of the main market area. Apparently we will also have to translate our statements into English and German."
The environmental guidelines put forward new ways of protecting landscapes in areas that are important from the point of view of tourism and ecology.
Landscape issues were emphasised already in 1998, in the ecological planning of Vuokki in Suomussalmi. One issue there was the shoreline of the lakes of Kevättijärvi and Koljatinjärvi, which were to be left largely untouched by logging operations.
The shore of Koljatinjärvi now has a strip of forest 10-20 metres wide. A lengthy, narrow area of about 8 hectares, that has already been cleared, can be clearly seen from the lake. About 80% of the planned felling has already been completed.
On Monday, a group of environmental activists managed to stop the felling with their action.
A local supervisor of the felling operation explained to WWF that the environmental guidelines are new, and that their implementation would take time.
"Felling operations of the same intensity that are taking place on the southern shore of Koljatinjärvi took place in Tornionkangas, 30 kilometres to the east", says Pentti Kinnunen, who lives in the nearby village of Yli-Vuokki. He notes that the area had an important environmental significance, but now it has a 30-hectare patch of clear-cut forest 30.
"I admit that Tornionkangas is an example of poorly-executed felling. However, we have put much effort into the planning of the Koljatinjärvi felling", says Merja Väisänen, head of environmental affairs and land use at the Kainuu unit of Metsähallitus.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 16.2.2005 - TODAY |
 WWF claims Finnish forest service violates its own felling guidelines |
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