Metsä-Botnia gives Argentine journalists tour of Finnish pulp industry
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"The question is, how Finland can be moved to Uruguay", is how Nahuel Maciel, a journalist from the Argentine town of Gualeguaychú described his thoughts and those of his colleagues, who visited Finland last week as guests of the Finnish paper manufacturer Metsä-Botnia.
The company flew ten Argentine reporters to Finland to give them a tour of the Finnish pulp industry and Finnish environmental policy.
"In Finland, things work. There is respect for nature, and streets are clean. Behind Botnia there is a government and institutions that function well, and rules that are obeyed. The fear is, whether or not the company will adhere to those same requirements in Uruguay. It is not just a question of the mill, but also the eucalyptus plantations and their biodivesity", Maciel said.
The aim of the tour was to convince the Argentines that Metsä-Botnia operates in foreign countries as it does at home. The company expects the suspicions to abate by the time the new pulp mill being built in Fray Bentos in Uruguay is completed next year.
Fray Bentos is located on the Uruguay River which forms the border with Argentina, and the project has sparked concern in Argentina of a possible negative environmental impact.
Although the journalists were largely impressed by what they saw in Finland, critical thoughts remain.
"It is important to understand Botnia's version in the pulp mill dispute, but it is still the company's version. I picked information that is fed to us with tweezers, and I would have liked to listen to outsiders as well", said José Llados, a reporter for the newspaper La Nación.
The tight travel schedule included visits to Metsä-Botnia mills in Äänekoski and Rauma, as well as to the Ministry of the Environment and to a water utility. At night, the visitors would write stories to send home, and by Saturday, many of the journalists had bags under their eyes from a lack of sleep.
The visit coincided with a strike by the Paperworkers Union over job cuts in the whole industry, and the pulp mills were not seen in full operation. Nora Veiras of the newspaper Pagina 12 said that she can better understand why more pulp production is being moved to South America for reasons of cost.
However, a picture in a story by Maciel appearing the Internat publication El Argentino bore a picture caption reading "The problems of Botnia caused a strike in Finland". When confronted over the inaccuracy, a somewhat embarrassed Maciel blamed "colleagues in Gualeguaychú" for the text.
In a story concerning Äänekoski, the guest mentioned seeing a Finnish man swimming naked in the lake near the factory area. "This must have been either a deliberate suicide, or an event staged for the benefit of Argentine journalists", the story read. The guest made paralells between the event and the film The Truman Show.
"There are many fears circulating in Gualeguaychú that are more or less justified, but when one arrives in Finland from the midst of the fears, swimming in a lake next to a mill is like the best kind of show", he explained.
The tour was the second of its kind arranged by Metsä-Botnia. In 2004 the company invited journalists from Uruguay and Argentina to visit Finland in 2004 when the project was in its early stages. At that time only one Argentine journalist showed up.
This time there were top-class journalists from both national and local newspapers in Argentina, and from Argentine television. Metsä-Botnia was pleased with the trip. Aldo Leporati, who handles public relations for Metsä-Botnia in Argentina, said that the journalists came to Finland expecting to find pollution, but saw that there was none.
"On the other hand, they will certainly write things that are not helpful, and fail to mention things that might be beneficial. Argentina is in the midst of a war, in which Botnia is the evil one. It is not possible to say suddenly, that it is good", Leporati ponders.
The company flew ten Argentine reporters to Finland to give them a tour of the Finnish pulp industry and Finnish environmental policy.
"In Finland, things work. There is respect for nature, and streets are clean. Behind Botnia there is a government and institutions that function well, and rules that are obeyed. The fear is, whether or not the company will adhere to those same requirements in Uruguay. It is not just a question of the mill, but also the eucalyptus plantations and their biodivesity", Maciel said.
The aim of the tour was to convince the Argentines that Metsä-Botnia operates in foreign countries as it does at home. The company expects the suspicions to abate by the time the new pulp mill being built in Fray Bentos in Uruguay is completed next year.
Fray Bentos is located on the Uruguay River which forms the border with Argentina, and the project has sparked concern in Argentina of a possible negative environmental impact.
Although the journalists were largely impressed by what they saw in Finland, critical thoughts remain.
"It is important to understand Botnia's version in the pulp mill dispute, but it is still the company's version. I picked information that is fed to us with tweezers, and I would have liked to listen to outsiders as well", said José Llados, a reporter for the newspaper La Nación.
The tight travel schedule included visits to Metsä-Botnia mills in Äänekoski and Rauma, as well as to the Ministry of the Environment and to a water utility. At night, the visitors would write stories to send home, and by Saturday, many of the journalists had bags under their eyes from a lack of sleep.
The visit coincided with a strike by the Paperworkers Union over job cuts in the whole industry, and the pulp mills were not seen in full operation. Nora Veiras of the newspaper Pagina 12 said that she can better understand why more pulp production is being moved to South America for reasons of cost.
However, a picture in a story by Maciel appearing the Internat publication El Argentino bore a picture caption reading "The problems of Botnia caused a strike in Finland". When confronted over the inaccuracy, a somewhat embarrassed Maciel blamed "colleagues in Gualeguaychú" for the text.
In a story concerning Äänekoski, the guest mentioned seeing a Finnish man swimming naked in the lake near the factory area. "This must have been either a deliberate suicide, or an event staged for the benefit of Argentine journalists", the story read. The guest made paralells between the event and the film The Truman Show.
"There are many fears circulating in Gualeguaychú that are more or less justified, but when one arrives in Finland from the midst of the fears, swimming in a lake next to a mill is like the best kind of show", he explained.
The tour was the second of its kind arranged by Metsä-Botnia. In 2004 the company invited journalists from Uruguay and Argentina to visit Finland in 2004 when the project was in its early stages. At that time only one Argentine journalist showed up.
This time there were top-class journalists from both national and local newspapers in Argentina, and from Argentine television. Metsä-Botnia was pleased with the trip. Aldo Leporati, who handles public relations for Metsä-Botnia in Argentina, said that the journalists came to Finland expecting to find pollution, but saw that there was none.
"On the other hand, they will certainly write things that are not helpful, and fail to mention things that might be beneficial. Argentina is in the midst of a war, in which Botnia is the evil one. It is not possible to say suddenly, that it is good", Leporati ponders.
Helsingin Sanomat