1 FORESTRY, A GREEN-GOLD IN FINLAND

FORESTRY IS A DAILY ROUTINE OF PEOPLE FOR THEIR WELL BEING AND IS A BACK BONE OF FINNISH ECONOMY

Finland is one of the 8th largest European country dotted with hundreds of thousands of lakes, where trespassing the forest is a pleasure, where roaming around in wilderness is free. One of the picturesque coniferous boreal forests of Finland where trekking, hiking and biking in protected areas is not only welcome but also prodigiously a fun, frolic and adventure. Finland is a tundra line country of north pole where you can collect berries, mushrooms, firewood shoots, medicinal plants and decorative lichens free of cost from any where in the forests and woodlands. Beautiful country of reindeer, elk and ringed seal where archipelagos of the coast and gulf of Finland shall appeal you with mesmerizing splendor of 810000 green islands. Surprisingly more than 300 thousands of hunters of almost 6% of the population of Finland pay annual game management fee for obtaining smart-hunting-card for hunting game species of grouse, wood pigeon, hare, moose, waterfowl, mallard, red fox, elk, raccoon-dog, mink, beaver, pine-marten, big game like bears, lynxes and wolves. A glacial country of intermittently frozen rugged landscape, with chilly weather and unfavorable climatic conditions for growth of forests is seen as a source of tremendous revenue, making Finland one of the worlds leading soft-wood-producer supplying raw material at competitive prices to the giant-wood-processing-industries of EuropeA K Singh

Finland is the most densely forested country in Europe where per capita forest cover amounts to 4 hectares per citizen. There is a plenty of forests for 5.2 million people with a geographic area of 3.38 Lakhs sq Km accommodating 2.3 Lakh sq Km forests all over. More than 10 Lakhs people own the 55% of Finlands forests with each 5th Finnish person holding an average of 35 hectares of private forests in his backyard constantly working to practice long-term-forestry taking care of the needs of future generations. In birds eye view Finnish-hinterlands appear green, full of lakes, rivers, snow capped sub zero lowland hills of north-Lapland-arctic zone with 600 mm average rainfall. Major part of Finland constitutes scrapped-off-soil, eroded-exposed-bedrock of south where glaciers had been melting to elevate the land each year by 2 inch therefore raising the sea level by half an inch every year. Over the past 40 years growing stock of forest in Finland increased by more than 40 percent. Over more than 2.2 billion cubic meters of woods had been used and harvested since

recently. Protected area had tripled over the past 35 years. Forests are made to serve as carbon sink removing about half of the carbon

emissions from Finlands industry every year, with forestry sector contributing for more than 15 % of GDP regionally. Finland has become an example par excellence for the other countries the world over

as leading country in forestry. Surprising 86% of forest cover of one of the Nordic countries of

2 Finland pervades with pines, birches and spruce as of now which has been creating immense demand of timber, tourism, recreation, natural beauty and landscape configuration which the Europe has never seen before. Finland covers more than half of the boreal-coniferous-forests-zone of arctic-circle and temperate-zone. Pines, Birch and Spruce make almost half of the growing-stock or 97% of the total timber volume in Finland. Gulf-stream and North-Atlantic-Drift Oceanic-currents moderate the climate of Finland. Most of the Finlands

relatively low elevation of the land 150 above MSL is full of peat lands, bogs and rocky swamps evolving from continental shift of arctic ice over thousands of years melting into moraine, drumlins and eskers constituting half of the arable land of southern zone. Most of the time of almost 100 days in a year heavy winter snows and network of waterways are used for logging and timber-sledging. Most commercial tree species like pine, spruce and birch supply timber to the sawmill, pulp and paper industries regularly. Each spring, wood cruise and timber consignments float the logs downstream to collection points, tugs towed log bundles down the rivers, across lakes to the forest wood processing industries. Gulf stream driving warm air over the country helps grow forests even high up in the north where third of the Finlands area embraces Arctic Circle just near to the North Pole clear sky of which during the nights radiates colorful spectrum of aurora borealis. More than three fourth area of the Finland is wilderness sprawling with coniferous boreal forests. Local

will mandates effective utilization of such natural resources for keeping them not only as age old traditional forests, necessitating regeneration-felling and harvesting but also to take up regular commercially viable planned-cuttings. Effective protection with special care to prevent arctic-timberline from diminishing further down south is given by financing sustainable forestry, encouraging private forest owners with subsidy for spreading forests areas on historically treeless sites, and increasing forest areas on natural disaster affected areas where growing stock got destroyed earlier. Since last three decades Finland has started

thinking about timber use in housing, creating afresh the wooden traffic routes, planning with peripheral forest areas for human settlement, attempting treeless areas to be used for afforestation and harvesting. Total estimated growing stock of Finland amounting to 2 billion cubic meter is reported to have been registering an annual increment of 100 million cubic meter which is 47% higher than few decades ago, where as the annual drain or harvest of timber is 65 million cubic meter which is used in forest industries, energy consumption and furnishings. Some around 8 billion tons of carbons are sunk into the Finnish forests of which the biggest amount flushes into the soil. Most interesting part in Finnish society is family-forest which of late has turned into a part time small scale green

3 business. Most of the 80% forests are owned by private people as family forests and 43% of the forests are owned by age old pensioners where the women family forest owners are growing with each passing year who live in the country side earning their personal income of 4000 euros from the average per capita forest size holdings of 65 hectares annually. On an average 2 billion euros are earned as part of the family income annually from the private family forests which gives 100 euros per hectare per year. Per capita family earning varies in time and place across the Finland, however, net profit in northern Finland averages 37 euros/ha and in Eastern Finland 135 euros/ha. Finnish forestry as part of the small scale part time entrepreneurship is getting prioritized mostly for paper and pulp, for writing and printing, from eco-tourism to recreation and from self-employment to financial security. Farmers and family forest growers have formed a national forestry council with a common interest for mobilizing forest policy looking into the business affairs of the private forest owners judging their interest in global wood markets and competitive price fluctuations. Almost 13% forests of Northern Finland form part of the arctic circle are natural, inviolate, virgin and undisturbed with high bio-diversity of flora and fauna mostly distributed in Lapland landscape of northern lights of aurora borealis which are strictly protected where felling is highly restricted with much conservation focus.

Enhancing bio-diversity means protection of key habitats of elks, reindeer, 1500 bear, wolf, wolverine, lynx, ermine, eagles, grey owl, cranes and swan, as well as the worlds rarest 300 saimaa ringed seal in the pristine and picturesque landscape of 37 national parks which are freely open to everyone all year round. Conservation refers to using of prescribed burning in the site preparation, favoring mixed stands, leaving retention trees and conserving decaying woods in forests. Wood production and biodiversity conservation are given equal importance. Almost 1700 plant, animal and fungus species are threatened in Finland of which 138 are feared extinct. Red data includes all the four large predators: bear, wolf, wolverine and lynx. Number of breeding pairs of sea eagles has grown from ten in 1970 to 140 now. Hunting restrictions improved the number of bears and lynxes to 1000 each, wolves and wolverines to 150 of late. Winter-feeding has increased the whooper-swan a national bird of Finland from 15 pairs in 1950 to 1500 pairs as of now. Forestry and farming in Finland are married together where government made allocation of forest lands under its land redistribution program making forest ownership widespread and popular among farming communities where not only 35% farmers control the forests but 27% private people, 25% government and 10% private corporations, municipalities and public bodies use the forests for value addition instituting the local management plans expanding vast forest cultivation, draining peat-lands and waterlogged areas replacing slow growing broadleaved high timber value varieties of forest trees for mitigation of the threat of climate change. Waste liquors, bark, wood chips and sawdust are seen as source of renewable energy. Branches, logging residues and crown of trees left in regeneration fellings

4 and thinings are viewed as supply of wood-fuel-energy and power-generation. Forestry is being used for promoting high yielding and fast growing tree species which accounted 25% of Finlands total energy consumption. Waste liquors like birch oil, soft soap, methanol, bio-sludge, wood chips, fuel pellets, briquettes are sufficient to make forest industries self

sufficient in power consumption. Over more than 40% of wood accounts for building construction of detached houses, leisure homes supplying wooden frames, wood cladding and built in blocks of flats. All historical buildings of churches, archives, palace, citadels, old fortification their doors, windows, towers, arches, buttresses can be seen made up of age old coniferous woods and soft wood furnishings. Finnish forestry takes care of natural succession, practices near future forestry, promoting commercially valuable tree species of mostly pines, spruce, birch, oak, maple, ash, elm and lindens. Forest fires are quite frequent and complement the forest regeneration as intermediate felling resembles natural thinning. A compartment of 2 hectares each is managed at a time encouraging mixed stand of slow growing tree species and growing stock is allowed to mature between 60 to 120 years. Oldest generation of hefty conifers had gradually been felled over the last two centuries and younger crop has recently emerged with huge networking of roads within the forests, fragmenting large contiguous wilderness zone

thereby giving rise to new planted crop of fast growing, high yielding forest of enormous productive potential. Forests of Finland had since six centuries been used for shipbuilding, slash-and-burn, leading producer for raw material of pine-tar and charcoal. Thereafter again in the later part of last century, opening of the ban on sawmilling encouraged an adequate supply of raw material for wood processing with main emphasis on paper and pulpwood. Forests in hinterlands are seen by private family as homestays, as biodiversity-landscapes, as hunting-grounds for game, as collection enterprise of berries and mushrooms. Geen-Peace-Organization in its journal has severely criticized Finnish forestry which is

destroying traditional-

natural-forests and annihilating habitats of local

endangered species and livelihood of tribals saying,:

.even in wealthy, forest rich nation like Finland, industrial logging is jeopardizing the survival of the countrys last ancient, old growth-forests. These Finnish forests are crucial for maintaining bio diversity and traditional livelihood of the indigenous Sami tribal communities who herd reindeer in these forests, livelihood and habitats of which are severely impacted by industrial logging. Despite calls from scientists and conservationist for increased level of protection for these old growth forests, Finnish government continues to log these rare, endangered and vulnerable habitats, driven by demand from paper and pulpwood industries. Annual timber income of about 1.4 billion euros is widely distributed in Finland,

5 benefitting considerable number of forest owners mostly in rural areas of low income groups. Finland is an important supplier of soft timber, pine-fire-woods, coniferous stumps to global-markets which include significant proportion of boreal-broad-leaf species allowing removal of over 60 million cubic meters on sustainable basis in co ordination with highly export oriented Finnish forest industries exporting sawn-softwood, paper, graphic-papers, particle-boards, chipboards and paper-boards. Forests are essential part of the daily routine of all Finns, which act as a way of life, an element of national identity as well as the source of inspiration to the visual arts, literature and architecture. Every man has the right to forests, access to the living in wilderness, opportunity to find recreation, play games and enjoy sports, observe nature and to take all possible benefit from the natures gifts. Millions of Finns and tourists move forward to hike, conduct skiing, ride a horse, enjoy bicycle, stay midnight to observe midnight northern aurora, camp in the boreal forests to see midnight sun during winters and mid day nights during summers, appreciating wild life photography relaxing in pristine environment of holiday homes thus opening one of the richest Nordic-boreal-coniferous natural wealth for growth of personal income, catapulting per capita revenue by ensuring employability to one of the largest proportion of Nordic people, increasing their standard of living therefore enhancing their personal riches and generation of wealth. Despite all this Greenpeace is calling on customers of paper producing European Giants of Stora Enso, UPM and M-Real to immediately terminate contracts for old growth timber with Finnish State Owned Metsahallitus

forests, to immediately stop buying timber derived from intact ancient forests, to phase out all timber extraction from companies involved in illegal logging in Russia asking for implementing logging ban in remaining old growth forests to speed up conservation program including protection of state owned natural Taiga boreal forests. Finland people, owners of the forests are quite aware of their personal rights and privileges staking their claim over highly dynamic, vibrant and promisingly renewable source of not only bio-mass, timber, pulp and paper, carbon and

organic matter but also production of energy. A K Singh is the member of Indian Forest

Service 1997 serving in the Ministry of Forest, Ecology and Environment of the Government of Karnataka Views portrayed here are personal which are expressed in the wake of references cited hereinafter. Contact: 9481180956. aksinghifs@gmail.com

References: 1. Metsahallitus Landscape Ecological Plains of

Finland.1999 2. The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economies

on the Edge, Bryant D, Neilson D and Tangley L. 3. Doing business in Finland. World Bank Reports. 4. Mc Kinsey: Finlands Economy. 2013 5. The Scandinavian Landscape and its resources:

Sporrong, The Cambridge History of Scandinavia. 6. History of Finland and Finnish People from stone age. 7. Values of Tropical Moist Forest Ecosystems and

Environmental Consequences of their Removal. D Poore 1976

8. Factors Affecting Partitioning of Private Forest Holdings in Finland.Finnish Society of Forest Holdings in Finland. P Ripatti 1996.

9. Implications of Sustainable Forest Management, European Forest Institute, Joensuu Finland. By Peck T J, Brooks D J and Pajuola H.

10. Metla 1997 Finnish Statistical Yearbook on Forestry. Finnish Forest Research Institute Helsinki Finland.

11. Environmental Effects of Public Forestry Incentives in Finland, Norway and Sweden, Journal of Forest Economics by Framstad K F 1999