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Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Managementin Finland

Jessika, did you know,

that here in Finland we have over 4 hectares of forest land per capita? And that 61 %

of productive forest land is owned by normal Finnish families and

25 % by state?

Yes, Leo, I knew that. My grandpa is a also forest owner,

like 14 % of Finns are.

But bet you didn´t know that 83 % of all the wood cut

comes from those family-owned

forests.

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We Finns know our forests inside out — Metsään.fi  portal

• Forest owners can today take care of their forest-related business from the comfort of their own homes.

• Metsään.fi-portal is a service that offers the latest information and maps on their forest properties.

• Information is displayed for each forest stand compartment, broken down by soil type, tree species and natural occurrence.

• This service suggests possible loggings or other forest management activities and it also provides related income and cost estimates.

• The service is available free of charge for all private forest owners.

My grandma owns forest too.

And she says that her forests grow a lot of money. She manages them like a pro.

Ok, but my grandpa has preserved

one corner of his best forest just for me. When I grow up,

I can decide what I want to do with it. It’s great that we all have different ideas

what we want to do. That is why our

forests are different too.

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High quality information and skillful forestry professionals help us make the right decisions

Multiobjective30%

Recreationists24%

Self-employed20%

Investors16%

Indifferent10%

Source: Natural Resources Institute Finland, 2010

Forest owners are all different – and they want to manage their forests accordingly. Best Practices offer numerous management options for their needs.

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3 cases

90 % of commercial forests

are certified (PEFC or FSC)

Laws and forest certification

set limitsfor the use of

commercial forests, Best Practices for Sustainable

Forest Management guide forest owners towardstheir goals in practice.

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Case 1: Protection of waters

Finland is a country of thousands of lakes• The law forbids polluting the waters and obligates to

protect the ground water.• Certification requires us to protect the waters by

leaving protective zones of land along the lake shores and other waterways.

• Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management offer tools for water protection such as alternative management methods, timing of operations, and technical solutions regarding e.g. drainage systems.

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Case 2: Thinnings

• The Law defines the minimum growing stock to be left on the site. If the thinnings are more severe, the owner must ensure the growth of the new stock.

• Certification brings more demands such as favouring mixed forests and taking gamekeeping into account.

• Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management offer forest owners tools such as when and how to thin and what options there are for the improvement of forest biodiversity.

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Case 3: Decaying wood securesdiverse nature

• In the law the requirements to assure a certain amount of decaying wood to be left in the forest are connected to specifically defined, nationally mapped target areas.

• Certification includes requirements for saving living retention trees and decaying large dimension timber.

• Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management advice where to leave the retention trees and how to keep the decaying wood intact during logging operations.

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Best research knowledge combined with practical solutions

• Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management are prepared in an extensive and highly-valued collaboration process; it includes researchers, forest owners, forest industry representatives, NGOs, practitioners, etc.

• This process ensures that we benefit from everyone’s combined wisdom, the Best Practices are put in use and that the whole value chain runs smoothly.

• Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management are available online at www.metsanhoitosuositukset.fi

• The work is coordinated by Tapio Ltd.

Private forest owners have received professional guidance for over 100 years

Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management belong to the forestry professionals basic training. Detailed guide books are available on specific topics.

Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management

Protectionof waters

Profitableforestry

Gamekeepingand forest

managementPeatland forestry

Energy wood harvesting

Biodiversity and forest

managementMaintenance

of forest roads

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Why are the Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management important?

”The Best Practices are prepared in an exceptionally extensive stakeholder collaboration, which ensures balance between different areas of sustainability. Good forest management is the basis for profitable forestry and the growth of wood-based bioeconomy."-Tomi Salo, Finnish Forest Industries Federation

”The Best Practices offer advice on how to take forest biodiversity into account. Making use of the new forest management options definitely pays off."- Jari Luukkonen, WWF

Thank you!

© Tapio Ltd 2016 www.tapio.fi | More forest facts: Forest.fi www.smy.fi/en/forest-fi/forest-facts/

The symbol for Best Practices for Sustainable Forest Management is an image of a wood grouse drawn by Erik Bruun. The wood grouse needs diverse environments during its lifetime and it adapts to forest

management if its leks are preserved.