In June 2023, Sari Essayah (Sari Essayah), a former athlete and former Member of the European Parliament (2009-2014), took office as Finland's Minister of Agriculture and Forestry.
“Finland's forest management could serve as a model for many,” she emphasises, suggesting that other European countries use forest management in Finland and Sweden as an example.
“I have done everything possible to introduce EU decision-makers and planners to this idea, inviting them to observe how forests are managed in Finland. I don't know if it is too arrogant or presumptuous to say this, but, unfortunately, forests in many European countries are in poor condition. In a way, they have been destroyed due to poorly considered policies,” says S. Essayah in an interview with the portal forest.fi.
“Finland's forest industry development after the war is a success story and the foundation of our national economy. Furthermore, we also have protected nature and national parks. Laws and regulations allow all citizens to enjoy, for example, hiking in the forests,” she explains. As is well known, Finland's forest resources have been continuously increasing over the last 50 years.
For Forest* group joint statement
A year ago, four EU member states with extensive forest cover – Finland, Sweden, Austria, and Slovenia – established an informal partnership For Forest to defend each country's forestry (unfortunately, our country, Latvia, does not participate in this partnership – note by zemeunvalsts.lv). In September, the group published a joint statement highlighting the importance of the principle of subsidiarity in EU decision-making. (In areas that are not under the exclusive competence of the EU, the subsidiarity principle protects the rights of member states to make decisions and take action.)
“Raising awareness about forests is a key way to achieve influence in the EU. This is how we can ensure the sustainability of forestry and find solutions to the questions of carbon sequestration and climate change,” says Sari Essayah, assessing the situation.
One of the nationally important EU issues for Finland is the Nature Restoration Regulation, for which the European Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission are conducting a trilogue, or tripartite negotiations. (In the context of the European Union's ordinary legislative procedure, a trilogue is an informal inter-institutional negotiation involving representatives of the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission. The purpose of the trilogue is to reach a provisional agreement on a legislative proposal that is acceptable to both co-legislators – the Parliament and the Council. Thereafter, this provisional agreement must be adopted through each institution's official procedure.) The Nature Restoration Regulation, which is part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy, is under the remit of the Finnish Ministry of the Environment. S. Essayah explains that she is following these discussions. It is particularly interesting and important whether restoration measures in Natura 2000 areas will be included, as voted for by the European Parliament and as Finland would also like.
“Although it is already clear that the total area of Natura 2000 territories will not be enough, they would still ‘help’. How? It is essential for Finland to reduce the costs of nature restoration,” says S. Essayah.
According to calculations published at the beginning of the year by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), the Nature Restoration Regulation would cost Finland 13-19 billion euros (approximately €500 million per year) by 2050, with the area to be restored reaching 2-6 million hectares. For comparison: for Germany, which has 15 times the population of Finland, the projected nature restoration costs are only €190 million, and for Belgium and Austria – approximately €65 million.
In Finland, forest ownership is “fragmented” among a very large number of owners when compared to most European countries. The number of private forest owners exceeds 600,000. The state supports the protection of valuable forest areas with the Forest Biodiversity Programme for Southern Finland (Metso) and the Helmi Habitats Programme, and the government plans to allocate more funds to both programmes.
“Nature conservation must be based on the voluntary actions of landowners,” S. Essayah is convinced.
The goal of the Metso programme is to halt the decline of forest habitats and forest species. The measures of the Helmi programme also include the restoration of mires, improving the condition of sites important for waterbirds, and preserving traditional habitats.
Finland discusses effective state presence in the European Union
As we mentioned before, Sari Essayah was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's government in June. Meanwhile, in July, during the European Parliament session, she visited Strasbourg to meet with rapporteurs and other officials in the administrative sector where her ministry operates. According to S. Essayah, the Finnish government is now placing greater importance on proactive work in the EU to ensure that the position of forest owners is not weakened, that the availability of wood for the needs of the forest sector does not decrease, and that Finland's competitiveness is not affected in terms of costs.
“During the term of the previous (Sanna Marin-led) government, internal conflicts prevented it from sending a timely and unanimous message to EU institutions and staff,” S. Essayah is critical (it should be noted that she worked in opposition during the previous parliamentary period). Sanna Marin recently resigned from her seat as a Member of the Finnish Parliament and is now working for a non-profit organisation founded by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; she once simply brushed aside opposition criticism and objections.
Sari Essayah is dissatisfied with the way European Union institutions interfere in the forest policies of member states “through the back door” via climate and energy policy. She points to the Finnish national forest strategy, which the government adopted in October; it is planned for the period up to 2035. The strategy takes into account comprehensive, sustainable development and the importance of forests as carbon sinks in the fight against climate change and the ability to adapt to it.
The Finnish state's goal is to improve forest biodiversity in accordance with the principles of sustainable forestry. One of the ways the current government programme plans to ensure carbon sequestration is by supporting forest growth through ash fertilisation. It has been proposed to grant market-based compensation to landowners or forest owners who carry out such fertilisation.
Protection of old-growth forests
P. Orpo's government is planning a series of urgent measures to protect all existing old-growth forests of natural origin. The measures are based on Finland's obligations to the EU.
“Criteria required for protection measures are being developed under the leadership of the Natural Resources Institute and the Finnish Environment Institute. Furthermore, many NGOs have also submitted proposals. I am pleased that people are interested in the forest issue,” says S. Essayah, assessing the situation. When protecting Finland's old-growth forests, the broader goal is to focus on areas with the highest conservation value. “It is not so much about the hectares, but about the desire to have a positive impact on biodiversity,” states Sari Essayah.
* https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/finland-and-three-other-member-states-launch-a-forestry-lobbying-group/