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Greenpeace activists shut down Finnish mills fuelling destruction of Europe's last ancient forests
Greenpeace activists from across Europe launched a dawn protest this morning at the Botnia pulp mill and the Stora Enso paper mill in the northern Finnish town of Kemi. Unfurling a banner reading "Stop ancient Forest Destruction", forty protestors blocked the main entrances to both mills, preventing deliveries of timber taken from Europe's last ancient forests in northern Lapland.
The world's largest paper company, Stora Enso, and one of Europe's largest pulp producers, Botnia, were today accused of destroying huge tracts of Europe's last remaining ancient forests in Finnish Lapland to make paper for well-known magazines in Europe.
Greenpeace research has shown that Stora Enso uses timber from ancient forest destruction to make magazine paper for nearly all of the leading European publishing houses and supplies almost all leading envelope producers.
"Unless magazine publishers in the UK like IPC and EMP want to be associated with the destruction of thousand year old forests, they should be putting pressure on their suppliers to ensure that they are not sourcing fibre from this area of Finland," said Greenpeace campaigner Ben Ayliffe.
The Finnish government are also linked to this scandal, as the state-owned logging company Metsähallitus recently logged in a number of areas of ancient forests in northern Lapland to supply pulp to the mills at Kemi. The Finnish government also owns around a 25 per cent stake in Stora Enso. Recently, 250 Finnish scientists appealed for a halt to the logging in ancient forests in northern Finland because of the damage it was causing.
"The best way to guarantee your paper is not coming from Europe's last remaining ancient forests is to maximise recycled content and only use virgin fibre that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council," added Ayliffe.
ENDS
For more information contact the Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255
Russian forestry agency launches investigation into illegal logging
Posted by jamie on 13 March 2007.
Amidst all the current hoo-hah about Trident, we have some good news from Russia or, at least, the potential for good news.
Back in September, our Partners in Crime report revealed how Finland is importing vast quantities of timber logged illegally in neighbouring Russia. According to federal law, all forestry management plans must undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment - in the republic of Karelia these assessments are not being done yet the local government continues to hand out logging permits.
However, this week the Head of the Federal Forestry Agency in Russia has ordered an immediate investigation into the problem, appointing a commission to report back next month. This is a huge step forward and acknowledges the scale of the problem - of all the timber felled in Karelia, the majority is illegal.
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Greenpeace investigation exposes Finland's illegal timber trade with Russia
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London - 19 September 2006: A Greenpeace International report released today reveals how illegally logged timber from Russia is being freely imported into Finland to factories including those of Stora Enso, which is partly owned by the Finnish State.
In its report, Partners in Crime: A Greenpeace Investigation into Finland's Illegal Timber Trade with Russia, Greenpeace has documented wide-spread illegal logging in the Russian Republic of Karelia.(1)
During undercover field research between June and August 2006, campaigners witnessed timber being harvested in violation of Russian forest and environmental laws,(2) then transported across the Finnish border to be processed by industry giants UPM Kymmene and Stora Enso.
Products from these mills are exported throughout Europe and beyond, as far away as Japan. Customers of these mills include liquid packaging manufacturers, such as Tetra Pak and Elopak.
"Both Stora Enso and UPM Kymmene pride themselves on their reputations for 'sustainable' forest management. However these companies can not have it both ways. They cannot claim to be good corporate citizens while procuring illegally and unsustainably logged timber from Russia," said Belinda Fletcher, Greenpeace Forest Campaigner.
She continued, "Finland can no longer distance itself from the laundering of illegal timber. As President of the EU, it is the Finnish government's duty to support effective EU-wide legislation stopping the import of illegal and unsustainable timber into Europe. Instead, Finland is allowing the EU to serve as a clearing house for the spoils of forest crime."
The European Commission promised to propose options for legislation to combat the import of illegal timber into Europe, aimed at filling the gaps of an earlier voluntary programme. However, to date, it has failed to deliver. In the meantime, Finland has put economic interests before forest protection, claiming that industry-led voluntary measures are sufficient to control timber trade. The evidence provided in the Greenpeace report makes it clear that these are inadequate.
Greenpeace is one of 180 NGOs and over 80 progressive businesses calling for effective EU-wide legislation to ban illegal timber and to ensure that all timber products on the market come from responsibly managed forests.(3)
Notes to Editors:
[1] Partners in Crime: A Greenpeace Investigation into Finland's Illegal Timber Trade with Russia availble at /media/reports/partners-in-crime-finlands-illegal-timber-trade-with-russia
[2] Karelian forest management and exploitation is based on management plans that have not been assessed by forestry and environmental experts or by civil society, a clear violation of Russian Federal law. In addition to the absence of an EIA, further violations were documented by Greenpeace.
[3] Factsheets on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Industry and NGO statements can be downloaded from http://www.greenpeace.org/forests/finn-russia-industry and http://www.greenpeace.org/forests/finn-russia-ngo respectively.
For further information, please contact Greenpeace UK press office on 0207 865 8225
For related visuals, please contact Franca Michienzi, Greenpeace International, +31 653 819 255
Greenpeace blocks pulp cargo from destroyed forests
Posted by admin on 7 November 2005.
A huge cargo of pulp and paper made from wrecked ancient forests has been blocked from leaving Finland today by Greenpeace activists.
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No respite for Finland's ancient forests
Posted by admin on 16 June 2005.
Metsähallitus, the Finnish state-owned logging company, has unilaterally terminated all negotiations with the Sami reindeer herding co-operatives and has said that the logging moratorium on 90,000 hectares of important reindeer grazing forests is over. Logging could restart as early as August.
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Finland forest crime file
Finnish paper trade threatens forests survival
Publication date: May 2003
Summary
In the wealthy, forest-rich nation of Finland industrial logging is jeopardising the surival of the country's last ancient or old-growth forests. These forests are crucial for maintaining biodiversity and the traditional livelihoods of the indigenous Sami people and other traditional communities. Yet, despite calls from scientists and conservationists for increased levels of protection for these old-growth forests, the Finish government continues to log these rare and vulnerable habitats, driven by demand from the country's massive international paper industry. The key companies involved in this, who are buying old growth forest for paper, are the three Finnish export giants, Stora Enso, UPM-Kymmene and M-Real.