Comments on the report by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation on nature conservation in forest management

In the report, “Under the Cover of the Swedish Forestry Model”, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) criticises the extent of nature conservation in Swedish forestry. The SSNC presents examples of forest stands for which they claim that forest management has not allotted or planned for sufficient nature conservation.

Some of the individual forest stands discussed are managed by Sveaskog and consequently we make the following comments.

Sveaskog’s view of the Swedish forestry model and the FSC ®

The Swedish forestry model is based on a balance between conservation forests which have been set aside, nature conservation at felling, and production in the forest landscape. Another component of the Swedish model is a combination of formal forest protection financed by the government and voluntary setting aside by forest owners for nature conservation. 

Sveaskog considers that the Swedish model is good, but that realisation of it can be improved. This applies both to forest owners’ nature conservation practices and the work of the Swedish Forest Agency in following up and providing information on compliance with the Swedish Forestry Act and forest policy goals in forest management.

The global forest certification body, the Forest Stewardship Council ® (FSC), is of importance in the development of responsible management of the world’s forest resources. Sveaskog also sees the FSC in Sweden as an important tool for continual improvements in forest management. The FSC is a cooperating organisation between parties with differing interests as regards forest economy, environmental and social issues, and the FSC approach includes making continual improvements through dialogue and participation in all phases. The FSC system has of course its limitations but we consider that the FSC is a unique initiative that inspires hope and makes a difference. 

Comments on Sveaskog’s conservation work

Sveaskog uses 20 percent of the productive forest land in each forest region (the Mountain forests not included) for nature conservation. This is a high level of ambition that we have chosen on the basis of our holdings and our goal of the retention of biological diversity in forests.

Sveaskog works with conservation on several levels which reinforce and complement one another. We vary our input in different forest landscapes and give priority to large-scale allocations where they give the greatest benefit. The reason for this is that different species have different habitat requirements for survival.

Our nature conservation work consists of:

• 5 % Ecoparks (large forest landscapes with high conservation ambitions)
• 10 % Conservation forests
• 85 % Production forests of which, at felling, an average of 9 % of the forest is left intact for nature conservation purposes. 

Nature conservation in production forests consists primarily of detailed consideration on the clear-felled areas at felling, in the form of individual trees, tree groups and edge zones. Nature conservation is of considerable importance for the retention of biological diversity in the Swedish forests, primary long-term as trees age. This makes it possible for species to disperse between nature reserves, key habitats and ecoparks.

Sveaskog leaves an average of about nine percent of production forest intact for nature conservation purposes. The level is adapted to the stand, the surroundings and the landscape. In some cases the proportion can be as high as 50 percent and in other cases considerably less than nine percent.  

Sveaskog implements production, silvicultural and nature conservation measures at about 10,000 locations each year. We consider, just as the SSNC does, that shortcomings in implementation are serious and we are working with certifications and continual improvements to minimise the number of mistakes.

Comments on the sale of land with high biodiversity values

Sveaskog is commissioned by its owner, the government, to sell ten percent of our forests in order to strengthen private forestry. We avoid selling forest areas with large components of conservation forest that hold high biodiversity values. On the other hand, because of the extent of the sale programme we cannot fully avoid sales in all areas that have small components of such conservation forest. 

For this reason, Sveaskog has entered into an agreement with the Swedish Forest Agency on a form of cooperation making possible formal protection of such areas through, for example, nature conservancy agreements or habitat protection areas before selling. During 2008-2010 we signed such protection agreements for more than 100 forests within this cooperation, for which Sveaskog provided the bulk of the financing.

Comments concerning felling in Älvdalen municipality

In its criticism of Sveaskog’s forest management, the SSNC cites four forest stands in Älvdalen, of which two have been felled.

Älvdalen municipality is in north-western Dalarna. The forest landscape there is characterised by frequent occurrences of red-listed fungi and lichens. Back in 2002, Sveaskog implemented a special landscape project in north-western Dalarna with a conservation inventory of all forest over 100 years old and all sub-montane forest. The aim of the inventory was to map out and identify the most important nature conservation values of the province. Based on information gained from the inventory, we have excluded almost 20,000 hectares of forest from forest management; these are in the form of ecoparks and conservation forests. In the forests we use for production we also leave a large proportion for nature conservation as edge zones, care-demanding areas and groups of trees.

Considered in total, if we include conservation forests, ecoparks and general consideration at fellings in north-western Dalarna, Sveaskog sets aside about 30 percent of the productive forest land for nature conservation. With these areas set aside for conservation, which are also supplemented by several major nature reserves above the boundary of sub-montane forest, prospects of retaining biological diversity are very good.

We are convinced that our efforts in north-western Dalarna are sufficient as regards protected forest and nature conservation at felling. Experience from people carrying out the inventory also shows that a large number of the red-listed species are also found in forests that otherwise have a low proportion of dead wood and old trees. Our assessment is that this will continue to be the case in the future. This situation, where species are widely spread in both conservation forests and production forests, could be seen as a goal for other forest landscapes – as examples of how conservation values can be developed when the trees left standing for conservation purposes have been allowed to age for the forests of the future.

The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation has now used a few felling areas from our land holdings in north-western Dalarna as examples of forestry not being sustainable. The sustainability situation in this area, with 5,900 hectares of ecoparks and about 13,000 hectares set aside as conservation forests should instead be presented as good examples of the success of Swedish nature conservation within the framework of the FSC.