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Overview
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The Finnish Forest Industry has been at the forefront of exploiting the world’s natural resources. The interesting question is whether it applies the same standards on the management of the Forests in Finland as it does when it invests overseas. Which comes first – the environment or profit? The Empires of the past in all parts of the world (not just Europe) had companies (e.g. East India Company) or military campaigns to exploit their colonial conquests. Finland has flagship companies; they are called the Finnish forest industry – have they been doing the same in the third world? The Unit explores Metsä-Botnia, a major Finnish forest company and events in Argentina during the construction of a new facility.
G.4. Reading Look at this before doing the tasks to be found in No.7 in the dropdown menu. After which the Answer Key Pointers and Sources can be used to evaluate your answers to the tasks.
Demonstrators protesting against the Metsä-Botnia pulp mill in Fray Bentos outside the Finnish embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina 31.7.2007.
Photo by REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci (ARGENTINA) RTR1SEX1. Finnish Dist: MVPhotos Oy.
Think About:
"Sadly it is much easier to create a desert than a forest" – James Lovelock
“The very idea of 'managing' a forest in the first place is oxymoronic, because a forest is an ecosystem that is by definition self-managing” – Bernd Heinrich
“Destroying rainforest for economic gain is like burning a Renaissance painting to cook a meal” – E.O. Wilson
"What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another" – Mahatma Ghandi
Materials Updates/News:
Periodically, materials will be updated, or there may be news items worthy of attention related to this Unit. They will be notified here. If you come across any news/resources, e.g. journal/newspaper articles relevant to the content of this website, please let me know. I can be contacted via the email address below.
Logging is acceptable in South America but not in Finland (NIMBYism?):
Yle. 17.5.24. Finnish government to adopt strict definition of old forests.
Yle. 13.2.2023. Activists halt logging again at Lapland site
Yle. 23.1.2023. Forest conservation activists return to Lapland logging site
Yle. 26.10.2023. Police detain 29 climate activists following protest at Lapland pulp mill.
Yle. 30.1.2023. Activists block road to logging area in Lapland.
Yle. 24.9.2022. “Forest marchers” urge government to safeguard biodiversity and carbon sinks.
These are taking place in the context of the following:
Yle. 3.6.2022. Logging exceeds sustainable levels in southern Finland, says Natural Resources Institute
Yle. 17.12.2021. Institute: Finland's forest growth declines for first time in 60 years
Yle. 19.6.2019. Finland must further reduce logging to preserve carbon sinks, says agency
An over-used, mis-used and abused term – sustainability?
Holz, J.R. (2023).Threatened sustainability: extractivist tendencies in the forest-based bioeconomy in Finland. Sustainability Science. 18: 645 - 659.
Blattert, C. et al., (2023). Climate targets in European timber-producing countries conflict with goals on forest ecosystem services and biodiversity. Communications Earth and Environment. 4(1).
Pietarinen, N., et al. (2023). Discourse in Finnish forest policy: Cherry-Picking or sustainability? Forest Policy and Economics. 147 (102897).
Sarkki, S., et al. (2022). “Going out to get in” – Roles of forest conflicts in bottom-linked environmental governance progressing toward socio-political innovations. Environmental Policy and Governance. 32: 478-491.
Hellström, E. (2001). Conflict cultures – Qualitative Comparative Analysis of environmental conflicts in forestry. University of Helsinki. PhD. Silva Fennica Monographs. 2.
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