Protect the Forests

Swedish old-growth forest destruction

– international wood and paper customers deceived

New organization confronts old-growth forest destruction
Sweden, which will take over the EU Presidency in July 2009, has a considerable proportion of Europe’s remaining old-growth forests. However, many of these forests are being ravaged. The Swedish government has reduced its budget for forest protection and proposes to increase forest production. At the same time, forest companies such as SCA and Stora Enso, log unprotected old-growth forests under the cover of environmental certification FSC1. Customer countries buying Swedish wood and paper products are being deceived.

Because of the critical situation, a new Swedish forest conservation organization, Protect the Forest, has recently been established to reverse the situation and to push the alarm button.

“We urge everyone concerned and customers in countries that import forest products from Sweden to put pressure on the Swedish government and forestry sector,” says Viktor Säfve, chairperson of Protect the Forest. “We immediately need to stop the destruction of Europe’s last old-growth forests and to do this we need to cooperate internationally.”

Forestry has transformed most of Sweden’s forests into plantations and young forests. More than 1,800 animal and plant species are endangered or near-threatened. Only around 1.5 per cent of Swedish productive forests, below the mountain region, are formally protected from logging. There is consensus among Sweden's leading scientists that the current Swedish forestry policy is a serious threat to biological diversity.2

“Sweden is committed to international conventions to safeguard its biological diversity,” says Amanda Tas, secretary of Protect the Forest. “Yet, the government ignores scientific facts and turns a blind eye to the devastation of forests with a high conservation value.”

A large proportion of all wood logged in Sweden is exported as raw material, paper, pulp and other products to countries such as the UK, Germany and USA.3 Customers in these countries are given false guarantees by the Forest Stewardship Council, FSC, and the Swedish forest industry that these products are produced in a sustainable way.


For more information, please contact:
Amanda Tas, Secretary of Protect the Forest,
+46 76 76 13 533, [email protected]

Viktor Säfve, Chairperson of Protect the Forest,
[email protected]

Journalists interested in visiting the Swedish forest in the field, please contact:
Amanda Tas, Secretary, tel. +46 76 76 13 533

http://www.protecttheforest.se


Notes

1. The Forest Stewardship Council, FSC, is an international organization that certifies forestry and wood products, such as paper and furniture. The FSC label should guarantee that the forest companies’ timber and other products derive from forestry of high environmental standards. For more information, read the Greenpeace report “Under the Cover of Forest Certification”:
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/sweden/rapporter-och-dokument/under-the-cover-of-forest-cert.pdf

2. Debate article “Forest policy threatens biological diversity” in Swedish tabloid (Dagens Nyheter, 2008) written by 14 leading nature conservation scientists:
http://protecttheforest.se/en/skogen-i-media/40-vad-saeger-forskarna/432-dn-skogspolitiken-hotar-biologiska-mangfalden
free translation of the debate article)

3. Examples of Swedish FSC-certified forest companies:
SCA is a global company that produces personal care products (TENA, Libero, Libresse, Nana), tissue (Tork, Tempo, Zewa, Edet), packaging and solid wood products in more than 90 countries. SCA's eight largest markets are (in order): Germany, UK, France, USA, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands and Spain. In Sweden, SCA is notorious for its systematic loggings of high conservation value forests.

Stora Enso is one of the world’s biggest producer of paper and cardboard. Its products are mainly produced in Europe (including Russia), China and Latin America. Stora Enso has monoculture plantations in Brasil and China, which have caused environmental problems and conflicts between social groups and the company. Example of important consumer brands are MultiCopy (office paper) and Effex (wood paneling). In Sweden, Stora Enso logs old-growth forests and has ended up in social conflicts when logging forests that are socially valuable for the local population.

Bergvik is Sweden’s second-largest forest owner in terms of annual felling volume. In 2004 Bergvik acquired all of Stora Enso’s former holdings in Sweden. Bergvik manages forests and sell felling rights to Stora Enso.

Save Sweden's Ancient Old Growth Forests!

Yesterday I signed this appeal for saving ancient old growth forests in Sweden.

To the Swedish Government:

- Protect all remaining old growth forest in Sweden,
increase the funding for nature conservation and fulfill the
environmental goals for the forest! (Living forests-levande skogar)

- We want to protect the forms of nature conservation that are
safeguarded by law: nature reserves, biotope protection areas
and national parks!

It is very important that the last ancient old growth forests in
Sweden are under the administration of a non-profit authority,
rather than forest companies.

- An important part demand is that all forests with high value for
biodiversity which were found during the inventory of state
forest shall by protected from forestry!

Flygande Jakob

Flying Jacob, Tiago voando ou Jacó voando
6 persons

Put the oven on 225 C.

1 kg grilled chicken filets (skinned)
150 g bacon
3 bananas
5 dl whipping cream
5 table spoons of Heinz chili sauce
1 1/2 peanuts
Basil and oregano.

Shred the chicken.
Cut the bacon in small pieces and fry crispy.
Put in an oven proof pan.
Sprinkle with spices, don't go shy on the spices!
Slice the bananas and put over the meat.
Whip the cream and mix in the chili sauce,
and pour over the bananas.
Sprinkle over the pea nuts.
Put in the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with rice, salad and beer.

Notes:

The peanuts usually are salted so need to add more salt.
This is quite heavy stuff!

Everything but Heinz chili sauce can be found as organic produce!
Heinz can be replaced with ketchup and chilli, both which can be found as organic produce!
It is easier to buy ready grilled chicken, but not so likely to be from organic agriculture.
Instead buy an organic one, cut in small pieces and fry in the bacon fat.
Some try to make a low fat version by removing the chicken skin, but then there is whipped cream and bacon, and peanuts in there, plenty of fat!!!

Any Swede would take this as a flashback to the early 1980’s.