-.1;,,. - mplementation of FF Proposals for Action '" "...",- (" n Finland Draft Summary 31.10.2001 The Assessment of implementation of FF proposals started in September 2001. As the work is still going on here are only the preliminary results of the assessment.. mplementation of international forest-related decisions at the national and international levels A. National forest programme Finland's Forest Act (1997) obliges each Forestry Centre to compile a Regional Forestry Target Programme, comprising of objectives concerning forest utilisation, multiple-use of forests, the maintenance of forest biodiversity and practical measures for attaining these objectives. The preparation of Finland's National Forest Programme 2010 was started in 1998 on basis of these Regional Forestry Target Programmes in order to meet the international forest policy norms (PF proposals 17a, 58b). Finland's National Forest Programme 2010 is continuation to a series of Finnish forestry programmes but it is more extensive than any of the previous ones. The basic aim of the programme is to fulfil the ambitious vision "Sustainable welfare courtesy of diverse forests". Programme covers a large range of topics concerning forest utilisation from an economic, ecological, social and cultural perspective. Unlike in the former programmes, the process in NFP was carried out through team-work in an open and participatory manner. The working groups consisted of experts from different stakeholder groups. On the other hand the opinions of "common people" were invited into the process in public meetings and via nternet discussion group. Altogether some 3000 people attended public meetings concerning NFP in different parts of Finland. Written comments were gathered and printed into the background document ofnfp. The vast participation had a positive effect on NFP process though it has proven to be somewhat difficult to integrate different opinions into programme. Finland's National Forest Programme 2010 was finalised in 1999. An estimation on environmental impacts ofnfp in Finland was established later on the same year. The estimation concluded that e.g. environmental impacts of increasing amount of logging can affect decreasingly on the forest biodiversity. Also it was stated that the positive effect ofnfp to employment had been somewhat overestimated in NFP. These and other results of estimation of environmental impacts are now integrated into the implementation ofnfp at regional level with the help of regional forestry target programmes.
B. Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation These questions concern mostly Finland's work internationally (ODA). n Finland deforestation and forest degradation are not perceived as serious problems though they both require some active counter-measures. The risk of deforestation takes place in Northern Lapland's high altitude forests where rough climate can affect on retreat of timber line. The ecology of these areas and different methods to practice forestry in them have been under thorough studying. These forests are either protective forests without any forest management operations or they managed in very soft forest management methods. At the moment many major forest research programmes are going on in order to analyse the quantity and reasons of biodiversity loss and to address the problem through recommendations for renewal of forestry procedures and co-ordinated forest protection. The forest legislation and nature conservation legislation have been renewed in 1997 to ensure sustainable forestry, including the maintenance of biological values in forest. C. Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge is possessed by both the forest owning local communities and by the indigenous Saami people. As participatory approach is getting nowadays more commonly used in forest planning, increasing amount of TFRK is aggregated and in the long run integrated into forest management decisions. The Finnish Metsahallitus manages the state owned lands that are used by Saami people in their traditional livelihood namely herding the reindeer. According the provisions in the Act on the Saami Parliamenthe Finnish authorities have the obligation to negotiate with the Saami Parliament in all important matters (such as forestry, wilderness areas or Nature protection areas) affecting the Saami culture and the status of Saami as indigenous peoples in the Saami home territory. Since family forestry has long tradition in Finland forest owners also possess TRFK which should be acknowledged. D. Forests in Environmentally Critical Areas The rough climate in northern Lapland causes a risk for retreat of timber line in high altitude forests. The ecology of these areas and different methods to practice forestry in them have been under thorough studying. E. Requirements of Countries with Low Forest Cover.- ~r...
';:'j,;l; 'oj ~'- of. Protected Areas and Forest Conservation ~ Finland has several different nature conservation programmes for protection of different biotopes. The coverage and representativeness of current conservation areas are assessed in the Evaluation if Finnish Nature Reserve Networks Programme, conducted by the Finnish Environment nstitute. At the moment several conservation programmes are under implementation and should be finalised by 2006. The funding to these existing programmes is secured. The total amount and classification of Finland' s protected forests was defined in 1999 in collaboration of several forestry and environmental organisations. The results have been widely distributed and published in a report "Areas of protected forests in Finland". As a result ofnfp process in Finland a broad-based working group was appointed to assess the needs for further protection of forests in Southern Finland. This working group came into conclusion that network of protected forest areas isn't currently ecologically representative and acknowledged the network having deficiencies in Southern Finland. This work is continued at the moment by an other broad-based working group in order to define the targets, funding and actions required for new forest protection programme. Planning and management of most protected areas is under the governance of Metsahallitus. The maintenance of these areas is done on devoted and professional basis.. nternational transfer co-operation in financial assistance and technology A. Provision of Financial Resources to Developing Countries and Countries with Economies in Transition Finland is being an active partner in following projects:. new know-how project under the governance offao called "National Forest Programme Facility". t is a partnership mechanism that will provide assistance in upcoming 5 years for appro 60 developing countries in their NFP projects.. Under the governance ofundp (in the future World Bank) development project PROFOR implements and funds NFP projects in 5-15 case study countries in order to produce an analytical approach to NFP's. Finland has some bilateral and multilateral co-operation with developing countries. An assessment of implementation of FF proposals is under Finnish Forest ndustry has business activities in some developing countries. Finnish NGOs have also a few minor projects going on in developing countries. Both companies and NGOs are fairly independent actors in forest sector and therefore have only a weak connection with political ~ decisions such a.s PF/FF process. As PF/FF are soft policies it is up to a company's or NGO's own "Best Practce" to support SFM. ~..c,. ), "",".",,-x.~"..;c_"! """""k
,"" 'B. Technology Transfer and Capacity Building. Scientific research, forest assessment and the development of the criteria and indicators for sustainable management A. Assessment of the multiple benefits of all types of forests; information and awareness Finland has a long tradition in thorough forest assessment National Forest nventories have been made for over 70 years by Forest Research nstitute. Forest Research nstitute also estimates and collects information of non-wood products such as estimated crops of wild berries or annual game quarries. Quantitative data on economical aspects of forestry is very well covered. Environmental and social impacts are measured fairly well though some indicators still need further elaboration. nformation and data concerning forestry is published in e.g. "Finnish Statistical Yearbook of Forestry" or in "Criteria and ndicators for Sustainable Forest Management in Finland". Topical issues are often presented also in newspapers or on forestry magazines. nformation is also widely available through nternet. Stakeholders are consulted in connection of e.g. C& and NFP work, regional forestry target programmes and participatory forestry planning in state owned lands. The integration of different interests on forests is a complex process in which continuous efforts are needed. B. Forest Research and Development Researc has a very strong position in Finland. Research is conducted by various organisations (University, Finnish Forest Research nstitute, Finland's Academy etc.). Some minor research organisations concentrate on elaborating scientific knowledge into practical working methods or new innovations. The transfer of research results into forest policy works fairly well as information is easily available. Still new mechanism should be developed to link the research and forest policy closer together. A good approach to this is "the Forest Forum for Decision-Makers" which is a course and discussion forum on forest issues, directed at top-level decision-makers throughout the society. The first set of criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management in Finland was initiated in 1994. The first report consisting of 160 indicators was published in 1997. This set of criteria and indicators was seen as somewhat heavy and unpractical. Therefore in 1998 the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry appointed a working group to undertake the further development and updating of criteria and indicators. During 2 years of the process this working group consisting of 13 experts from different stakeholder groups met 15 times. As a result of this co-operation a new set of more focused criteria and indicators (47 indicators), based on a national consensus, was compiled and data concerning them collected and published in 2000. The new set of C& is integrated into forest data reporting system. Regional indicators have been formulated to serve the monitoring, assessing and reporting the implementation of regional forestry target programs.
. ". ~,'!.,.. {\ V. Trade and environment in relation to forest products and services A. Market Access and Transparency Finland's forests are mostly privately owned small forest holdings. t is a common practice for forest owners to sell wood and for forest industries to buy wood. Wood markets are guidelined by laws and supervised by authorities. There are no obstacles that would prevent the market access of wood nor does Finland have problems with illegal logging. Currently it is studied whether C& for SFM can be a tool at the local level when monitoring the implementation of new silvicultural guidelines. Different organisations have devoted a lot of work lately on forest certification. Finland's forests are mostly certified by FFCS, which has been approved under the label ofpefc. Also Dutch Keurhout system approves FFCS. Finland also has a FSC-process going on in which a national FSC standard is being developed. Forest owners join certification on voluntary basis. n From international perspective Finnish forestry professionals perceive certification as an useful tool to guarantee market access for wood when transporting wood from one country to another. The common global quidelines for SFM and wood markets set by Global Convention on Forests is seen as potential way to reduce illegalloggings or other drawbacks in forestry. B. Future Supply and Demand of Forest Products Finland's NFP aims at securing increased amount of timber for forest industries. Berries and mushrooms represent underused market potential. Techniques on more efficient use of wood as energy are being improved and the amount of wood used as bioenergy is increasing. V. Forest-related work of international organisations and multilateral institutions and instruments Finland has taken an active role in international forest policy processes and organisation such as UNFF, CBD, UNFCCC, F AO and Pan-European Ministerial Conferences in order to strive towards sustainable forest management globally. Finland also funds e.g. the activities ofucn, UNEP and FAO. Finnish Forest Research is also tightly connected to international forest research network and contributes with qualified data and knowledge to perception of global state of forests. ~ -- ' r i ~: j i