Reader’s opinion|In Inari, there are many nurseries and young forests in need of thinning, from which the energy wood needed for current energy production methods would still be available instead of virgin forests.
Seppo Vuokko presented in his opinion piece (HS 15.6.) special claims about Greenpeace and the old-growth forests of Inari, which have just been cut down to be burned in a boiler.
The nature values of the Inari joint forest are not a matter of opinion, but a fact established on the basis of comprehensive terrain surveys. The structure of the forests is almost completely natural, which is very rare in Finland.
Old-growth forests provide habitats for species that cannot survive in commercial forests. The main reason for the threat of forest species is logging. According to researchers, the protection of old forests is necessary to stop the loss of nature. Finland is also committed to that in the EU’s diversity strategy. The old-growth forests of Inari clearly meet the criteria of a natural forest.
The owners of the Inari joint forest could receive many times the income from protection compared to selling it as energy wood. It would be in the interests of the owners to protect the forests.
Old-growth forests should not be cut down at all, and cutting them down for energy wood is particularly absurd. When burning, the carbon stored in wood returns to the atmosphere at a record speed. The logging of old-growth forests is also in blatant contradiction with the energy industry’s own diversity promises. It is also clear that the reputation of the tourism companies in the region cannot withstand the district heating produced by the natural forests that have grown since the last ice age.
The biggest players in the wood market currently do not buy wood from the area, because the nature values of the forests are high and logging weakens the conditions for reindeer husbandry for the Sámi. Now local energy companies also have to give up buying trees from old-growth forests.
In Inari, there are many nurseries and young forests in need of thinning, from which the energy wood needed for current energy production methods would still be available instead of virgin forests.
Touko Sipiläinen
country director, Greenpeace
Correction 24.6. at 7:41 a.m.: changed the image of the cut slope to the image of the old forest in the area of the Inari joint forest.
The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, which are selected and delivered by the HS editors. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.
#Readers #Opinion #protection #oldgrowth #forests #Inari #good #nature #economy #tourism
