Parts of the partial report were presented in advance on Dagens Nyheter's debate page. The investigator Göran Örlander proposes, among other things, that the felling of forests should be able to begin just ten days after a notification to the Forestry Board has been made, compared to the current six weeks.
Ten days may possibly be perceived as a short time, but it is the time that has been applied for several years in Finland, says Göran Örlander at a press conference.
A Balancing Act
The forestry investigation has been widely debated, from different quarters. Not least from an environmental and climate perspective.
My goal has been to balance the need for economic growth with environmental considerations and social aspects, says Örlander.
It's about creating a robust forestry policy that hangs together, he continues.
It should also not be possible to appeal a notification of felling that the Forestry Board does not act on, according to the partial report. On the other hand, compensation should be paid to landowners, equivalent to 125 percent of the market value, when it is not possible to cultivate the forest due to nature conservation. The cost to the state for this is estimated by Örlander to be 300-600 million kronor.
Nature conservation is a common interest, says Göran Örlander.
Mountain-adjacent Forest
The forestry investigation was set up in February and is to be finalized no later than August 31 next year. Among the investigation's tasks is to evaluate the current forestry policy with regard to the changes that have taken place since 1993 and to meet the challenges in the EU.
I cannot comment on individual proposals in the report today. This is something we will take a closer look at, says Minister for Rural Affairs Peter Kullgren (KD) when receiving the partial report.
But I want to emphasize that it is a very welcome report.
In the now submitted partial report, there is no proposal regarding mountain-adjacent forest.
I'm not making such a proposal, says Göran Örlander, who also does not want to answer whether anything about mountain-adjacent forest will be included in the final report.
