Theme co-ordinator: Jan Weslien
The Nordic forests are a home for roughly 25.000 species of animals
and plants. The term biodiversity is coupled to some impact by man and
in the same time our objectives protect species. Efforts to preserve the
biodiversity fall into two categories. One is to incorporate
conservation actions into the management and planning of forest
production units. The other is to establish forest reserves. As an
example, the forest volume used for conservation purposes by the forest
enterprises in Sweden amounts to at least 10% of the total volume. This
emphasis on the areas outside reserves is unusual in an international
context and is developed most fully in the Nordic countries. On the
other extreme is e.g. New Zealand with a strong polarisation between
intense plantations and a large proportion of forest reserves. It is
important to evaluate the effects on biodiversity in relation to the
effects on forestry’s economy as well as on other ES, of the Nordic
conservation strategy. The implementation of the EU Habitats
directive / Natura 2000 will have large consequences for Nordic
forestry that need to be assessed.