DN Debate. Change Sveaskog's directive – more forests must be protected

today, we, the 23 organizations, a joint proclamation, ”Our forest.” We believe that the whole population of Sweden has the right to make their voice heard and get to be with and to determine how the state forest will be managed. Now and in the future. State Sveaskog manages 14 percent of the country's productive forests. Forests that are jointly owned by the Swedish people via the government. We demand that the government and parliament to take responsibility for our forests – before it's too late.

In Januariavtalet mentioned a new Sveaskogsprogram under the heading ”Secure resources for the protection of valuable nature”. It is needed if Sweden is to achieve its national and international objectives of conserving biological diversity. We give here suggestions on how it should be implemented.

The Swedish forest is valuable and has a special place in most people's lives. It promotes our health and well-being, create jobs and landsbygdsföretagande also within the eco-tourism and are important for outdoor recreation. The sami are dependent on the forest for their reindeer herding.

A living nature and the sustainable management of the forest is the base for a range of ecosystem services on which we all depend. The conservation of biological diversity is one of humanity's great's fatal questions, but more than 1 800 of forest species is listed on the national as the red list of species whose future is uncertain. Several studies have through the years shown that the public values the forest's nature values very highly. Yet the forest is depleted of diversity.

Use the state forests with low conservation values to change into privately owned forests with high conservation value.

if the forest raw material. Timber and wood are expected to replace concrete, fossil fuels, and a range of oil-based products. Sveaskog's operations gave the 2018 state 1 100 million in dividends. But someone must also take responsibility to protect the forest's other values, which are not always easily measured in dollars. In the day of harvest Sveaskog not rarely forests, important habitats for threatened species. The company's economic interests are also often ahead of both rural development as reindeer husbandry needs, and recreation.

We believe that Sveaskog, a state-owned company, is to stand for sustainable forest management.

In the agreement between the government, the C and the L states that ”the state should be a leader in sustainable forestry, and the show of nature conservation”. It is encouraging. We also welcome the agreement clarifies that funding for site protection must be sufficient so that private landowners receive financial compensation when forests with high conservation value need to be protected.

the Management of Several of the chips have so far not lived up to national and international environmental targets, in large part because of the high cost of capital. Because of the large share of Sveaskog's production forests are too young to be harvested, has Several logging operations and notifications on logging in high conservation value forests become more and more.

Here are some examples: Melakträskliden in Arvidsjaur, Ore skogsrike in Rättvik, Abmoberget in Sorsele, Grövelnäset in Idre, Hietarova in Pajala and Njuöniesvarrie in Sorsele.

and to raise the environmental ambitions for our common forest. Larger areas of the productive forests in need of protection, forestry needs to become more varied and all the forest ecosystem services must be ensured. An important partial answer is that the state's private forest holdings are used to reach the policy objectives for the forest. The current directive is not enough to ensure that the state's own forests is not harvested.

the Government and the minister, mr Ibrahim Baylan can reverse the trend and contribute to Sveaskog plays a key role in the transition to a sustainable forestry and the protection of our forests. We therefore call on the government to ensure that the Sveaskog needed to be changed so that the company's environment and environmental protection ambitions can be raised.

Our 23 organizations set four demands to the government:

Protect all state forests with high conservation value such as Sveaskog manages. Give all of the state productive forests with high conservation value such as Sveaskog manages a long-term, quality-assured and transparent protection. At least 20% of the productive forest in each skogsregion below the montane region must be preserved in the long term as a nature reserve and equivalent nature conservation areas. The selection of forests should be guided by conservation values. In regions where high conservation values are missing should be areas with good conditions to restore the natural values of a priority. The state should not have to pay compensation to state-owned Sveaskog for this. The county administrative boards should be commissioned to point out the areas that are appropriate to protect.

Use the state forests with low conservation values to change into privately owned forests with high conservation value in order to give these forests a protection. Decide on a new comprehensive ersättningsmarkspaket where state forests with low conservation value can be used to be exchanged for private forest with high values. Today's appropriations to the protection of valuable forest land is far from sufficient to achieve the riksdag's environmental objectives, and ersättningsmarker is a cost-effective tool to meet the objectives.

the State and Sveaskog shall be a model and be in the forefront when it comes to the development of an ecosystem, hyggesfritt forestry. Sveaskog must be a good example of a sustainable and ecosystem-based forestry practices in forests without high conservation value. The state forestry also need to be in the forefront to increase the use of hyggesfria methods and be a role model for other foresters in the country.

Sveaskog's cost of capital must be reduced so that the above points can be implemented. The government remit should be used to steer towards a more sustainable development and a sustainable use of the forest. Through the owner's directive must be the required return on Sveaskog should be lowered so that the points above can be realized.

the prime minister the magic of the Swedish old growth forest, and that it is the government's task is to preserve the Swedish nature for future generations. We agree with you. We have also for a long time this, but not heeded by the state. We believe, therefore, that the whole population of Sweden have a right to make their voice heard and decide how our shared forest is to be managed. Therefore, we urge all who share this point of view to write in our petition: www.varskog.nu.