The recent damage to the rivers in Suomussalm has caused a lot of discussion among forest industry professionals. According to meta-manager Teemu Palosaari, the discussions turned out to be multifaceted. He stresses that the existing guidelines for logging are sufficient but need to be properly enforced. According to him, everyone in the industry can learn lessons from these incidents.
Recently Stora Enso raised suspicions about another case of improper river crossing. Pirkko-Liisa Luhta, project manager at Metsähallitus, said in an interview with Yle that it is possible to detect additional damage. According to her, dozens of cases of crossing rivers by car are already known, and such crossings are becoming a common practice.
Palosaari says that he rarely has to cross water bodies with logging equipment. He believes that crossing bodies of water is not desirable, as this can cause damage to the equipment from moisture. If it is necessary to do this, you can temporarily build a protective bridge across a stream or river.
Before starting work at the felling site, the employer provides detailed instructions on proper behavior on the territory, all information is available in the computer of the logging machine.
Antti Otsamo, head of sustainability at Metsähallitus Metsätalous Oy, emphasizes a policy of zero tolerance for the loss of rare species. According to him, laws prohibit any violation in this context. Otsamo says that such incidents are rare in the area managed by Stora Enso and should be avoided thanks to detailed instructions, training and audits that ensure correct working methods in risky areas.
Metsähallitus manages approximately 9 million hectares of state-owned land, of which approximately 3.5 million hectares are under forestry. Violations during logging are rare.
The legality of logging in Finland is monitored by Metsäkeskus, which uses prior control through forest use reports and satellite images for monitoring. Jarkko Partanen notes that incidents usually involve logging without proper notification. It is important that inspections are carried out in advance, which is of great importance to ensure the legality of forest use.
