Safeguarding biodiversity is by now an inherent part of the management of commercial forests. The methods used in nature management and restoration include the increasing of decayed wood and the restoration of small waterways. Sites of the highest importance for biodiversity are protected by law.
Wood is a renewable resource that plays a significant role in bioeconomy. Wood can be fully utilized. Valuable raw materials are also obtained from the side streams of its processing, and they are used to develop new solutions to replace fossil raw materials. Recycling even the shortest-lived wood-based products, such as paper and cardboard, is efficient.
An ordinary Finnish forest may be used for growing timber, promoting forest biodiversity, sequestering carbon, hiking, picking berries and hunting. The multiple use of forests is safeguarded by legislation and everyone’s rights.
Finland is the most widely afforested country in Europe. Forests cover 76 percent of its total area, and as much as 86 percent of its land area. The volume of wood in Finnish forests is 2.5 thousand million cubic metres. Most of the forests are owned by private individuals and families.
The aim of forestry is to manage and use forests according to the principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability. The objectives and operations of forest management are decided on by the forest owner, who may focus on financial aspects, nature, recreation and combating climate change.
The forest sector is an important employer and export branch in Finland. The forest sector includes all industries and livelihoods related to forests, such as the growing and harvesting of timber and forests, forest industries, services for forest owners, nature tourism and forest research.
Forest and wood products bind and store atmospheric carbon. This means that forest management and the use of wood can have an impact on climate change. On the other hand, changes in climate factors such as temperature can affect forest growth and the living conditions of species.
