Point of view | Teemu Seppä: Bird nesting and forest management – One legal case, many unpredictable effects on forestry
One occasionally forgets the significant impact of EU decisions on the operating environment of Finland’s forest sector. Once negotiations on any EU regulation or directive have been completed, people do, of course, understand that effects can be expected.
The Nature Restoration Regulation is a telling example of a piece of EU legislation that is known to have a significant impact. However, some of its effects are impossible to anticipate and will only be revealed once national implementation gets properly underway. The need to modify national legislation sometimes becomes necessary for unexpected reasons, and sometimes a long time after the original legislation was passed.
More specific interpretation of EU Birds Directive rapidly included in Forest Act
In its original shape, the EU Birds Directive was passed in 1979, with the objective of protecting all species of birds living in the wild in Europe. One means of achieving this is to prohibit intentional disturbance to nesting birds. From the perspective of forestry, the impact of the Directive changed significantly in August 2025, when the European Court of Justice gave a decision in a case concerning nesting-period fellings in Estonia. The decision included a more specific interpretation of what is to be considered intentional disturbance.
EU directives are implemented by transposing them into national legislation, and so in Finland, the new interpretation made it necessary to modify the Forest Act and Nature Conservation Act. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of the Environment and the Parliament of Finland were commendably rapid in ensuring that there will be no conflict between EU and national legislations. The modified national legislation, the most important piece of which is the Forest Act, came into effect at the beginning of June 2026.
Even before this, harming previously discovered or observed nests was prohibited by the Nature Conservation Act, and the recommendation to avoid fellings during the nesting period in bird-rich areas was included in internal guidelines in the forest sector. As of now, the Forest Act contains provisions that restrict forestry measures during the nesting period. The harvesting of timber is categorically prohibited during a three-month period covering the peak nesting season in areas with the highest density of birds. These include lush and herb-rich forests dominated by broadleaves, spruce mires and riparian forests. All known or observed nests must be spared, and large aspen, trees with hollows and standing dead trunks favoured by nesting birds must be left alone during the nesting period in all areas.
Over time, the EU Birds Directive has been implemented in slightly different ways in different EU Member States. The new, more specific interpretation will, however, cause the need for modifications in other Member States as well, even if it may seem, that only some guidelines require updating. The EU Commission is currently examining the actual effect of the Birds Directive, and certain Member States would like to see some changes made, but as to this, the future is extremely uncertain. The main thing in the short run is to ensure that the Finnish Forest Act works as it should.
Changes lead to new problems with prescribed burnings and harvesting of storm-damaged trees
When recommendations are converted into legislation in short order, complications tend to arise. Problems appear that no one had thought of. This was also the case at Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd. Among other things, we have drawn up internal guidelines on the new legislation and organised webinars for our employees. Some problems are still waiting for a good solution.
An example of outstanding problems is the fate of controlled burnings. When commercial forest sites are burned as a nature management measure, this is nevertheless considered a forestry measure, and as such is subject to the same restrictions during nesting period as other forestry measures. However, controlled burning is an important element of nature management in forestry. Controlled burning produces burnt wood and charcoal, which form an environment necessary for many threatened and rare species.
Metsähallitus Forestry Ltd has carried out various types of burnings on 400 to 600 hectares each year. These operations require extensive preparation, and the implementation depends on the weather. The best period for carrying out burnings is in May–June, when the terrain is suitably dry and the surface vegetation, which is an impediment to burning, is still relatively low. If controlled burning is not allowed during the nesting period, it will be extremely difficult to achieve the same number of hectares as before.
A second challenging example is the harvesting of trees felled by storms, which is required by the Forest Damage Prevention Act, in order to prevent insect damage. It seems that in future, prohibitions related to the nesting period will only allow the harvesting of storm-felled conifers. Fallen broadleaves, which do not pose a risk of insect damage, must be harvested outside the nesting period. Trees left standing on a storm damage site may not be felled during the nesting period. This will have the consequence that these sites will have to be worked on several times, which is not sensible in terms of either nature or the economy.
In addition to the above, there are other issues that require a practicable solution. It is to be hoped that all these will be kept in mind when the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry drafts a decree to complement the Forest Act.