22/12/2017 Saami/Metsähallitus Forest Conflict, Inari, Finland | EJAtlas

Saami/Metsähallitus Forest Con ict, Inari, Finland

Description

The northernmost part of Finland is the home of the indigenous Saami people. The land on which the Saami people live and carry out traditional reindeer herding practices is
mainly owned by the Finnish state. One of the main industries in Finland is forestry and paper production (according to a report from Greenpeace: 'Only about 0,5% of the
world's forests are in Finland, but the country produces a fourth of world's printing papers, relying on domestic wood for 75% of the production' (1, p. 4)), an industry that
impacts the Saami people as extensive logging takes place in areas used by the Saami as reindeer pastures, interfering with pasture cycles and making pasture land more and
more scattered. Despite extensive national and international legislation around the rights of Saami people, the Finnish state, with state-owned forest enterprise
Metsähallitus, fails to include Saami rights in forestry practices. (1) In 2002 the Saami people of Finland together with international EJO Greenpeace started a cooperative
e ort to protect an area of 107,000 ha of old-growth forest in northern Finland. (2) The old-growth forest is not only crucial to Saami reindeer practices but is also highly
biodiverse, with many red listed species, and contains slow-growing pine trees that are several hundred years old. (3, 4) An eight year long process began during which large
protests in several European countries (Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland) took place, a lawsuit against Metsähallitus by Saami people from
Nellim was led (settled temporarily in 2005 by the UN Human Rights Committee through a logging moratorium) and a response from industry key player StoraEnso
(Finnish/Swedish paper company) was seen through a company decision to stop buying wood from disputed areas. (1, 5) In 2010, Greenpeace and the Saami people could
victoriously announce that the Finnish state had agreed to protect approximately 80,000 ha of productive forest land, consisting mostly of unlogged old-growth forest, that
would be set aside from forestry either permanently or for the next 20 years. (4, 3, 2)

Basic Data

Name
Saami/Metsähallitus Forest Con ict, Inari, Finland

Country
Finland (/country/ nland)

Province
Inari

Accuracy of Location
MEDIUM regional level

Source of Con ict

http://ejatlas.org/print/saami-metsahallitus-forest-conflict-inari-finland 1/4
 22/12/2017 Saami/Metsähallitus Forest Conflict, Inari, Finland | EJAtlas

Type of Con ict (1st level)

Biomass and Land Con icts (Forests, Agriculture and Livestock Management)

Type of Con ict (2nd level)

Deforestation
Logging and non timber extraction

Speci c Commodities
Land (/commodity/land)
Pine (/commodity/pine)

Project Details and Actors

Project Details
One of the main industries in Finland is forestry and paper production (according to a report from Greenpeace: 'Only about 0,5% of the world's forests are in Finland, but the
country produces a fourth of world's printing papers, relying on domestic wood for 75% of the production' (1, p. 4) In 2002, Greenpeace together with Saami people mapped
an area of 107,000 ha of forest that they claimed should be excluded from logging plans. In the end, approximately 80,000 ha of this land was set aside by the Finnish state.

Project Area (in hectares)

80

Type of Population
Rural

Start Date
2002

Company Names or State Enterprises

Metsähallitus (/company/metsahallitus)
Stora Enso (/company/stora-enso) from Sweden (/country-of-company/sweden)

Relevant government actors

Metsähallitus

Environmental justice organisations and other supporters

Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.org)

The Con ict and the Mobilization

Intensity of Con ict (at highest level)

HIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...)

When did the mobilization begin

In REACTION to the implementation (during construction or operation)

Groups Mobilizing
Indigenous groups or traditional communities
International ejos
Local scientists/professionals
Authors concerned with where the paper for their publications were sourced from visited the forests; several hundred scientists all over Finland signing a document saying
that the old-growth forests need protection.

http://ejatlas.org/print/saami-metsahallitus-forest-conflict-inari-finland 2/4
 22/12/2017 Saami/Metsähallitus Forest Conflict, Inari, Finland | EJAtlas

Forms of Mobilization
Creation of alternative reports/knowledge
Development of a network/collective action
Development of alternative proposals
Involvement of national and international NGOs
Land occupation
Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism
Media based activism/alternative media
O cial complaint letters and petitions
Public campaigns
Street protest/marches
Appeals/recourse to economic valuation of the environment

Impacts

Environmental Impacts
Visible: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover

Socio-economic Impacts
Potential: Displacement, Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, rings, unemployment, Loss of livelihood, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Violations of
human rights, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place

Outcome

Project Status
Stopped

Pathways for con ict outcome / response

Institutional changes
Land demarcation
Negotiated alternative solution
Project cancelled

Do you consider this as a success?

Yes

Why? Explain brie y.

The Saami people together with Greenpeace were, after an eight year long struggle with extensive campaigning, successful in the attempt to protect a large area of highly
biodiverse old-growth forest crucial to the survival of Saami people practices and livelihood.

Sources and Materials

Legislations
Reindeer Husbandry Act
http://www. nlex. /sv/laki/kaannokset/1990/en19900848.pdf

ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (Finland has not rati ed the convention)
http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C169

http://ejatlas.org/print/saami-metsahallitus-forest-conflict-inari-finland 3/4
 22/12/2017 Saami/Metsähallitus Forest Conflict, Inari, Finland | EJAtlas

Links
HIGH CONSERVATION VALUE FOREST LOGGING UNDER FSC CONTROLLED WOOD IN FINLAND,
http://www.greenpeace.org/france/PageFiles/266591/outofcontrol.pdf

(2) Gáldu, 2010, Campaign for Northern Forests by Indigenous Sami Ended Successfully in Finland,
http://www.galdu.org/web/?odas=4995&giella1=eng

(5)Backman, Hanna, 2008, The last remaining ancient forests in Europe are being logged by Finnish state-owned enterprise Metsähallitus. Behind the logging are two of the
largest forestry companies in the world., Ethical Consumer, Issue 112, May/June 2008,
http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/commentanalysis/corporatewatch/mets

forest rights of Sámi reindeer herders,

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/PageFiles/25711/Lapland_StateOfCon ict_web.pdf

(3)Walsh, Dave, 2010, Finnish Forest Rescued!,

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/makingwaves/ nnish-forest-rescued/blog/31474/

(4)Greenpeace, 2010, 80,000 Hectares of Finnish Forest Protected in Landmark deal,

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/80000-Hectares-of-Finnish-Forest-Protected-in-Landmark-deal-/

(1) Greenpeace, 2008, OUT OF CONTROL –

Greenpeace, 2005, Lapland: State of Con ict

How the Finnish government is abusing the

Meta Information

Contributor
Linda Dubec

Last update
08/04/2014

http://ejatlas.org/print/saami-metsahallitus-forest-conflict-inari-finland 4/4