Six environmental organizations and more than 11,000 private individuals are now demanding that the entire mountainous old-growth forest Karatj-Råvvåive be protected as a nature reserve. 4000 hectares of the area are still without protection and parts of the old-growth forest may be felled.
The one-square-mile mountain forest area Karatj-Råvvåive in Jokkmokk municipality has long been planned as a nature reserve. When the reserve was finally formed in 2018, almost half of the area worthy of protection had been cut away. Instead, the landowner and authorities would investigate the possibility of forming a so-called ecopark. This would give the area much weaker protection without a ban on the felling of forests with high conservation values.
– Establishing an ecopark may appear to be a satisfactory alternative to nature reserves, but in practice it nevertheless means that the forest worthy of protection can be cut down. What has biodiversity gained then? says Linda Ellegaard Nordström from Protect the Forest.
At the beginning of the year, the Swedish Forest Agency presented the results of its ecopark investigation of Karatj-Råvvåive, and in it they state that “the area’s natural values and cultural-historical values are unique and a formal protection of the area is recommended”. This is the same assessment made by both the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten.
– We who are behind the petition for Karatj-Råvvåive advocate that the entire area be formally protected as a nature reserve. Large contiguous natural forest areas such as Karatj-Råvvåive are very important to keep unfragmented, in order to ensure an intact bird fauna with species such as the Lapland, three-toed woodpecker and siberian jay , says Lotta Berg from BirdLife Sweden.
The natural values of forests are high and well documented, and more than half are already classified as key habitats. Furthermore, the hanging lichen-rich pine heaths constitute a national interest for reindeer husbandry and a core area for Tuorpon’s Sami village. There are plenty of cultural-historical traces of bark quarries, Sami settlements, hearths and more.
Right now, negotiations are underway between the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the landowner Jokkmokks Allmänning to decide the fate of the area. The organizations behind the petition are Protect the Forest, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation in Jokkmokk, Greenpeace, the Field Biologists, BirdLife Sweden and Friends of the Earth. 11,300 private individuals from all over the world have signed the petition.
Read Protect the Forest’s letter to Jokkmokks Allmänning, the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, the Ministry of the Environment and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency here.
Protect the Forest has also made a film that describes the values of Karatj-Råvvåive, the film can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdBv5n41bQQ
Press contact:
Linda Ellegaard Nordström, Protect the Forest +46 70 254 11 48
Lars-Ture Lindholm, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation Jokkmokk + 46 70 838 48 37
Siri Maassen, Friends of the Earth +46 70 770 44 66
Christer Johansson, Birdlife Sweden +46 73 422 61 57
Dima Litvinov, Greenpeace +46 70 657 65 86
Leo Rudberg, Field Biologists, +46 76 250 82 30
