{"id":34251,"date":"2024-01-11T14:27:12","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T13:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skyddaskogen.se\/?p=34251"},"modified":"2024-01-11T14:27:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-11T13:27:14","slug":"are-the-european-commissions-guidelines-for-closer-to-nature-forestry-opening-up-for-a-trojan-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skyddaskogen.se\/en\/are-the-european-commissions-guidelines-for-closer-to-nature-forestry-opening-up-for-a-trojan-horse\/","title":{"rendered":"Are the European Commission’s guidelines for Closer-to-Nature Forestry opening up for a Trojan horse?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2023, the European Commission published guidelines on Closer-to-Nature Forest Management (CNF), which are the result of a consultation process with various stakeholders. Protect the Forest Sweden welcome the general principles of CNF, which we find to be well formulated in the EC’s document, with good scientific references. But unfortunately, the guidelines for the boreal region partly contradict the general principles, or are vague and open for interpretations which allow business-as-usual industrial forestry.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Is this the future of CNF management in continuity forest with high conservation values or in protected forest areas? Forest company SCA logged in this forest in 2023, a so called \u201ccustomized logging\u201d (aka CNF?) in a continuity forest with red listed species. Photo: Daniel Rutschman<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From a Swedish perspective, the need for CNF is clear: The currently dominating forestry method in Sweden is clear-cutting followed by tree plantations, which is destructive for forest biodiversity. Because of the industry’s demand for timber, about 60% of the Swedish forest is younger than 60 years old, and only 6% of the productive forest land is under long term formal protection. We urgently need<\/a> to protect and restore more forest, and outside of protected areas, we need another kind of forestry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We hoped that the CNF guidelines would describe such a forestry. But in the boreal section, we find that forest industry representatives have influenced the text so that today’s forestry is partly greenwashed. The guidelines for the boreal region will most likely allow current forestry to be labeled as CNF. Indeed, this is what the Swedish forest industry probably aims for: See for example Peter Holmgren’s claim in May 2023 that Swedish forestry “converted to close-to-nature forest management already 30 years ago”<\/a>. For example, the guidelines for the boreal region say that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n