Forest protection nears threshold that could impact national economy

Finland is approaching a level of forest protection that could begin to affect employment, according to a report by the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke).

Currently, about 13 percent of Finnish forests—roughly 3 million hectares—are under strict protection, meaning they are excluded from commercial use and managed primarily for biodiversity and ecosystem preservation. Including areas under informal or “grey” protection, where forests are left untouched without formal designation or compensation, the figure rises to nearly 15 percent or 3.5 million hectares.

The report, commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to support national restoration planning, examines four scenarios for forest use, restoration, structural change, and protection levels over the next 30 years. It is intended as a tool for political decision-making, aligned with the EU’s Nature Restoration Law, which aims to halt biodiversity loss by 2030.

Under Luke’s scenarios, Finland is already near the point where increased protection could reduce employment. The first two scenarios show modest impacts, but the third and particularly the fourth project losses of over 20,000 jobs in the forest sector. The fourth scenario would add 2 million hectares of protected forest to the existing total, bringing the share to more than 20 percent.

Riitta Koivukoski, project manager at the Forest Centre, notes that Finns remain highly motivated to protect forests, even after this year’s METSO program funds for voluntary protection have been exhausted. Reasons vary: some wish to preserve valuable sites for future generations, others avoid regeneration or management costs. Grey protection—where owners forgo economic use without formal status—may cover hundreds of thousands of hectares, she estimates.

Marko Mäki-Hakola, forest director at the Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK), says every hectare removed from forestry affects the whole, particularly in Northern Finland, where one-fifth of forests are already protected.

Helena Herttuainen, head of nature policy at the Finnish Forest Industries Federation, argues that while valuable forest types must be protected, large-scale protection of commercial forests should be abandoned. The METSO program, which relies on voluntary measures, is a better approach, she says.

Forest owner Petri Bodbacka emphasizes that forests, whether protected or commercial, should remain beautiful.