Forest policy exposes divide between Centre and Greens

Forest policy could become a difficult issue in talks on forming a red-green government, with the Centre Party and the Green Party far apart, Swedish broadcaster SVT reports.

A small threatened forest orchid, creeping lady’s-tresses, has become a contested symbol in Swedish forestry policy. In several cases, the plant has led the Swedish Forest Agency and courts to halt planned logging.

Asked whether it is reasonable to stop logging to protect such a small plant, Emil V Nilsson of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation told SVT’s Agenda: “Is it reasonable to keep practising forestry that kills our nature?”

The dispute over species protection and property rights is entering the red-green government talks. The Centre Party wants to defend forest owners’ right to manage their land, while the Green Party wants stronger protection for endangered species and limits on logging.

The forestry industry association Skogsindustrierna says forests are important to Sweden’s exports and that the industry is a significant employer. It is concerned that more logging decisions are being appealed and halted. “This hits forest owners very hard and creates uncertainty about how they can use their land,” said the association’s chief executive, Viveka Beckeman.

Both Skogsindustrierna and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation are closely following the talks. Beckeman said more than 80 per cent of Sweden’s parliament supports active forestry. Nilsson said he hoped the Green Party’s position would prevail, adding: “When it comes to forests, I don’t understand why a party like the Centre Party, which says it wants to take responsibility for the climate, does not want to protect them.”

The Centre Party supports property rights, active forestry and voluntary nature protection. The Green Party wants to protect more forest, strengthen species protection and give the state greater influence over which forests can be logged.