Forest centre recommends clear-cutting for rare natural forest, citing no legal prohibition

The Finnish Forest Centre (Metsäkeskus) recommended clear-cutting for a rare natural forest in Siikajoki, northern Ostrobothnia, because no law explicitly prohibits it, Yle reported.

The recommendation appeared in the centre’s open data, which is meant to guide forest owners. Forest engineer Heikki Ala-aho examined the data for the Tauvon area, a land-uplift coast forest that is naturally grown and exceptionally rare both in Finland and globally. Although the area belongs to the state-coordinated Lumo biodiversity program, it is not part of any official protected area. Ala-aho said that clear-cutting would be ecologically irrational in such a forest.

The centre’s forestry information service manager Jussi Lappalainen said similar cases emerge regularly. The recommendations are based solely on tree data—dominant species, height, diameter, and site type—gathered mainly via remote sensing. Clear-cutting is recommended unless a legal obstacle exists, such as a nature conservation area, a special environment listed in the Forest Act, or if the owner has declared continuous cover forestry. No-cut recommendations are also never given for groves.

Lappalainen acknowledged that the centre is considering whether the recommendations are up to date. Changes already decided include recommending only continuous cover harvesting on nutrient-rich peatlands, where clear-cutting has been found to cause large emissions. He also cited growing popularity of uneven-aged forestry, shifting owner values, and the EU restoration regulation as reasons for potential updates. The centre’s data does not currently allow it to recommend protection instead of logging.

The case highlights a gap between the centre’s algorithmic recommendations and ecological values. The EU has urged member states to protect all remaining natural forests, but Finland has left the decision to private landowners. Ala-aho warned that owners who are not well informed about their forests may follow the recommendation and seek logging bids.

Tags: Forest Centre, clear-cutting, natural forest