Pan European Forest Clearcutting: PEFC-certified old-growth forest destruction in Finland 2002

Photographs in this page: Finnish state-owned old-growth forest in Katajasuo area in the municipality of Puolanka, eastern Finland. Clearcut in the area is scheduled for the winter of 2002.

>>> For high-resolution photos: Click the images.

Logging roads leading into the middle of the forest were ploughed in the beginning of February 2002.

Logger is the Finnish state forest enterprise Metsahallitus.

According to the old-growth forest mapping report by the Forest and Park Service (1995) and a polypore species inventory report by Finnish environmental NGO Nature League (2001), the area hosts 9 red listed species and 7 old-growth forest indicator species.

The area is listed as an ecologically valuable area in "Ecologically valuable small waterway-areas of Kainuu-region" - report made by the governmental Regional Environment Centre in 1994.

Katajasuo forest is included in the Protection Program for Old-Growth Forests in Northern Finland as an area whose ecological value should be preserved by the Forest and Park Service (Decision by the Council of State, 1996).

Despite of all the ecological values, the uniform area is now being fragmented with several clearcuts. Parts of the area have been logged already in 2001 and 2000.

The area is considered as an valuable old-growth forest area by all Finnish environmental NGOs. It is included in the Last of the Last - Boreal old-growth forests in Northern Europe-report by Taiga Rescue Network in 2000.

Other case studies 2002: Umpinainen / Honkanen / Harjala / Jannepuro / Katajasuo / Hameenvaara