UPM Pulp Matters 2/2023

CUT T ING EDGE

UPM is the only forestry company in Finland with its own tree nursery, located in Joroinen.

their inception in the 1990s, PEFC and FSC™ certificates have become well known among industry and forest owners and consumers. Now 90% of Finnish forests are certified, with the majority bearing the PEFC certification. “The progress made through certification has numerous advantages,” notes Elina Warsta , Senior Manager at UPM Global Forest Affairs. “One of the most significant benefits of certification is the establishment of numerous concrete and measurable goals. We can see that our efforts to promote the wellbeing of the forests, biodiversity, and sustainability are indeed demonstrated in the results,” Warsta affirms. Sustainable forest management continues beyond certificates, notes Sami Oksa , Director of Stakeholder Relations at UPM Forest. “We have been involved in several pilot projects at UPM to understand better how different actions impact the forest. It is already understood that increasing the number of broad leaved trees in a forest diversifies species and boosts forest growth. Specific insects and fungi thrive from leaving deadwood in the forests,” Oksa lists.

UPM is collaborating with the Natural Resources Institute Finland to develop more specific ways to measure forest biodiversity. The company has also set a target to double the number of broad-leaved trees in its forests in Finland, aided by UPM’s nursery in Joroinen. C anada’s vast boreal forests make it a global forestry powerhouse. Forests cover 40% of the country – approximately 347 million hectares. The forest sector is a significant contributor to the country’s GDP. The primary distinction from other conifer-rich countries in Northern Europe is that most forests in Canada are state-owned, and the state grants harvesting and renting rights to private companies. Besides working as a summer intern in Canada, Antti Asikainen has also visited various forest locations in the country since the 1980s. “Their approach is very different. Thinning is almost non-existent practice in many areas and a larger share of the forests are under public ownership. The scale and impact of natural disturbances on forest dynamics is much larger than in the Nordic countries. This leads, for

Elina Warsta, Senior Manager, Global Forest Affairs, UPM

Sami Oksa, Director, Stakeholder Relations, UPM Forest

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PUL P MAT TERS 02/2023