Forest companies and their central role in the national implementation of the EU's forest policy

The Keynote and the following policy roundtable discussion during the second day of the conference, held at the University of Helsinki, dealt with the EU forest policy and especially the national implementation of the EU's New Forest strategy. In his keynote speech, Professor Georg Winkel from Wageningen University & Research described the challenges and opportunities in the national implementation of the EU forest policy. He stated that the opposing paradigms of forest use and protection affect whether forest use is considered a problem or a solution. At the same time, climate change complicates decision-making related to forests. According to Professor Winkel, the political atmosphere for setting the goals in the EU could be more ambitious, and the consideration of social aspects should be enhanced. Typically, there are diverging interests between the different member states, as well as between the member states and the EU Commission. Thus, great national variation exists in the implementation of the EU policies at the national level. Therefore, the future success of the EU Forest policy depends on how well different stakeholders can be engaged in the implementation of the policy, how transparently the effects of the policy can be presented, and how the participation of regional actors in developing the national content of the policy can be improved.

Professor Constance L. McDermott from the University of Oxford moderated the following roundtable discussion, where expert Adrián Tistan from the European Commission's Directorate-General for Environmental Affairs emphasized that the aim of the new EU Forest strategy is to combine the different goals dealing with the utilization and protection of forests. Forest director Karoliina Niemi from the Finnish Forest Industries Federation stressed the importance of forest-based livelihoods, and significance of wood-based products in transforming the fossil-based economy into a bioeconomy. Conservation advisor Jussi Nikula from WWF Finland described the limitations related to the utilization of forest resources, and pointed out that currently the limits of sustainability have been exceeded when biodiversity and climate aspects are considered. In his keynote, professor Winkel had also described the changing political environment, where the emphasis is on the formation of new kinds of pragmatic coalitions in different contexts instead of traditional interest groups. Similarly, Jussi Nikula emphasized the key role of companies in producing sustainability transformation. Karoliina Niemi highlighted the importance of forests in maintaining the strategic autonomy and economic competitiveness of the EU region. The audience enjoyed the inspiring and thought-provoking discussion, which continued in countless encounters during the conference.