Conservation implications of exporting domestic wood harvest to neighboring countries
Introduction
Historically, nature conservation has usually occurred domestically, as unique or inspiring landscapes were preserved for recreation, or private hunting and harvesting. Such conservation areas ranged from publicly owned national parks in the United States to the woods and gardens of royal families in Europe (Davenport and Rao, 2002). Landscape conservation has also been driven by the need for products and services supplied by intact ecosystems. For example, conserving forested land in the Catskills watershed was motivated by the demand for a secure water supply for New York City (Chichilinsky and Heal, 1998). With increasing awareness of the current global species extinction crisis, conservation concern has shifted to a more global scale, through prioritizing areas supporting high species diversity (“hotspots”) or endemic and endangered species, especially in tropical biomes (Prendergast et al., 1993, Myers et al., 2000). These different motivations can result in conflicting advice on which lands to conserve or restore. While a focus on domestic habitat conservation may be positive for biodiversity in the short term, exporting the displaced natural resource extraction can endanger domestic biodiversity in the long term if the protected and exploited areas are ecologically connected. Biodiversity conservation, therefore, needs to occur at relevant spatial and temporal scales, not just those relevant for political or economic reasons.
The “environmental Kuznets curve” concept predicts that environmental damage – such as natural resource extraction, which leads to species loss – is highest in societies at intermediate levels of income, where demand for economic growth outweighs demand for environmental protection (Dietz and Adger, 2003). This pattern may not hold in practice, especially if countries with high incomes export their environmental footprint and natural resource extraction to areas with lower incomes and environmental protection (Brachares et al., 2004). When goods production can be geographically separated from consumption through international trade, the point at which environmental deterioration decreases with rising income may be delayed or never realized (Khanna and Plassmann, 2004). Exporting wood harvest to meet domestic demand for consumption and forest protection is common (Sedjo, 1995, Sohngren et al., 1999, Berlik et al., 2002, Leppänen et al., 2005). Ignoring the complicated relationship between biodiversity conservation, income and international trade can frustrate conservation efforts at many scales (Adams et al., 2004, Brachares et al., 2004).
Here, we analyze a case in the boreal region, wherein high income and demand for forest protection in Finland has coincided with an increase in imported wood logged from northwestern Russia. We note that in this case, shifting extraction beyond Finland's border may eventually be to the detriment of not only the last remaining natural forests in Russia, but also Finland's own national conservation efforts. Displaced logging may cut off Finland's forests from the rest of the biome upon which its native species depend—a potential “boomerang” effect. Our objectives are to: (1) illustrate current trends in logging and nature conservation in northern Europe, (2) demonstrate limitations of the current approaches of nature conservation, and (3) suggest a more holistic approach to nature protection, reconciling forest ecosystem protection with consumption through improvements in forestry practices, technologies, consumption patterns, and broad scale conservation planning.
Section snippets
Boreal forests
The boreal forest ecosystem (also called taiga), comprising a third of all forests, is predominant across northern North America and Eurasia, and is characterized by a high abundance of coniferous trees (Nikolov and Helmisaari, 1992, Burton et al., 2003). Characteristic tree species include shade intolerant pines (Pinus sp.), birches (Betula sp.), alders (Alnus sp.) and aspen (Populus tremula), and shade tolerant spruce (Picea sp.) and fir (Abies) (Esseen et al., 1997, Burton et al., 2003).
Finland
Boreal forests are the most predominant land cover type in Finland, covering two-thirds of the country. Likewise, the Finnish forestry industries are an important part of the national economy, responsible for roughly 25% of Finland's exports and 5% of its GDP (MCPFE, 2003, Finnish Forest Industries Federation, 2005). Products are exported largely to western European countries such as the UK, Germany and the Netherlands; less than 10% of Finnish value-added products, such as paper and lumber, is
Discussion
The current dominant approach to the protection of forest ecosystems in northern Europe can be called a “denial approach”. The focus is on locating and setting aside valuable areas and on limiting logging in those areas. This is important but insufficient unless conservation measures are coordinated with improvements in forestry technology, forest industry processes, and consumption patterns. Domestic measures for forest protection based on a “denial approach” can be dangerous, if logging is
Acknowledgements
PMT, PEK, and PKA acknowledge financial support from the Marjatta and Eino Kolli Foundation, Metsämiesten säätiö, and the Stiftelsen Marcus och Amalia Wallenbergs Minnesfond, respectively. Discussions with Pertti Veijola from Metsähallistus, and suggestions from two anonymous reviewers, greatly improved the paper. Policies addressed here represent the opinions of the authors, not necessarily those of the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Audrey L. Mayer is an Ecologist at the US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory. She received a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and held postdoctoral positions at the University of Cincinnati and the USEPA. Her research spans several areas, including: multidisciplinary sustainability indices; managing urbanization impacts on aquatic and terrestrial communities; and
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Audrey L. Mayer is an Ecologist at the US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory. She received a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and held postdoctoral positions at the University of Cincinnati and the USEPA. Her research spans several areas, including: multidisciplinary sustainability indices; managing urbanization impacts on aquatic and terrestrial communities; and bird conservation, particularly land use/land cover effects at multiple spatial scales on terrestrial bird communities. She took up a senior research position at the Synergos Research Centre, University of Tampere, Finland in January 2006.
Pekka E. Kauppi is Professor and Chair of the Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Helsinki, Finland. He received his PhD in Forest Ecology at the University of Helsinki, Finland. His primary research areas include environmental policy, industrial ecology, conservation of biodiversity and forest ecosystems, climate mitigation and adaptation, and equitable and sustainable land use. He has served as a Visiting Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria, and director of the Finnish Acidification Research Program in the Ministry of the Environment. He is an author of 150 professional articles in journals, books, and conference proceedings.
Päivi M. Tikka is a Research Scientist working in the field of nature and environmental protection. She holds a MSc in Ecology and Environmental Management and a PhD in Environmental Sciences, both from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research focuses on both ecological and social dimensions of nature protection. She is interested in ecologically effective management practices as well as in socially acceptable policy tools for protection. In 2003, she was a Guest Editor (with Pekka Kauppi) of a special issue of Environmental Science and Policy, “Protecting nature on private land—from conflicts to agreements”.
Per K. Angelstam is Professor in forest and natural resource management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences’ Faculty of Forest Sciences and its School for Forest Engineers. His work focuses on two dimensions of sustainability research. The first is developing performance targets to assess, and tools communicate, the status and trends of different elements of ecological sustainability. The second is to understand and bridge barriers for policy implementation in landscapes with different management and history in Fennoscandia and former Soviet Union countries. He has published 2 books and more than 140 scientific and 70 popular articles, as well as education materials aimed at managers and conservation planners, and two international TV-films.