Minister of Energy and the Environment Erkki Keldo has approved the cap on regeneration felling in state forests for the next five years. In 2027, the State Forest Management Centre (RMK) may carry out regeneration felling on up to 8,445 hectares. According to ERR, this is in the same range as this year.
What regeneration felling is
Regeneration felling is felling after which a new generation of forest grows or is planted in its place, such as clear-cutting or shelterwood cutting. The cap sets how large an area RMK may fell this way each year. It does not cover thinning, in which the forest is merely made less dense.
The minister's reasoning
Keldo said the forestry sector and rural businesses need certainty that felling volumes will not jump from year to year. “Next year the felling volume will stay in the same range as this year, and in the longer term it will change gradually, not abruptly,” he said.
What we don't know
The ERR report does not give the felling volume in cubic metres or compare the new cap with this year's exact figure. Nor does it say whether or how protected forests are affected. RMK usually publishes more detailed figures in its reports.
