Forest

Forest

A diverse forest is resilient

The forest is a community, one that includes trees and thousands of other inhabitants – insects, lichens, game, etc. Up to 20,000 species can be found in our forests. A forest that is biodiverse and resilient takes centuries to form and is home to genuine rarities. In such a forest you will encounter old, young and dead trees. A forest that is rich in biodiversity slows down species extinction and helps us adapt to climate change, meaning that human well-being depends directly on the forest.

Unfortunately, today’s intensive forest management contributes to the fact that the forest fails to become a forest in ecological terms before it is, once again, cut down. The planting of trees does not bring back destroyed forest biota. However, a one-dimensional forest and a so-called field of trees are easy targets for pine beetles, storms and fires. In turn, the problem is also fuelled by forest drainage.

We need to make sure that our terrain provides sufficient habitats, naturally occurring forests, as well as areas managed in an environmentally friendly way. Only in this way will nature able to cope with the damage caused by clear-cutting. This means, among other things, that we need to cut much less than before, with greater thought being given to where and how domestic wood is used. The majority of Estonia’s residents also support reducing the volume of logging and managing the state forest as a permanent forest.

What are we doing to improve the future of forests?

• We protect natural forests, including mapping the natural values and key biotopes of forests.
• We study and popularize continuous cover forestry and other nature-friendly economic techniques.
• We stand for the preservation of domestic forests that are important to people.
• We serve as guardians when it comes to development plans, decisions and amendments to the law that take into account the different values of the forest.