Timber Risk Score: 100 / 100 in 2017. The Timber Legality Risk Assessment contains an evaluation of the risk of illegality in Sweden for five categories and 21 sub-categories of law. We found:
- Specified risk for 0 sub-categories.
- Low risk for 16 sub-categories.
- No legal requirements for 5 sub-categories.
This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to Timber produced in Sweden.
68.7% (28 million ha) of Sweden is covered by forests of which:
- About 9% is primary forest
- About 42% is naturally-regenerated forest
- About 49% is planted forest.
Roundwood production totalled 74.3 million m3 in 2015. The forestry sector (including wood processing and pulp and paper) contributed US$ 13.0 billion to the economy in 2011, or nearly 3.0% of the GDP.
NEPCon has evaluated Sweden as low risk for illegally harvested timber. If you are sourcing timber from Sweden you should still take care to ensure that risks are not present in your supply chains.
This risk assessment was prepared between 2014-2018 according to the FSC-STD-40-005. The approved FSC Risk Assessment can be downloaded in the FSC Document Centre. ONLY Risk Assessments that have been formally reviewed and approved by FSC can be used by an FSC candidate or certified companies in risk assessments and will meet the FSC standards without further verification.
Score: 85 / 100 in 2021
Rank: 4 out of 180 countries in 2021
There are currently no armed conflicts in Sweden according to the Council on Foreign Relations' Global Conflict Tracker
FSC Certified Forest Area: 12,725,493 hectares (3 January 2019)
PEFC Certified Forest Area: 15,815,694 hectares (September 2018)
Information gathering
Timber source | Description of source type |
---|---|
Productive forests |
Timber from productive forest land, defined as land that can produce at least 1 m3 stem wood including bark a year and that is not used for any other purpose such as agriculture, buildings or infrastructure. No permit is needed. The harvesting authorisation system is managed on a system of mandatory Timber Harvesting Notifications to the Swedish Forest Agency, to be submitted no later than 6 weeks before resuming harvesting operations on a specific site. This is the primary source of timber in Sweden. |
Mountainous forests |
Timber from forests in mountainous areas as delineated in the Swedish Forest Agency's regulation SKSFS 1991:3. A harvesting permit is required. |
Forest of ’noble’ broad leaves | Timber from stands of forest in which at least 70% of the basal area consists of broad leaved trees and at least 50% consist of oak, beech, ash, lime, elm, cherry, maple or hornbeam. A harvesting permit is required. |
Risk assessment
Low risk of illegality. We found that any breaches of applicable laws are temporary, unusual, limited in their impact, and effectively controlled by the relevant authorities.
Risk mitigation
We have not identified any specified risks and therefore have not suggested any mitigation actions.