Timber Risk Score: 100 / 100 in 2017. The Timber Legality Risk Assessment contains an evaluation of the risk of illegality in Finland for five categories and 21 sub-categories of law. We found:
- Specified risk for 0 sub-categories.
- Low risk for 18 sub-categories.
- No legal requirements for 3 sub-categories.
This page provides an overview of the legality risks related to timber produced in Finland.
73.1% (22.2 million ha) of Finland is covered by forests of which:
- About 1% is primary forest
- About 68% is naturally-regenerated forest
- About 31% is planted forest.
Roundwood production totalled 59.3 million m3 in 2015. The forestry sector (including wood processing and pulp and paper) contributed US$ 9.6 billion to the economy in 2011, or nearly 4.3% of the GDP.
NEPCon has evaluated Finland as low risk for illegally harvested timber. If you are sourcing timber from Finland 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: 88 / 100 in 2021
Rank: 1 out of 180 countries in 2021
There are currently no armed conflicts in Finland according to the Council on Foreign Relations' Global Conflict Tracker
FSC Certified Forest Area: 1,524,348 hectares (4 December 2019)
PEFC Certified Forest Area: 1,248,044 hectares (31 December 2019).
Information gathering
- Find out the different sources of legal timber
- Determine which source type your timber comes from
Timber source | Description of source type |
---|---|
Forestry land outside protected areas |
Timber from production forests. Harvesting authorisation is managed through a system of mandatory Forest Use declarations that have to be submitted to the forestry authorities at least 10 days before logging starts. |
Habitats of special importance |
Timber from habitats of special importance. The Forestry Centre’s permission is needed to carry out management or utilisation measures. |
Timberline forests | Timber from timberline forests. Special caution must be taken in their management and utilisation in order that the measures do not cause the timberline to retreat. |
Protected forests, i.e. national parks, nature reserves | Timber from protected forests such as national parks and nature reserves. Harvesting activities are, with a few exceptions, prohibited in all protected forest land. Management and land use follows a management plan made by the local authority, which is the Metsähallitus for state-owned land. |
Natura 2000 sites | Timber from Nature 2000 sites. Logging may be allowed if it does not threaten the natural values for which the site has been selected for the Natura 2000 network. A substantial part of the Natura 2000 sites are protected by the Nature Conservation Act, which prohibits logging in protected areas. The harvesting authorisation system is managed on a system of mandatory Forest Use declarations that have to be submitted to the forestry authorities at least 10 days before logging starts. |
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.