The Last Ancient Forests of Europe combine Europe's few remaining tracts of ancient forest in Scandinavia with the adjoining forest of European Russia (from the western flanks of the Ural mountains).
These boreal forests represent Europe's last remaining intact ancient forest.
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Ancient
forests are in crisis
 What is at stake? |
These forests have ensured the survival of numerous plant and animal species, including bears, flying squirrels and the highly endangered eagle owl.
These ancient boreal forests are also home to tens of thousands of indigenous peoples.
The reindeer-herding Saami live in northern parts of Sweden, Finland and Norway as well as the Murmansk region of Russia. The forests also support the traditional cultures of the Komi and Nenets (or Samoyeds) who inhabit the Arkhangelsk Region and Komi Republic of European Russia.
| "Living forests form a central part of Saami culture. Old growth forests are of crucial importance for reindeer herding and should not be logged for pulp mills under any circumstances. In the Saami culture we have been taught to respect forests ever since our childhood," Pekka Aikio, President of the Saami Parliament, Finland. |
Visit the Greenpeace Russia and Greenpeace Finland forests websites for more information.
Time to act
Some 30 countries throughout eastern and western Europe have no intact ancient forest left; Finland and Sweden retain only one percent and three percent of their original forest cover as large tracts of ancient forest.
Only European Russia retains extensive intact ancient forest, and even this is under serious threat from industrial logging.
European governments have done little to ensure the conservation of the small areas of ancient forest which remain in their jurisdiction.
Indeed, in Finland, the state owned Forest and Park Service itself is destroying its own last remaining ancient forest, while Finnish Industry is increasing its imports from the neighbouring ancient forest in Russia.
In all, European consumers are responsible for the destruction of at least 15,000 hectares of ancient forest in European Russia each year.
The Russian government is responsible for much of the rest. Meanwhile Europe also remains a critical market for illegal and destructively logged timber from countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and Cameroon, despite well publicised accounts of the widespread nature of illegal and destructive logging in these regions.