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Sweden's largest forest company, the state-owned Sveaskog, has repeatedly ignored the rights of the Sámi and cut down ancient forests in traditional areas that are vital to reindeer herding in the reindeer district of Muonio Sámi in northern Sweden. Sveaskog has also stopped all consultation processes with the community. The reindeer herding district of Muonio Sámi and Greenpeace Sweden are calling for Sveaskog to immediately withdraw all logging processes in the region.
Katarina Sevä, reindeer herder and board member of the Muonio Sámi reindeer herding district, sagte:
“Sveaskog's deforestation practice is a disaster for the Muonio reindeer herding district. Over the past two years Sveaskog has stopped all consultation processes with us and has cut down all the forests that we have specifically asked not to. If this continues, the reindeer herding in Muonio will end. "
The Muonio Sámi reindeer herding area is on the border between Sweden and Finland. Reindeer herding has been an integral part of the community's livelihood and culture for centuries. The area is also home to some of the last remaining natural forests in Sweden, called continuity forests, that have not yet been cleared.
The state forest company Sveaskog, the largest forest company in Sweden, submitted around 100 logging reports in the region. The mapping carried out by Greenpeace shows that these largely coincide with continuity forests. These forests are vital to reindeer herding as they are the natural source of soil and hanging lichens - the reindeer's predominant diet. Much of the ancient forests in the area have already been cut down by Sveaskog, although they are important reindeer pastures.
“Sweden likes to portray itself as a leader in the fields of the environment and human rights. This hypocrisy is exposed by this example of his state enterprise, which consistently tramples the rights of indigenous peoples and devastates the last remnants of old growth forests, ”he said Dima Litvinov, Senior Campaigner at Greenpeace Sweden.
Muonio Sámi Reindeer Herding District and Greenpeace have written a joint letter to Sveaskog calling for the company to stop logging immediately and withdraw logging notifications in the region pending consultation processes with the reindeer herding district.
"Sveaskog must immediately stop logging in the region until consultations with us resume under acceptable conditions," said Sveaskog Katarina Sevä, reindeer herder and board member of the Muonio Sámi Reindeer Herding District.
Facts about Sveaskog's logging plan in Muonio Sámi reindeer herding
The reindeer herding district of Muonio Sámi is located in the northernmost part of Sweden and borders Finland. Their reindeer pastures cover 3640 square kilometers in the Pajala parish with permission to keep up to 3900 reindeer in winter.
Reindeer herding forms the basis of the traditional economy for the Sámi and is an integral part of the Sámi identity.
The state-owned forest company Sveaskog has submitted a total of 101 reports of deforestation to the Swedish Forest Service in the Muonio Sámi reindeer herding district in the northernmost part of Sweden on the border with Finland.
The combined wood surfaces cover an area of almost 2000 hectares, more than 2800 football fields. The Swedish Forestry Agency itself claims that it has only surveyed two of these areas on site, which means that the government agency has no way of knowing what kind of values these forests hold.
A mapping carried out by Greenpeace Sweden shows that most of the forests Sveaskog intends to cut down are old forests with high conservation values, which are also of crucial importance for reindeer herding. At least 40 of the areas consist entirely of continuous forests that have never been cut down. Almost as many consist partly of continuity forests.
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Photos: Greenpeace
