A COMPARISON SMALL PRIVATE FOREST MANAGEMENT IN FINLAND AND WESTERN NOVA SCOTIA Forestry Learning Tour of Finland, Sept 28 th Oct 5 th, 2016
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A PROJECT OF THE NSWOOA S FOREST LAB, ONE OF SEVERAL PROTOTYPE PROJECTS DESIGNED TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS IN THE NS FOREST SECTOR Funded in part by ACOA, DNR, & Port Hawkesbury Paper With in-kind support from: Federation of Nova Scotia Woodland Owners & Operators (FNSWOO) Cape Breton Privateland Partnership (CBPP)/NS Landowners & Forest Fibres Producers Association (NSLFFPA) North Range Forest Products Selby Testing & Engineering Ltd Jim Crooker
Support Network: MTK & FMAs
Finnish Woodlot Owners
LUKE Nursery
Free 1- to 3-Year Vocational Training Outdoor Hands-on Classroom
PONSSE
Kuopion Energia
Forestry in Finland Forested Area: 23,000,000 ha Small Private Ownership: 60% 80% of harvest from small private
Region of Pohjois-Savo Forested Area: 1,400,000 ha Small Private Ownership: 72% 80% of harvest from small private
Forestry in Nova Scotia Forested Area: 4,240,000 ha Small Private Ownership: 53% 63% of harvest from small private
7 Counties of Western NS Service area for the Western Woodlot Services Co-op
Comparing: Pohjois-Savo Region of Finland and Seven Western Counties of Nova Scotia Pohjois-Savo No. of forest owners 26,000?????? Small woodlot forest area 1,000,000 ha 935,000 ha Annual forest growth 5,200,000 m3/yr?????? Seven Western Counties Annual harvest 4,400,000 m3/yr 756,000 m3/yr Large sawmills 8-10 1 (Freeman s) Pulp, paper and/or paperboard mills Forestry professionals working with owners 2-3 0 50-70 1 (WWSC)
4 FMAs 1 FMA pilot
Why? Why is Finland so successful in managing small private forests compared to NS? Why didn t Finland lose a significant amount of their forest industry in 2009-2012? Do Finnish trees grow faster? No. Are Finnish trees potentially more valuable? No.
Major Differences in Approach 1. Culture 2. Landowner support network 3. Intensive sustainable forest management 4. High quality forest inventory & sharing of data 5. Roundwood market development Finnish woodlot owners are the power brokers in Finland, supplying over 80% of the wood for the industry. It is the Finnish government support and foresight over the last 100 years that has made this all possible.
Culture Forests are Green Gold for owners and the economy Knowledgeable and Active Landowners (85%+ FMA membership) Long Term Commitment to Forest Management Farming Forests
Landowner Support Network 633,000 Woodlot Owners 320,000 Forest holdings Elected boards MTK National Local, national & international representation MTK Regional MTK Regional FMA FMA Woodlot Owner Woodlot Owner Woodlot Owner Woodlot Owner
Intensive Forest Management Plantation based; all sites scarified Focus on maximizing productivity over the full rotation (80-100 years) Merchantable thinnings account for 73% of the harvest area. Vast majority of forest area is under management
Patch cut = approx. 1 acre
Roundwood market development Sawmill industry 190 sawmills Pulp & Paper industry 49 mills continued investment Bio-Energy industry 800+ District heating centers infrastructure; small (1-5 MW) to large (400+MW) Total harvest in Finland (2015) Primary Product Harvest (m3) Logs 24,873,000 Pulpwood 33,976,000 Energywood 9,186,000 Total Harvest 68,035,000 Bioeconomy
Comparing Finland and Nova Scotia s Forest Industries Finland Nova Scotia Pulp and Paper Mills 49 2 Large Sawmills 190 4 Wood Based District Heating Plants 800+ Few Jobs (direct & indirect) 160,000 11,500
Potential for the 7 Western Counties of NS Currently harvesting less than 1 m3/ha/yr in NS from small private forests Currently harvesting 4.4 m3/ha/yr in Finland sustainably If we could increase the harvest from small private to 2 m3/ha/yr we could add thousands of direct jobs and millions of dollars worth of economic benefits to our region
What Can We Do As Woodlot Owners? We can join the Western Woodlot Services Co-op (WWSC) To intensify the management of our woodlots To pool our woodlot resources to create new market opportunities for both low grade and high value wood Encourage your friends, family and neighbours to do the same Lobby your local MLA and municipal & town government representatives to pay more attention to forestry
The Average Finnish Woodlot Owner A retired person or older worker His or her age is 60 years Owns about 38 ha of forest land (94 acres) Total standing volume of trees is over 5,000 m3 (2,200 cords) Annual cuttings is 180 m3 (80 cords) Average yearly income from their woodlot is about $7,000.00/yr CAD before taxes Average stumpage is about $90.00 CAD/cord or greater than $200.00 CAD /MBFM
A CENTURY IN THE MAKING IN FINLAND: Time is of the essence
Bike Trail
Outdoor hockey rink!
Villa Prud