Translations

The Finnish firm UPM encourages the sustainable management of its forests.

4. Environment

Biodiversity and sustainable resource management

Sector Agriculture

Year 2016

Country Finland

Transmitter

Context

Created in 1996, UPM is an entity of the Finnish group Biofore whose activity is the production and the commercialization of forest products, paper, bio composites and biofuels. As such, UPM has over 1.3 million hectares of forests mainly in Finland and Uruguay. UPM has made of its social and environmental impact in the medium term a priority with a special focus on innovation. Its products are made from renewable and recyclable raw material.

Objectives

Protect and encourage biodiversity on UPM’s lands
Support a sustainable forest management and supply
Reduce buried wastes

APPROACH

The UPM’s program for forest biodiversity is based on 6 keys issues:

1. Maintain and increase the proportion of indigene species. Those trees offer habitat and food for many species; as a result they actively contribute to the forest ecosystem’s functioning.
2. Protect the quantity and quality of deadwood, necessary to the preservation of biodiversity (insects, mushrooms, birds). The deadwood offers nutriments that can be used by others vegetables when they are back to the soil.
3. Preserve special habitats (small habitats can also be a housing environment for rare species).
4. Maintain structure’s variety in the forests, necessary as well as vertically as horizontally for many species to develop in small space or in the whole forest
5. Secure humid zones and water bodies. Water is a necessary resource for agriculture and industry, but also for the daily human use. Lakes and rivers offer housing environment for many mammals, fishes, birds, insects and plants.
6. Establish protection’s plans for the last natural forest in order to prevent from natural aggressions as insects and diseases, but also fire, wind, snow. Natural forests are necessary to research and education.