Trilemma of Nordic–Baltic Forestry—How to Implement UN Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Forests are the dominant land cover in Nordic–Baltic countries, and forestry, the management of forests for improved ecosystem-service (ES) delivery, is an important contributor to sustainability. Forests and forestry support multiple United Nations Sustainability Goals (UN SDGs) and a number of EU policies, and can address conflicting environmental goals. Forests provide multiple ecosystem services and natural solutions, including wood and fibre production, food, clear and clean water and air, animal and plant habitats, soil formation, aesthetics, and cultural and social services. Carbon sequestered by growing trees is a key factor in the envisaged transition from a fossil-based to a biobased economy. Here, we highlight the possibilities of forest-based solutions to mitigate current and emerging societal challenges. We discuss forestry effects on forest ecosystems, focusing on the optimisation of ES delivery and the fulfilment of UN SDGs while counteracting unwanted effects. In particular, we highlight the trilemma of (i) increasing wood production to substitute raw fossil materials, (ii) increasing forest carbon storage capacity, and (iii) improving forest biodiversity and other ES delivery.

Leveraging research infrastructure co-location to evaluate constraints on terrestrial carbon cycling in northern European forests

“…The Green Deal identifies a number of possibilities including simple “traffic light” approaches where indicators are colour coded red, yellow or green depending on severity (Futter et al 2016 ). Another approach would be to use the strategy exemplified by Högbom et al ( 2021 ) where scientific synthesis supported targeted communication with EU decision makers.…”

“…A holistic understanding of carbon dynamics in northern European forests requires multiple forms of knowledge. These include: current and future societal perspectives on the bioeconomy (Rakovic et al 2020 ); robust assessment of GHG fluxes (e.g., Chi et al 2019 ); quantification of ecosystem pressures (Vuorenmaa et al 2018 ); new insights into controls on ecosystem service delivery (Holmberg et al 2019 ; Laudon et al 2021 ); and possible policy responses (Venäläinen et al 2020 ; Högbom et al 2021 ). Synthesizing new knowledge across each of these areas is a prerequisite for meeting the ambitious demands of the European Green Deal.…”

“…Forests cover 35% of the European land mass and more than two thirds of the European forest area is located in the boreal and temperate ecozones (Forest Europe 2020 ). The Fennoscandic forest is relatively homogeneous due to a long history of management including timber production and fire suppression with relatively little set aside for nature conservation or other values (Högbom et al 2021 ).…”

“…A complete understanding of the terrestrial carbon sink requires knowledge about people living and working in the forest and the decisions they make. Much of the Fennoscandic forest is intensively managed for timber production and increasingly for other ecosystem services (Högbom et al 2021 ) and in both Sweden (Petersson et al 2022 ) and Finland (Forsius et al 2023 ) the forestry sector is an important player in achieving carbon goals.…”

Wind energy development can lead to guild‐specific habitat loss in boreal forest bats

“…Boreal forests are some of the most heavily exploited types of land-cover in these countries (Zhou et al 2021). The rapid expansion of onshore wind energy infrastructure in Nordic countries in the Fennoscandian region (Norway, Sweden, Finland) is expected include substantial installation in forests (Högbom et al 2021). Rehbein et al (2020) found that large wind parks already overlap with key biodiversity areas such as forests, and will continue to be developed in such areas, in Fennoscandia.…”