It must be possible for forest owners to formally protect larger areas than today, and the compensation must be increased in some cases. These are just some of the of nine proposals submitted to the Swedish government by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Norwegian Forestry Agency with the aim of making it more attractive to protect forests with high natural values. Source: Timberbiz
Biotope protection is the most common form of formal forest protection where forest owners receive compensation for exempting the forest from forestry due to high natural values.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and the Swedish Forestry Agency have, on behalf of the government, drawn up proposals on how the form of protection can be developed and become more effective and attractive to landowners.
Among other things, it is proposed that biotope protection areas should be twice as large and that the compensation for nature conservation agreements in forests close to mountains be increased substantially.
More flexible and adapted forms of forest protection are a way to even better take advantage of landowners’ will to preserve and protect biologically valuable forests, says Johan Eriksson, deputy head of the Forestry Department, Norwegian Forestry Agency.
Some of the suggestions:
- Biotope protection areas must be able to cover areas with a size of up to 50 hectares. The proposal means that biotope protection areas larger than the current 25 hectares should be able to be formed, mainly in the area near the mountains and in some cases also in the rest of the country.
- A variant of nature conservation agreement is introduced above the border for forest close to the mountains with the possibility of adapted use. In nature conservation agreements above the limit for forest close to mountains, it must be possible to accommodate a landowner’s wishes for a certain, limited use for domestic needs. A prerequisite is that the natural values are only marginally affected.
- The compensation for nature conservation agreements is raised above the limit for forests close to mountains. The proposal means that for the longest contract period of 50 years, it could be up to a doubling compared to today’s compensation level.
- A forested base road must be able to be exempted from a biotope protection area. It must be possible to exempt a small part of a biotope protection area consisting of an existing forested base road, the use of which is not judged to negatively affect the natural values in the biotope protection.
The report also contains a proposal to consider introducing a species protection agreement, a special variant of nature conservation agreement to specifically manage species protection in ordinary habitats. The agreement can be adapted to species- and situation-specific needs and can be an alternative when limited forestry is carried out within the framework of species protection.
-The proposals have been agreed upon with companies and organizations and the response has been positive, according to Maria Tiricke, head of unit, Swedish Environmental Protection Agency.
