Jasper Pääkkönen proposes a solution to Stora Enso’s raw materials scandal – 2024-08-26 19:12:55

Jasper Pääkkönen commented on the brutal news for Iltalehti. OUTI LAKE

Actor and salmon activist Jasper Pääkkönen commented to Iltalehti via text message about the sad fate of the river pearl mussels in Suomussalmi. Stora Enso’s forest machine drove over Hukkajoki several times at the logging site last week. At the crossing point of the river, the occurrence of scum was at its densest. Even thousands of highly endangered raccoons have died.

– Unfortunately, the destruction of Suomussalmi reflects the prevailing indifference in Finland towards the endangered river nature and flora. This is by no means an isolated case, but it is all too common that forest machines are driven over streams and small bodies of water, with disastrous consequences, Pääkkönen writes.

– I hope that the entire forestry industry will take notice of this gross nature conservation crime and change its practices.

The preliminary investigation of the case is only at the beginning, and the police have not yet taken a position on which parties are suspected of the crime.

Pääkkönen reminds that 589 euros is set as a compensation value for a raw animal in the law.

– I assume that Stora Enso will pay the compensation value of the thousands of raw materials they destroyed without hesitation. “Responsibility can be seen in all our activities”, the listed company in question advertises on its website.

Pääkkönen also reflects on the reasons why Finland’s raw stocks are under threat.

– In addition to forestry, the biggest culprit is hydropower, falsely marketed as environmentally friendly: the damming of rivers for electricity production is a major reason for the threat of raw stocks.

Pääkkösen also has a change proposal for the situation of the raws. He emphasizes the importance of legislation in nature conservation.

– I would see that the 50-meter protection zone of forest management, which is currently only a recommendation, should be made mandatory. When voluntary action is demonstrably unable to protect endangered species and their habitats, the matter should be regulated by law.

When talking about water bodies, Pääkkönen brings up the way stream protection fell outside the scope of the Nature Conservation Act.

– According to what they told the parliament, several MPs of the coalition voted “accidentally wrongly”, and the streams were excluded from protection. They promised to return to the matter and correct the mistake, but nothing has happened to correct it, Pääkkönen commented.

He reminds us that stream nature and the vast majority of Finland’s stream water nature types are endangered.

– It is shameless that their protection is treated with such indifference.