Report: the forest debate is not hopelessly divided

The divide between actors in the forestry sector is more pronounced in public than in non-public encounters, according to a summary of the confidential dialogues that brought the different actors together.

The Confidential Forest Dialogues, organised by the Kone Foundation’s Metsän puolella (“For the Woods”) initiative and Dialogue Academy, brought together forest sector actors. Participants included employees of nature conservation organisations, people working in the forest industry, forest owners, researchers, authorities, activists and artists.

Although the complexity of forest issues and the related conlficts and tensions aroused strong emotions among participants, the opposition between the different parties was found to be more pronounced in public than in non-public encounters. The perception of forest-related problems was surprisingly common among the different actors.

Big picture issues, such as the need for sustainable forest management and its broad ecological, social and economic impacts, were mostly shared.

There were differences of opinion on issues such as the urgency of change, the timing and the measures needed. Different actors also placed different emphasis on environmental, economic and social sustainability. Some felt that ecological sustainability creates the framework conditions for economic and social sustainability, while others saw the need to seek trade-offs between these dimensions.

It was recognised that we are increasingly facing ecological and social crises and that we cannot take the necessary decisions by relying on the solutions of the past.

“It was encouraging to see that, despite the tensions, the discussions helped to build an atmosphere of trust and confidence, which helped to better understand divergent perspectives. Increasing mutual trust is therefore a necessary step on the long-term common journey towards new solutions and actions related to forests,” says Mari Pantsar, Change Manager of the Kone Foundation’s Metsän puolella Initiative.

The public summarising report opens up the key themes that emerged from the dialogues: stories, meanings and values, the core tension between economy and ecology, the lack of common facts, the many modes of ownership, learning from past mistakes, the need for a shared situational picture and vision, the impact of social media and professional media, the perceptions of each other, and hidden power and money. The summary draws out the different dimensions, pain points and tensions in the Finnish forest debate. The report can be downloaded from this link.

The Confidential Forest Dialogues are part of a broader ongoing effort to generate different alternative scenarios for the future of forests in Finland and to support the reform of forest-related activities.

The next event will be the Great Forest Dialogue Day on 2 April 2025, open to all.

The event has been designed by Timo Lehesvirta, Mari Pantsar, Minka Virtanen and Janne Kareinen.

Further information

Mari Pantsar, Change Manager, Kone Foundation Metsän puolella, mari.pantsar@koneensaatio.fi, tel. 050 3820755

Timo Lehesvirta, Leading Nature Expert, Metsä Group, timo.lehesvirta@metsagroup.com, 0400752212

Janne Kareinen, Director, Dialogue Academy, janne.kareinen@dialogiakatemia.fi, tel. 0456316516