Stora Enso’s new biodiversity programme includes over 30 action plans to enhance nature values and strengthen biodiversity across its forests in Sweden.
June 20, 2022
Stora Enso has introduced a biodiversity programme and related targets for its forested land holdings in Sweden. With five focus areas, the programme has specific actions and measurable targets for 2030.
As Stora Enso is one of the country’s largest forest owners with 1.4 million hectares of land in Sweden, and the company, safeguarding biodiversity has been an integral part of the company’s forest management practices. The recently introduced programme is looking to bolster this approach further.
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The new biodiversity programme with more than 30 actions will lead to increased nature values and strengthened biodiversity across Stora Enso’s land holdings in Sweden. Some examples of activities from the programme’s focus areas and main targets for 2030 include:
- Deadwood: More than 40 percent of red-listed forest species depend on deadwood which the company aims to increase on its land holdings by 40 percent.
- Broadleaved trees: Stora Enso will double the number of broadleaved trees in young forests and plant 700,000 birch trees annually.
- Water: The company plans to identify four major water landscapes for restoration and remove migration barriers in all identified valuable watercourses.
- Species and habitats: The new biodiversity programme is focussed on protecting four umbrella species, which in turn benefit hundreds of other red-listed species.
- Active biodiversity management: With this, the company intends to increase annual prescribed burning by 20 percent on average in the protected areas over a five-year period.
Initially, the company makes use of selected forest areas in order to test and develop biodiversity management practices. This work is carried out in close collaboration with universities, environmental organisations, NGOs, and authorities to share knowledge and foster joint innovation and development.
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“Forest biodiversity is largely about creating a diverse forest landscape. Different structures, different ages, and different forest types are important parameters for biodiversity. Stora Enso’s biodiversity programme aims to create a mosaic in the landscape, increase variation and promote nature values throughout the forest land,” says Ms. Ida Bränngård, Head of Forest Management at Stora Enso Skog.
