Estonia's forests gain new, stricter FSC standard after decade

After nearly ten years of negotiations, Estonia has adopted a new sustainable forestry standard. According to FSC Estonia CEO Indrek Talpsep, it is a gold standard for forestry that is stricter than national law in several key aspects. The standard affects more than half of Estonia's forest area.

Estonia now has a new sustainable forestry standard, which took nearly a decade of intense negotiations, compromises and even walkouts from protest meetings to achieve. According to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Estonia CEO Indrek Talpsep, it is a gold standard for forestry that sets requirements higher than national law on several important issues.

What changes in the forests?

The new standard affects more than half of Estonia's forest area, making it a significant change for forest owners, timber producers and conservationists alike. The FSC certificate provides market confidence that timber comes from responsibly managed forests — this is important both for export and international buyers.

Years of negotiations

Developing the standard has been a long and complex process involving timber producers, state institutions and environmental organisations at the negotiating table. Different interests collided repeatedly, so agreement was reached only after years of disputes. At times, tensions were so high that participants walked out of meetings to signal their disagreement with proposed solutions.

Stricter than national law

A distinctive feature of the FSC standard is that it does not confine itself to merely meeting minimum legal requirements, but goes further on several important points. This means that certified forest owners must comply with additional conditions covering, for example, biodiversity, old-growth forest protection and harvesting terms. The new standard should give Estonian forestry a stronger foundation to meet growing international pressure for more environmentally friendly timber production.