Erik Hoffner: Sweden’s Green Veneer Hides Unsustainable Logging Practices

Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows that I am a lover of both Finland and Scandinavia in general. I’ve spent so much time in the north of Europe that it is very much like my second home – my children are Finnish citizens.

But for goodness sake, I have never been able to comprehend why the world gives the Scandinavian countries a pass on their horrifically un-sustainable forestry practices. I railed against this in my book Notes for the Aurora Society and now freelance photojournalist Erik Hoffner has come to the same conclusion in his look at Swedish forestry practices.

While forestry companies proclaim the saintliness of the Swedish Forestry Model and the government of Sweden itself claims that over 45% of the country is certified as sustainably managed, the truth is grim.

Sweden has a reputation as being one of the world’s most environmentally progressive nations. But its surprisingly lax forestry laws often leave decisions about logging to the timber companies — and as a result, large swaths of biologically-rich boreal forest are being lost.

I strongly encourage you to read Erik Hoffner’s article Sweden’s Green Veneer Hides
Unsustainable Logging Practices and and view his photographs of Swedish forestry practices.

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