The conflict between traditional and scientific forest management in 20th century Finland

Abstract

The forest sector has played a crucial role in Finland's national economy. The objective of this paper is to discuss the adaptation of the ideas of scientific forest management practices to Finnish private forestry and the reactions of the private forest owners. The key concepts are forest management by the selection system and devastation of the forests. The conflict between private forest owners and the forestry boards, representing scientific forest management, was entangled around these concepts and their interpretation throughout the period from the 1920s to the 1980s. This conflict is illustrated through a concrete example at the municipal level. The analysis is based on documents related to infringements of the law concerning private forests. The authorities and scientists used forest improvement acts, the first of which was introduced in the late 1920s, to promote their mission of intensifying wood production, and by this means the private forest owners who favoured ‘traditional’ methods of managing their forests were pushed into following the instructions of the forest authorities. Thus the interests and needs of private forest owners were bypassed in forestry planning. The strict interpretation of the Private Forests Act enabled the forest sector to achieve its goal, but it went too far in the intensification of forestry in the 1960s and 1970s. The ‘rebellion’ against intensive forestry in the early 1980s was a clear reflection of the need to take the forest owners’ diverse wishes into account as well in matters of forest management.