Trilemma of Nordic–Baltic Forestry—How to Implement UN Sustainable Development Goals

Lars Högbom, Dalia Abbas, Kęstutis Armolaitis, Endijs Baders, Martyn Futter, Aris Jansons, Kalev Jõgiste, Andis Lazdins, Diana Lukminė, Mika Mustonen, Knut Øistad, Anneli Poska, Pasi Rautio, Johan Svensson, Floor Vodde, Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė, Jan Weslien, Lars Wilhelmsson and Daiga Zute
Additional contact information
Lars Högbom: The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden–Skogforsk, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
Dalia Abbas: Department of Environmental Science, American University, Washington, DC 20016, USA
Kęstutis Armolaitis: LAMMC, Institute of Forestry, Girionys, Kaunas District, 501 27 Kaunas, Lithuania
Endijs Baders: SILAVA, Latvian State Forest Institute, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Martyn Futter: Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), P.O. Box 7010, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Aris Jansons: SILAVA, Latvian State Forest Institute, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Kalev Jõgiste: Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51006 Tartu, Estonia
Andis Lazdins: SILAVA, Latvian State Forest Institute, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia
Diana Lukminė: LAMMC, Institute of Forestry, Girionys, Kaunas District, 501 27 Kaunas, Lithuania
Mika Mustonen: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), P.O. Box 2, FI-00791 Helsinki, Finland
Knut Øistad: NiBio, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, 1431 As, Norway
Anneli Poska: Department of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
Pasi Rautio: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Ounasjoentie 6, FI-96200 Rovaniemi, Finland
Johan Svensson: Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), 901 03 Umeå, Sweden
Floor Vodde: Institute of Forestry and Rural Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 5, 51006 Tartu, Estonia
Iveta Varnagirytė-Kabašinskienė: LAMMC, Institute of Forestry, Girionys, Kaunas District, 501 27 Kaunas, Lithuania
Jan Weslien: The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden–Skogforsk, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
Lars Wilhelmsson: The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden–Skogforsk, 751 83 Uppsala, Sweden
Daiga Zute: SILAVA, Latvian State Forest Institute, LV-2169 Salaspils, Latvia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Forests are the dominant land cover in Nordic–Baltic countries, and forestry, the management of forests for improved ecosystem-service (ES) delivery, is an important contributor to sustainability. Forests and forestry support multiple United Nations Sustainability Goals (UN SDGs) and a number of EU policies, and can address conflicting environmental goals. Forests provide multiple ecosystem services and natural solutions, including wood and fibre production, food, clear and clean water and air, animal and plant habitats, soil formation, aesthetics, and cultural and social services. Carbon sequestered by growing trees is a key factor in the envisaged transition from a fossil-based to a biobased economy. Here, we highlight the possibilities of forest-based solutions to mitigate current and emerging societal challenges. We discuss forestry effects on forest ecosystems, focusing on the optimisation of ES delivery and the fulfilment of UN SDGs while counteracting unwanted effects. In particular, we highlight the trilemma of (i) increasing wood production to substitute raw fossil materials, (ii) increasing forest carbon storage capacity, and (iii) improving forest biodiversity and other ES delivery.

Keywords: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; ecosystem services; forest; forestry; management practices; European Green Deal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/10/5643/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/10/5643/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:10:p:5643-:d:556876

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().