Over the weekend, Max, Phil, Jarmo and some more of the team met with Matti Karjula (Senior Vice President of Timber Procurement at StoraEnso, the paper company). After picking him up at Ivalo airport, they took him to the Nellim forests to meet a group of Sámi reindeer herders. This gathering took place in one our traditional Sámi tents, where a group of activists had put up demarcation signs (Reindeer Forests, No Logging) in anticipation of his visit.

Earlier in the week, Mr Karjula was quoted in a local newspaper, in response to the joint demands of the reindeer herders and ourselves: "We do not agree on this, even though the wood is not necessary for us."

However, after this meeting, Mr Karjula agreed with us that Nellim was an urgent case and that he would contact Metsähallitus (Finnish state logger) to persuade them to stop logging in the area. He was also amazed by the beauty of the area. Our campaigners provided him more detailed information about the situation, and explained how a moratorium in Nellim wasn't the only thing needed. He did however, express his hope that Greenpeace would stop sending letters to his customers!

As he was left the Nellim forests, Mr Karjula promised to call Metsähallitus to ask them to stop logging in Nellim forests. And he was true to his word.

Today, we began hearing - via the regional media - that Metsähallitus has made a move. Max got on the phone to their head office in Helsinki, and found that Metsähallitus was ceasing its operation in the Nellim forests.

But let's not get too excited, not yet. What we've now got is a sort of 'temporary default moratorium' on logging in Nellim. Metsähallitus have stated that will last until at least after the meeting proposed by their clients, StoraEnso, and the reindeer herders - who have submitted a letter detailing their conditions for the meeting.

Also, Nellim is just one area that we've identified for protection - there's still other areas, so we're hoping that another important forest isn't now targeted as a result of this moratorium.

This evening, the story has been all over the radio and television, including radio interviews involving Petteri and two reindeer herders.

Meanwhile, our activists are still out in the forests, still demarcating the boundaries of the reindeer herding areas.

- Dave