Blog
See Last Yoik in Saami Forests - documentary preview
June 5, 2007
Documentary film by Union of Ecoforestry in Finland and Saami Council is available as DVD. You can order your copy from Union of Ecoforestry website. Short introduction can be viewed in YouTube
May 31, 2007
Logging has restarted in the disputed Saami reindeer forests in Inari. Finnish state has decided to continue the destruction of old-growth wilderness forests in Kessi. Photos from current logging operations can be viewed in the Finnish weblog. Read what Saami Council has to say.
Continue reading "Logging restarted in the disputed forests"
September 27, 2006
Finnish governmental forestry service Metsahallitus is planning logging in the wilderness forests of Kessi. The buyer of old-growth forest wood is most likely Botnia pulp mill in Kemi, supplying M-Real´s Kemiart mills. See photos taken in planned logging sites.
Continue reading "Photos from planned logging sites in Kessi wilderness"
Forestry enterprise Metsahallitus has since August been logging in crucially important reindeer grazing forests in Muddusjärvi reindeer herding co-operative´s area. According to the reindeer herders, Metsähallitus did not negotiate about the logging plans and the opinions of the herders were not taken into account.
Continue reading "Reindeer herders in Inari: most recent negotiations with Metsähallitus failed"
June 22, 2006
Joint working group of Inari reindeer herding co-operatives sent out a press release on June 21st. They are disappointed on the Natural Resources Plan of Metsähallitus. The reindeer herders call for negotiations, but Metsähallitus will start logging in August.
Continue reading "Inari reindeer herders disappointed on Natural Resources Plan"
June 18, 2006
Forestry enterprise Metsahallitus is preparing to restart logging in the disputed old-growth forests in Inari. Logging sites and roadline-plans have been marked in reindeer grazing forests in Hammastunturi and Paatsjoki reindeer herding co-operative´s areas. Metsahallitus has not negotiated with the reindeer herders about the loggings. There are hundreds of occurrences of red-listed species in the planned logging sites.
Continue reading "Metsähallitus plans to restart logging in disputed areas"
May 17, 2006
The Saami Council presents a video reportage about logging in reindeer forests in Inari. The Last Yoik in Saami Forests?- report will be presented in connection on the fifth session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held in New York from 15 to 26 May.
Continue reading "Saami Council releases video-reportage"
February 23, 2006
Governmental forestry enterprise Metsähallitus is transporting logs from old-growth forests and reindeer forest areas to pulp and paper industry again. Wood logged from conflict areas has been transported to storage-areas, railway stations and loaded into trains destined for Metsa-Botnia pulp mill in Kemi.
Continue reading "Finnish forest industry being supplied with conflict timber again"
January 21, 2006
It's the darkest time of the year - "skábma" in Sámi language. Since Christmas week, however, it has been getting more light up in Inari, even though this week has been record cold. Since the UN Human Rights commission forbade logging in Nellim, the state owned forestry enterprise Metsähallitus has started and expanded logging in the other threatened reindeer forests in the municipality.
Continue reading ""Skábma" in Inari"
November 29, 2005
Greenpeace activists from four different European countries protested today at the Stora Enso mill in Wapenweld in the Netherlands. The protest was aimed at the unsustainable way the company acquires timber from Upper Lapland in Finland. The activists painted the words "forest crime" on the factory wall, on top of the company logo. Even though timber deliveries to Stora Enso have for the time being been stopped, the company has not been willing to take a decision not to buy timber from the disputed areas. The Netherlands together with Germany, Great Britain and Italy is one of the most important clients of Finnish paper industry.
Continue reading "Protest at Stora Enso mill in the Netherlands"
November 27, 2005
On Monday, 14th November, the UN Human Rights Committee forbade the continuing logging in Nellim, Inari. The decision was delivered to the government of Finland and is temporary. The decision was taken in order to be able to secure a fair trial for the three reindeer herders who sued Metsähallitus and who were demanded a guarantee sum of over one million euros for the termination of logging in their grazing forests. The Finnish government has half a year to answer the committee on alleged human rights violations.
Continue reading "Update from Lapland"
November 11, 2005
The actions taking place this week created a variety of different kind of response. Both the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture and Metsähallitus announced that they are not breaking any laws and that they continue negotiations with reindeer herders about planned loggings. However on 8th November a representative of the Ministry, Mr Aarne Reunala, admitted in a radio interview that their negotiations are "not really true" and that the negotiations terminated in June have not been continued. "It's rather discussion but not negotiation, one might say", Mr Reunala said. Perhaps it's righteous to say that the Ministry has somewhat stretched the truth in its press release?
Continue reading "Response to actions"
November 10, 2005
Antares, the freight ship carrying fine paper originating from old growth reindeer forests in Northern Finland, was stopped from entering Lübeck harbour early this morning. Greenpeace activists from several different European countries tried to stop the ship already on Monday when it was loading cargo in Kemi, Finland. Upon its arrival to Germany more activists blocked the entrance way to Lübeck harbour, forcing the ship to turn back to sea. Activists are protesting against the unsustainable way of acquiring timber by the cargo holder, paper and pulp giant Stora Enso.
Continue reading "Paper ship stopped in Lübeck"
November 7, 2005
Early on Monday morning six Greenpeace inflatables together with swimmers and climbers surrounded a freight ship carrying paper from Stora Enso's mill in Kemi. The ship was scheduled to leave Veitsiluoto harbour for Germany, but due to the activists' resistance the ship was delayed until the evening. The police joint forces with the coast guard, customs and fire brigade to bring down the climbers and to arrest all boat crews, thereby allowing export of paper originating from the last remaining ancient forests in Europe.
Stora Enso was against buying timber from Sámi reindeer forests last spring when the company was contacted by Greenpeace. After the the state owned forestry enterprise Metsähallitus terminated negotiations with reindeer herders in June Stora Enso has however continued buying timber originating from the disputed area.
Continue reading "Action for ancient forests in Kemi harbour"
October 30, 2005
On 26th October the district court in Lapland ordered that all logging has to be stopped in the reindeer grazing forests in Nellim, Inari. According to the Finnish National Broadcasting news, Yle, Metsähallitus is not going to stop its logging operations unless it gets an official "final decision" by the rural police chief of Inari.
Continue reading "Metsähallitus ignores court order"
October 28, 2005
As the moratorium on logging in the mapped forests was terminated in June, the state owned forestry enterprise Metsähallitus has started logging operations in several co-operatives' areas. The first loggings took place in August, and in October the reindeer herding co-operatives found more grazing forests marked for logging.
Continue reading "Metsähallitus logs again in reindeer forests"
May 28, 2005
Ijahis Idja means nightless night in Sámi language, referring to the fact that this far north the sun doesn't set again before the end of July. It is also the name of the indigenous people's music festival, which is arranged for the second time in Inari this weekend.
Continue reading "Ijahis Idja music festival in Inari"
May 27, 2005
The temperature rose quickly and the snow up on the fells started to melt creating the worst floods for years in Lapland. Also the municipality of Inari is affected. Luckily Inari village, where our office is situated, is not close to any major rivers. Instead, we are waiting for the lake Inarijärvi to shed its ice cover.
Continue reading "Floods in Lapland"
May 24, 2005
During the weekend a small Greenpeace group visited the sites of the two rescue stations. The spring was finally coming, and the roads were soft and at places covered with water or slush. There was still plenty of snow left in the forest but it was melting fast.
Continue reading "Forest Rescue Stations revisited"
May 23, 2005
Four members of the Finnish parliament asked the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Juha Korkeaoja about the situation in Upper Lapland. The answer that the minister provided on May 16th sounded more than inappropriate coming from someone in his position.
Continue reading "Minister gives an inappropriate statement"
May 20, 2005
A seminar on the issue of equality was held at the Sámi Museum, Siida, on Monday, May 16th. The seminar was arranged by the Sámi parliament and a EU-financed project conducted by different ministries, to promote equality in our society. The position of the Sámi people, laws forbidding discrimination, the situation of Sámi youth, and promoting equality in life methodically were discussed in the seminar. A group of speakers representing Sámi people, different organizations, and ministries were present.
Continue reading "Logging in reindeer forests discussed in equality seminar in Inari"
May 19, 2005
Greenpeace is back in Inari after a few weeks of well deserved holidays. The spring is here and the snow is melting fast. The negotiations between reindeer herders and Metsähallitus continue June 9th. We will be posting campaign updates here on the website. Unfortunately we will not be able to maintain the comments section.
April 28, 2005
The Forest Rescue Station weblog will be taking a break for a few weeks. Hope to see you all here again soon!
Desiderata - A Letter from the Forest Rescue StationApril 26, 2005
[Written by Rosso at the Forest Rescue Station, Nellim, Finland, 23rd April 2005]
Here I am, finally, writing a few lines that I wish from the depth of my heart to dedicate to all the little vulnerable beautiful warriors, the amazing characters that have filled my heart and soul with their presence, all those that have shared with me this extreme experience, these two last weeks that no one of us will never be able to forget even if wanted to. We got, against our wishes and expectations, involved in this unbelievable 'battle' near Nellim, resisting with a smiling (if tired) face to the most systematic act of intimidation we ever had to face before in our life.
Continue reading "Desiderata - A Letter from the Forest Rescue Station"
April 25, 2005
An eventful Sunday evening! Early on, we had been stuffing ourselves with reindeer soup at a feast laid on for us by local reindeer herders. Petteri, Anisha, Timo and I left early, arrived at the Forest Rescue Station around 8pm, where Harry, one of the many Mattis, Jean-Jaques and Ric has already lifted the equipment container on the truck. Three guys from the "Anti-Terror Info Centre" were there, and it was obvious that they had been drinking quite a bit. They were also demanding that we give them some of our stuff.
Continue reading "Last Night at the Camp: Where Did They All Go?"
April 24, 2005
A few days ago, students from the Educational Centre for the Sámi Area invited us to visit. Situated just outside Inari, towards Lemmenjoki, the state-owned centre is primarily for the education of people from the Sámi Area, to preserve and to develop Sámi culture and nature/based production, and to produce educational material in the Sámi language. We were guided by Irina, who comes from Loppi in Southern Finland. She told us that when she came to the school in Inari a couple of years ago, more than half of the students came from outside Lapland, but during the past couple of years the newly-introduced multimedia educational programs have brought many more students from Lapland. The past years the school has also intensified co-operation with other Northern people, which has brought exchange students to Inari especially from Russia, Sweden, Norway and Canada.
Continue reading "From Loppi to Lappi: A Visit to The Educational center of the Sámi Area"
Interesting news on YLE Sámi TV earlier - Seppo Huovinen, Metsaähallitus' union representative said that he was glad that we're leaving. He reckoned it was because we had lost 'belief in our cause', and had got nervous because of our lack of support from local people. He even said that they would cover the costs of our flights home! Sadly enough, Seppo, many of us aren't leaving Inari, and those of us who are, well - Greenpeace has a policy on this issue:
Continue reading "Breaking News: We're Not Going Anywhere!"
April 22, 2005
The stillness of the night is broken by the sound of air raid sirens, rock music and chainsaws. Men in balaclavas and combat gear prowl around, looking in windows, blowing horns in the ears of anyone they can get close to. At midnight, dangerous machinery is driven close to where people are trying to sleep, and trees are felled and burned. Foul smelling liquids and chicken faeces are daubed on doors and walls. Crosses are burned and waved, hangman's nooses left hanging from trees. Snowscooters are driven by high speed - endangering anyone who might get in the way. Death threats are the order of the day.
Welcome to Finland, April 2005 - an EU country that likes to pride itself on both its environmental and human rights credentials. And these are the tactics carried out by members of the so-called "Anti-Terror Info Center", set up by employees of, and with the permission of the state-owned forestry company, Metsällitus. The people organising the "Anti-Terror" camp use Metsähallitus clothing and Metsähallitus mobile phone numbers. Their plan is to drive Greenpeace activists out of the Forest Rescue Station. Night after night, since April 7th, in the woods of Nellim, Lapland, our activists have been subjected to systematic - but also chaotic - intimidation and violence intended to break their spirit, and deprive them of sleep.
Continue reading "Terror Tactics in Finnish Forests"
This morning's press conference at the Kultahovi Hotel was a joint operation between ourselves and the Saami Council, which was represented by Kati Eriksen, Vice Chairperson. This was an important day - The Saami Council has issued a press release on the whole situation here, as a pledge of solidarity from other Saami regions in Sweden, Norway and Russia.
Continue reading "All Change: Press Conference This Morning"
April 21, 2005
Right, so here's the update on the UN Human Rights Committee issue...
Yesterday, the Metsähallitus and the Finnish ministry for foreign affairs made an announcement concerning the UN Human Rights Committee's decision to reject a complaint, filed by two Sámi reindeer herders from the Muotkatunturi cooperative in Angeli, Inari, in 2001 because of Metsähallitus logging of forests in the area.
April 19, 2005
Six of our activists (4 Finns, 1 Dutch and 1 German) have been arrested - carried from inside the Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture - and away to a police station. However, it seems that the police were quite courteous about the whole thing, despite everything!
Meanwhile, our climbers managed to get down off the building safely - and didn't get arrested. Janet, UK activist and climber, said that the weather was lovely up there, "nice and sunny, but very cold - bitter. We got down without incident, and the police took our names and addresses".
So far, the Ministry for Forestry and Agriculture has yet to comment on our actions...
Update 15:30. Activists have been fined, and released.
Helsinki Action
Breaking news: A bunch of our activists are currently hanging off the the building of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in Helsinki. At 9am, activists from six countries (Finland, Sweden, The Netherlands, UK, Spain and Germany) delivered a truckload of logging waste all up the main staircase of the offices, while five climbers scaled the building and unfurled a banner that read:
Don’t Finnish the Sámi forests
The activists are still in place!
Continue reading "Helsinki Action"
April 16, 2005
A few days ago, we mentioned that members of Metsähallitus "Anti-Terror-Info Center" has started using air-raid sirens to keep our activists from sleeping. Their behaviour even extended to waving flaming crucifixes at us in the small hours of the night. Every night a variety of horns, whistles and sirens are blasted, in an effort to keep us awake. A car stereo has been used to play one song over and over again, at a high volume, and every night they bang an old steel oil-drum with sticks or a crowbar.
Last night - the night of Friday-Saturday - it got even worse. A forestry-machine (a combined harvester and log transporter) was driven right into the Forest Rescue Station area, right beside the famous red Greenpeace kota (tent) and the living containers.
Continue reading "Dangerous Doings From Metsähallitus' "Anti-Terror-Info-Camp""
April 15, 2005
Would you like to get in touch with all the Greenpeace activists out braving the arctic weather conditions?
Continue reading "Send Us A Message"
Morning broke early on Thursday morning for the authors who braved sleeping outside at the Forest Rescue Station. Ken Finn (UK) and Lydia Root (Dutch) slept directly under the stars and the northern lights. Javier and his wife Theresa (Spain) slept in a bivouac - but more or less outside! They all said the experience was great and were barely disturbed by the noisy activities of the 'Anti Terror Info Centre' campers. In fact, they were quite disappointed to have slept through the air raid siren and the pyrotechnical display of burning wooden crucifixes at 4am.
Continue reading "Update from the Author's Tour"
April 14, 2005
Lydia Rood, is a Dutch novelist, and writer of children's books. She tells us of her experiences in the forests of Finland...
When I woke up this morning, there was snow on the floor beside me and the book I had been reading last night looked wrinkled. Not surprising, as I had slept in the tepee, or kota, of the hotel with its open rooftop. I took up the book (it was still too early to bother anyone with my presence) and read on where I had left off. The story, by Mikael Niemi, was still great. Yet the paper it was printed on looked like toilet paper.
Continue reading "Lydia Rood, Dutch Author"
UK Author Ken Finn, author of My Journey With A Remarkable Tree was part of the author tour. He gives us his thoughts on his visit to the Forest Rescue Station.
I am here with a group of Authors from Europe visiting the Greenpeace Forest Rescue Station. Over the last couple of days we've seen a beautiful and ancient forest at risk.
Continue reading "Some words from Ken Finn, UK Author"
April 13, 2005
Its been a great day today. We've spent all of it out in the beautiful forests of Kessi. The area we visited was an old growth area, critical to the local reindeer herding cooperative, which is set to be logged in the near future.
Continue reading "In The Forests With the Authors"
It's been a hectic few days at the Forest Rescue Station - seven writers from around Europe came to visit us! But it was more than a social call, they were here to bear witness to the destruction of ancient forests here in Finland. On board the 'Authors Tour' are Javier Moro from Spain, Niccolo Ammaniti (Italy), Ken Finn (U.K.), Karel Verleyen (Belgium), Aurélie Filipetti (France), Robin Valtiala (Finland) and Lydia Rood (The Netherlands). They're visiting as part of the Greenpeace Book Campaign - which aims to convince the book publishing industry that it needs to stop using paper which comes from the destruction of ancient forest, such as those in Finland, Russia and Canada.
Continue reading "Greenpeace Authors Tour Arrives!"
I am very honoured to be invited here by Greenpeace, and I would also like to welcome Greenpeace here to the land of the Sápmi. I think it's very good and important that you guys are here, helping us to try to protect our forests. It's not so easy for the Sápmi people to do the protection by ourselves. We are a small tribe, and we are divided across four different countries.
Continue reading "Nillas' Speech at the Forest Rescue Station"
April 12, 2005
It's a Monday evening in Lapland. I'm on my knees, facing north, singing a wolf yoik with 22 other people - Sámi activists and artists, and Greenpeace people from all over Europe. We're inside a modern version of the traditional Sámi kota - like a teepee. This is a classy number, with a stove and chimney, and a is made of interlocking metal tubes, rather than the usual wooden poles. It's the kota of Niillas Somby, his partner Mardoeke and their little daughter, and they have come to the Forest Rescue Station, not only to visit and show support, but to carry out this ceremony.
Continue reading "The Wolf Yoik"
April 10, 2005
An interesting day. A minor road accident and some dialogue with the loggers camp! This afternoon we had a visitor to the camp - a representative of another Finnish non-governmental organisation, who was coming to visit, and was giving a lift to a couple of our guys. As the came past the logger's camp down the hill, their car's wheels spun on the slushy snow, causing it to slide towards the side of the road, where it tapped into the back of a parked snowscooter, breaking the taillight.
Continue reading "Breaking the Ice"
Ij des la tjoajvevuolmuohta. Slahtte l boahtemin valla jådådak la ájn buorre muhtem biejve, ij la ájn tjásjlahpe valla njáhtso. Goassa káffabievla vuojnnuji?
We don't have so much snow anymore - it doesn't reach up to the reindeers' stomachs. It's snowing a little bit - snow mixed with raindrops, but the skis still glide rather well on the snow, on some days at least.
April 9, 2005
Reporting in from the Forest Rescue Station... where the snow is still pelting down. Despite all the activity down the hill from us, it's been a relatively quiet few days at the camp. People have been getting along with their jobs here - some are off demarcating the reindeer forests, others are working on various things that need to get done around the camp (like digging out our van if it gets stuck!). The odd snowscooter steams by at high speed, and we've had a few friendly visitors dropping by for coffee and chocolate.
Continue reading "Suprisingly Normal Day At The Forest Rescue Station"
April 7, 2005
Welcome to today's Log Blog. Life at the Forest Rescue Station, at its new location in an old-growth reindeer herding forest near the village of Nellim, on the Russian border, has taken a surreal turn.
Our local forest expert, Jarmo, has been receiving death threats! Jarmo got the call yesterday evening - we've passed the details to the police, who are investigating.
Continue reading "Death Threats: Fear and Loathing in Lapland"
News from the Forest Rescue Station - a group of police and employees of Metsähallitus, the state logging company, have arrived.
They've started setting up what they're calling the "Anti-Terror Info Camp" - which seems to be a planned blockade of the Forest Rescue Station and a disruption of today's meeting between the Reindeer Herder's Association, the reindeer herder's cooperatives, and Metsähallitus.
So why do Metsähallitus want to mess up their own meeting? What's really going on here?
Latest word - the police are taking names of activists - but not of the Metsähallitus employees.
More pictures added:
Continue reading "Breaking News: 'Anti-Terror Info Camp' (updated)"
April 6, 2005
A Finnish Centre Party MP says Greenpeace is a terrorist organisation! Seppo Lahtela, MP - who seems to have fallen prey to a bad case of hyperbole, says in yesterday's Lapin Kansa that "the State must take decisive and brave actions to get Greenpeace out of state-owned land. Police must ask for help from the Finnish Army and Frontier Guards to remove the heavy containers which are causing damage to the sensitive environment".
Continue reading "Seppo Lahtela Thinks We're Terrorists"
April 4, 2005
This morning the police visited the camp, and asked for the names of the people there. This was fine - though some of us need to go to the police tomorrow for further discussions about the camp. Metsähallitus have asked police to investigate whether or not we are committing a crime by having the camp on state land.
Continue reading "Police Visit The Forest Rescue Station"
April 3, 2005
Reindeer racing is back on - after the grey sleety rain of yesterday, today's clear blue sky and warm sunshine was most welcome - but so was the frost of last night. The racing surface had hardened up - good ski weather, and perfect for reindeer racing. A bigger crowd had gathered today - all generations were out - socialising and watching the races, where several reindeer racing world records were broken. More people were wearing traditional Sámi clothing today - the crowd was a mass of red and blue. I've noticed that even people who don't wear the traditional clothing, often still opt for blue or red clothes.
Continue reading "Live From The Reindeer Racing!"
The Forest Rescue Station is on the move. We're like snails us - we can put our home on our backs, and hit the road. I'd like think we move a little more swiftly though. The new campsite is currently 'under development' - we'll report back on with more photographs in the current days...
Photo: Greenpeace/Henna Tahvanainen
Reindeer Race!April 2, 2005
Over the last week, a course circular course, marked with branches, was marked out on the ice of Lake Inari, just a few hundred metres for our office. Today, Inari was busy with visitors here for the reindeer race - Down at the lake, there were stalls selling lassos and bridles, clothing and food, there was plenty to do before blowing any money on betting...
Continue reading "Reindeer Race!"
March 30, 2005
Kim goes out demarcating reindeer herding forests - but some loggers cut down a tree that carried demarcation signs!
Continue reading "Have loggers started cutting down trees again?"
On Sunday evening we visited a Sámi concert in Inari. The crowd was very different than expected - most people attending were dressed up in normal clothes - rather than traditional Sámi clothes.
Continue reading "Sámi concert in Inari"
March 24, 2005
On Tuesday, in Helsinki, paper company StoraEnso had its annual general meeting. Matti, our campaigner, attended as a shareholder enabling us to put forward resolutions - which were read out by two Sámi people, Pauliina Feodoroff and Janne, from Inari, in the area where reindeer forests and the livelihoods of herders are under threat.
Continue reading "At the StoraEnso AGM: Updated!"
March 23, 2005
Our Nordic web editor, Iréne, has headed back to Sweden, but she left us with her thoughts about snow...
Spring is here! Well, not really. It's still minus three or four outside - the rise in temperature has brought snow - its now pelting down outside the Forest Rescue Station office in Inari...
Continue reading "Spring! Well, Sort Of..."
March 22, 2005
The Xerox Corporation - Europe's largest supplier of copy paper, has informed us that their copy paper products will no longer contain fibres from the Sámi reindeer forests.
Continue reading "Copy That: Xerox Gets the Message"
Letter from Jack C. Azar, Xerox to Phil Aikman, Greenpeace, dated March 11th 2005 »
And here's the related press release...
Tue 22 March 2005, Helsinki, FINLAND
Greenpeace challenges Finland's paper giant to defend Sámi reindeer forests. Xerox Corporation already committed.
Continue reading "Letter from Xerox to Greenpeace"
March 21, 2005
It seems that Metsähallitus's manager for Upper Lapland, Mr Pertti Veijola, has been doing our job for us - by pointing out the unsustainable nature of his company's future plans...
Continue reading "Metsähallitus: They Want the Old-Growth Forests..."
The international adventure continues - on Friday, another Forest Rescue Station container was put in place - but not in Finland. This one - which was just likes the ones we have here in the forests, was symbolically placed outside the Finnish Embassy in Den Haag (The Hague) in the Netherlands - along with a banner, strung from two streetlights, which read "Save Ancient Forests".
Continue reading "Action in Den Haag (Netherlands)"
March 20, 2005
It's a Sunday afternoon - I'm in a wooded valley, on the frozen river Juutua River, north of the Arctic Circle. I'm standing in a line of people - from the Inari area, and Greenpeace activists from the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Holland and Finland. We're doing a Mexican wave at the sky, as a small ski-plane flies low over the trees in front of us, with a video cameraman on board. I've had a few stranger Sunday afternoons, but this definitely rates as different.
Continue reading "Reindeer Art"
March 18, 2005
All week we had been hearing rumours that the forestry workers had been planning a demonstration against the Forest Rescue Station. We just continued our daily work at the camp - same as usual...
Continue reading "Demonstration Against Us"
According to the Finnish regional newspaper Kaleva, the Finnish forest minister has been getting lots of emails...
Continue reading "Well Done, Cyberactivists!"
The Forest Rescue Station had some visitors yesterday - in the form of a delegation of sixty or so loggers from the wood workers union. It was a protest of sorts - albeit a peaceful one. There was no shouting, or trouble - they just came along to express their opinions and fears.
Continue reading "Visitors To The Forest Rescue Station"
March 17, 2005
Our activists from the Forest Rescue station were on the street yesterday - meeting and talking to the people of Inari. They were handing out information about our campaign here, and explaining the purpose of our campaign. Some of the local media has been a little-bit one sided on the issue of reindeer-herding and ancient forest, so sometimes explaining things face-to-face is the best way to tell the real story...
Continue reading "Activists on the Street!"
March 16, 2005
On Tuesday we started to mark important reindeer grazing grounds, south from the village of Angeli in the Savuvaara area. We were joined by three local reindeer herders, Nilla, Hansi and his wife Toini - along their snow scooters and sleighs. The morning was brisk and sunny, and we left our lodgings rather late in the morning.Continue reading "Demarcation South From Angeli"
Our campaigner, Matti, responds to queries about jobs in the Inari area...
Hey Philippe et all re: jobs.
Let us quote an old (2001), but still relevant article published here in Inari in local newspaper Inarilainen:
Sent to the letters page of Inarilainen in Inari municipality, on March 1 2001, by reindeer herders:
"WE TOO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR JOBS
Continue reading "The Jobs Question"
The Finnish Prime Minister arrived in Rome today, to open a 'Finnish Forestry Room' at the UN headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which was meant to represent national culture.
Continue reading "Greeting the Prime Minister with Fragments of his National Culture... Woodchips"
While we've been busy here in the north of Finland, other activists have been busy elsewhere. Yesterday, we were out in the Forests near Angeli, demarcating reindeer grazing areas in the Muotkatunturi co-operative, and Swiss activists were unfurling a banner out the UN venue Palais de Nations in Geneva. It read: "Dear Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs: Stop Trashing Sámi Reindeer Forests".
Continue reading "Dear Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs: Stop Trashing Sámi Reindeer Forests!"
More strange goings on - now the forestry workers union wants to boycott the reindeer herders...
Continue reading "The Boycott Against The Reindeer Herders"
March 14, 2005
Let's get down to basics. How do organise the Forest Rescue Station - and how do we take care of the campsite?
Continue reading "A Clean Camp - The Dirty Truth"
March 11, 2005
Article and photo gallery: Dave spends an afternoon in the forest with the Sámi herders as they do a 'reindeer roundup'...
Continue reading "Reindeer Roundup In A Finnish Forest"
Next Monday (March 14) you can chat online to Olli, one of our campaigners here in Lapland, and also the forests campaigner for Germany...
CHAT TIME: Monday 14 March, 7pm CET (6pm London, 8pm Helsinki, 1pm New York)
Here's more details on joining the chat »
The chat will take place here »
March 10, 2005
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| The Sámi; herders and Forest Rescue Station meeting StoraEnso's Matti Karjula and (far right). Includes Jorma (second from left), Kalevi, and Phil, in red. |
Right - time to talk about what's happening in here in Lapland, with Phil one the Forest Rescue Station campaigners...
Continue reading "Interview: The Sámi Reindeer Forest Paper Trail"
March 9, 2005
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| Juha Korkeaoja |
The Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Juha Korkeaoja, has been making strange statements...
Continue reading "Strange Statements From Forest Minister Juha Korkeaoja"
March 8, 2005
We spent a lot of the last few daysout in the forests of Nellim, with the demarcation team, put up signs in Finnish and English, around the boundaries of the Reindeer herding area.
Continue reading "No Logging. Reindeer Forest Area. Reindeer Herding Act 2"
March 7, 2005
Good news! The Finnish state forest company, Metsähallitus, has agreed to stop logging in the Nellim area - one of the important reindeer herding areas. Here's the chain of events, which have been unfolding with surprising rapidity.
Continue reading "Some Good News"
March 6, 2005
Our man in the woods, Ric, comes in for his Internet fix...
Continue reading "Ric Comes In From the Cold"
March 3, 2005
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| Two freeze-dried web editors © 2005 Greenpeace |
So, my first night at the Forest Rescue Station... on a mattress of pine twigs and reindeer skin, and wrapped up in a hardcore polar sleeping bag. Below that, snow. Above, the walls of a Sámi kota (like a teepee), and in the centre, a blazing fire, which we kept tended till the wee hours. But wrapped up in our sleeping bags, we didn't even bother closing the entrance flap - and it was -20C last night.
Continue reading "First Night In the Tent"
March 2, 2005
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| © 2005 Greenpeace / Dave Walsh |
Day 1 at the Forest Rescue Station is coming to a close. This morning, we held a press conference at the Sámi Museum. To an audience of both regional and national media - including Sámi TV.
Continue reading "Ice Station Reindeer"
From today, we'll be bringing you this weblog from deep inside the frozen forests of northern Finland. Greenpeace activists will be living in the forests, helping Sámi reindeer herders to protect the ancient forests from the destruction caused by the state-owned logging company, Metsähallitus.
The Forest Rescue Station camp is in place, and we've got a press conference this morning...
