Hannu Hyvönen

Last Yoik in Saami Forests?

Hannu Hyvönen

Timo Helle, Keijo Pirttijärvi

The conflict between forestry and nature conservation in Finland has been constant during last 20 years. The traditional, freely grazing reindeer herding, dependent of the old forest growth , has been losing its resources but complaint and protests haven't been able to stop this process. In 2005 Saami reindeer herders made an alliance with Greenpeace and established a Forest Rescue Station in the wilderness of Inari. The international pressure from Greenpeace made Finnish forest company Stora Enso stop buying the wood from conflict areas. Kalevi Paadar, a Saami reindeer herder, lodged a complaint to the UN Human Rights Commission.