The Moderates want to cut off protected nature to stop the spruce bark

The moderates in Hultsfred have invited Ulf Kristersson to meet the crisis-hit industry. From a helicopter he could see damaged forest with his own eyes.

- This is even worse than I had a feeling before. When you see it yourself from the air and look at the damage, it is huge. These are large areas that have been destroyed, says Ulf Kristersson.

The damage from the fir bark drill is greater than in several decades. The Swedish Forest Agency estimates damages of half a billion SEK throughout Sweden. The worst is the situation in Kalmar County.

- For individual forest owners, this is huge. It is a huge loss of value in the damaged forest, says Henrik Holmberg of the Southern Forest Owners.

In the Moderates budget motion for 2020, it is intended to increase the appropriations to the Forest Board by SEK 10 million to combat the spruce bark drill. But Kristersson wants to see more action.

To SVT News, he says he also wants to address the problems of spreading the spruce bark drill from nature reserves, where county boards today leave dead trees - a prerequisite for many endangered species and biodiversity.

- You cannot use (nature) reserves and biodiversity as an excuse for in practice letting these injuries spread to private landowners. This is completely unacceptable, but the state must set a good example.

How do you want to do this?

- Either through legislative changes or through regulatory letters. That the government tells the county administrative board how to interpret the legislation - if that is not enough, it may be that the legislation is too tight and then we must review the legislation.

However, Erik Hellberg Meschak at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency says that every nature reserve is unique and the measures that are appropriate vary from area to area. In some areas, the spruce bark drill is a natural species, which contributes to biodiversity.

- When the bark drill attacks trees in a nature reserve, the trustee assesses whether this is positive or negative for the purpose of the area. If it is positive, the attacks can normally continue. If it is negative, the manager may decide what can be done. In many nature reserves with deciduous forest, spruce has already been harvested during the past summer, says Erik Hellberg Meschaks.