At the end of September, a new pulp mill was opened in Kemi, close to the Swedish-Finnish border.
On Wednesday morning, 40 activists from Greenpeace protested against unsustainable forestry, including the decision to block the main entrance to the factory.
"We are already felling far too much forest to be able to have a sustainable climate, a living nature and show respect for the rights of the Sámi people. Pulp mills like this will make unsustainable forestry even more unsustainable, says Dima Litvinov, spokesperson for forest issues, Greenpeace Sweden in a press release and continues:
"Must be protected"
"At a time when we need our forests to bind more carbon and strengthen biodiversity, we see how valuable forests in Sweden are being felled to become disposable products. That is not acceptable.
At full capacity, the pulp mill will take 7.6 million cubic metres of forest raw material annually.
"If we continue like this, we will soon have no real forests left, which is why I am here today to demand that this pulp mill does not import wood that comes from forests worthy of protection. They must be protected, not logged," says Christopher Söderstjerna, Greenpeace activist.
"A major problem for reindeer husbandry"
SVT Sápmi has on several occasions reported on forestry in northern Sweden. The hanging lichen, which is so important for reindeer husbandry, is found in old primeval forests, and when forests are cut down and replanted, the hanging lichen also disappears.
"The increasingly aggressive forestry is a major problem for reindeer husbandry. Natural grazing is disappearing at a furious pace. For the mountain Sámi communities, these lands are the winter storage and the forest Sámi communities are constantly living under this threat of deforestation and plundering of natural resources, said Matti Blind Berg, chairman of SSR, earlier this year.
SVT Sápmi is looking for the forest company Metsä.