Forest Cutting Can Be Doubled, Says Head of RMK
Considering the volume of forest growing in Estonia, it is possible to up the amount of wood being cut by almost twofold, said Aigar Kallas, head of the State Forest Management Center.
Currently around 8 million cubic meters of wood is cut in Estonia annually. Kallas argues that the figure should be increased to at least 12 million cubic meters per year, as otherwise it is a waste of resources.
“The current inventory shows that there is around 30 million cubic meters of forest that is overgrowing and eventually rotting away,” said Kallas, adding that even from the nature conservation perspective, maintenance of those particular forests is not important.
“The growing forest volume is more than sufficient, which is why we should want more companies to start giving new value to the wood, particularly for that of poorer quality,” Kallas told Eesti Päevaleht.
Ingrid Teesalu