Amendment caps managed forests at 70%, raises fines and streamlines logging
A draft bill would cap managed forests land in Estonia, shift notices to the Forest Register and abruptly hike fines for violations.
The Ministry of Climate says the goal of the changes is to reduce bureaucracy and provide long-awaited clarity for both conservationists and the forestry sector.
Under the proposed amendments to the Forest Act, 70 percent of forest land would be designated for economic use. When the government made this decision in the spring, forestry industry representatives welcomed it as much-needed clarity. Conservationists, while also seeking more clarity, were not satisfied with the outcome.
In economically used forests, existing sustainability principles under the Forest Act would continue to apply, including requirements for regeneration, limits on clearcutting area and minimum harvesting ages.
According to the bill's explanatory memorandum, enshrining the 70-percent principle in law is meant to give stakeholders clarity and reaffirm that the legal obligations and restrictions in place are sufficient to ensure ecosystem protection and sustainable management. The 70-percent figure is a target, to be assessed annually rather than on a daily basis.
One amendment would reduce the maximum area of a single clearcut from seven hectares to five to promote faster recovery of forest ecosystems and enhance landscape diversity. The ministry says smaller clearcuts better mimic natural disturbance cycles and reduce the risk of wind damage.
The draft also introduces several changes to the forest notification process that are intended to reduce the administrative burden on officials.
Previously, forest use notices could be submitted by email with a digital signature. Going forward, the process would shift primarily to the Forest Register to shorten processing times.
According to the ministry, about 6 percent of notices are currently submitted by email, based on data from the Environmental Board. These must be manually entered into the register by officials. Paper submission will still be allowed, however, so that foreign nationals without access to Estonia's digital signature system can continue to manage forestland.
Another change would eliminate the requirement to file a forest use notice for thinning operations outside protected areas. In such cases, a notification to the Forest Register after completion would suffice.
The amendments would also increase the fines for legal entities. The ministry notes that the current maximum penalties — between €2,000 and €3,200 — have not been adjusted in years, despite rising incomes and living costs, and are no longer considered effective. The new maximum fines would range from €10,000 to €200,000.
Meanwhile, the number of violations has been steadily rising: from 32 in 2021, to 39 in 2022 and 52 in 2023. However, the number of serious violations causing major environmental damage has remained stable. The ministry believes this shows the current penalties are not serving as an effective deterrent.
The Ministry of Climate has sent the bill to other ministries for approval and invited feedback from stakeholder groups.
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Editor: Barbara Oja, Marcus Turovski
