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Green group claims IKEA cuts old-growth forest

Photo: Klas Ancker/Friends of the Earth

Swedish environmental organization launches campaign to shed light on IKEA’s logging of old-growth forest in Russian Karelia.

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 The group Protect the Forest Sweden says the systematic logging of forest with high conservation value in Karelia is far from IKEA’s fine words of environmental protection in their advertising.

It is the IKEA owned subsidiary Swedwood that have leased a forest area in Karelia where the logging take place.

Together with the Russian environmental organization SPOK, representatives from Protect the Forest have seen the logging areas. “We have documented the reality of IKEA’s forestry, and it’s a far cry from the fine words in their advertising,“ says Viktor Säfve, chairman of Protect the Forest.

Swedish TV’s program “updrag granskning” – a Swedish version of 60 minutes – have posted a video showing how the virgin forest in Karelia are logged.

“We demand that IKEA ensure the protection of the remaining forests with high conservation value on the lands they lease,” says Robert Svensson, board member of Protect the Forest. “This is the least they can do to compensate for the losses of valuable forest and biodiversity that they have caused. There is already so little old-growth forest left that it threatens the long-term survival of many plant and animal species, so continuing to log such forests is deeply irresponsible.

The group also says IKEA lacks a dialogue with the local population, who are using the forests in Karelia in small scale and sustainable.

Protect the Forest has launched a online petition asking people to protest IKEA’s logging of Russian old-growing forest.