Press release - March 22, 2005
Today, Greenpeace and Sámi campaigners will challenge Finland's largest paper company to defend the reindeer forests of Arctic Lapland and Sámi reindeer herders whose livelihood depends on them. A new report, along with a shareholder resolution, will be presented to StoraEnso's Annual General Meeting (AGM) of investors being held in Helsinki this afternoon (1).
Stora Enso is listed on the Helsinki, Stockholm and New York
stock exchanges. The company is the largest single customer of the
Finnish state-owned company Metsähallitus, buying about 40% of its
timber output each year. The shareholder resolution requests that
the Stora Enso purchase of timber from Metsähallitus 'shall not be
procured from specific restricted forest areas in the Lapp peoples'
[Sámi] native locality in Inari that are considered especially
valuable for reindeer herding as reindeer grazing forest areas.'
(2)
The resolution will be presented by Pauliina Feodoroff and Janne
Saijets, both Sámi from Inari, northern Finland. "Reindeer herding
is the basis of traditional Sámi culture," said Janne Saijets. "The
Finnish State has ignored the rights of Sámi people for decades by
continuing to prioritise logging over reindeer herding. Our
reindeer forests have been sold out for pulp production. Enough is
enough!"
On 2 March, Greenpeace established a Forest Rescue Station in
one of the threatened reindeer forest areas to highlight the role
of Metsähallitus and those paper companies that have been buying
paper from the area. Greenpeace campaigners have been busy
contacting customers around the world asking for their help to
convince Stora Enso to stop buying from forest areas important for
reindeer herding.
The Xerox Corporation (USA), a major international customer of
Stora Enso, informed Greenpeace recently that their copy paper
products would no longer contain fibres from the Sámi reindeer
forests. In a letter dated 11 March, Jack Azar, Vice-President of
Environment, Health & Safety said: "In the past, the ... [Stora
Enso] Berghuizer mill has used a small amount of pulp containing
fibre from Upper Lapland in Xerox products. Going forward, Xerox
products produced in the Berghuizer mill will not contain any fiber
from Upper Lapland." (3)
"Stora Enso has become under increasing pressure to finally end
its role in supporting this conflict in the Sámi homeland," said
Phil Aikman, Greenpeace International campaigner. "It time for the
company to listen to their customers, and defend the reindeer
forests rather than turning them into pulp."
Notes: 1. Greenpeace report - Pulp Friction: How Stora Enso is pulping reindeer forests. weblog.greenpeace.org/forestrescue/docs/storaenso_report_final_web.pdf 2. Shareholder resolution (English, Finnish, Swedish): www.storaenso.com/CDAvgn/main/0,,1_-4418-3262-,00.html3. Copy of the Xerox letter to Greenpeace (in English):weblog.greenpeace.org/forestrescue/docs/xerox_letter.pdf