Bo Nilsson from Sweden is one of the few people who manages forests sustainably. This has benefits for the ecosystem. The man was awarded.
Healthy forests are important for ecosystems – Bo Nilsson (90) from Sweden has a plot of forest that has never been cut down. Due to natural uses, rare species of fungi, insects and birds have been preserved there.
For example, a rare species of fungus was discovered in the forest: “This is one of the few finds in southern Sweden,” reports Ulf Fransson from the Swedish Association for Nature Conservation to the “Vimmerby Tidning” portal.
In Sweden: A 90-year-old man receives a nature conservation award for his forest
Although Fransson says the majority of forest owners carry out “clear-cutting,” Nilsson is one of the few forest owners who does not. Therefore, he was awarded the Nature Conservation Award of the Swedish Nature Conservation Association. The prize is endowed with 5,000 crowns (approx. 452 euros).
Clearcutting destroys “entire ecosystems because only a few species can survive clearcutting,” Fransson told “Vimmerby Tidning.” More demanding and rare species rarely find habitat there. Nilsson manages his forest in “the traditional way he grew up.”
Sweden’s forests are threatened: 250,000 hectares are cut down every year
A recent report from the “Tagesschau” also shows that Nilsson forests are rare – the report states that 250,000 hectares of forest are cleared in Sweden every year. The purpose of forestry is the wood obtained from it, as it is an important raw material and export product.
“(…) If we understand forests as an ecosystem where nature functions and all species have their own habitat, then we have very few forests left in Sweden,” Bengt-Gunnar Jonsson from the University of Sundsvall told “Tagesschau”.
