Forestry
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, information briefing.
Date: 2025-05-21 16:41
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 10
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 9m
AI Summaries: 10/10 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The first topic concerns the 30/70 forestry principle: 30% of land and sea area under protection and 70% production forest, where forestry is managed sustainably. The discussion centered on ensuring clarity and balance regarding how the 30% protection is defined in law and how, if necessary, valuable areas to be placed under protection can be replaced with areas of lower value, without automatically leading to widespread clearcutting. Furthermore, it was confirmed that 70% does not automatically mean "clear-cutting" and that the importance of nature conservation and the sustainability of forest management are enhanced. The second topic addresses issues related to compensation for protected zones and buffer zones: fair compensation to landowners, taxation practices, and plans to supplement compensation mechanisms with Natura support and RMK compensation funds, and the possibility of using forest tenure models to compensate for lost income.
Decisions Made 1
No decisions have been made.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (pronounced KAH-yah KAHL-ahs). She gave several long and substantive answers, explaining the 30/70 framework and the context of all planned compensation measures; her speech reflected a central role in the discussions and demonstrated the government's position on the balance between sustainable forestry and nature conservation. One could describe her as not directly definable by a left-left or right-wing line (other).
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
MP Züleyxa Izmailova posed the eighth question to Prime Minister Kristen Michal, concerning the topic of forestry.
Züleyxa Izmailova
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Züleyxa Izmailova raises a critical question regarding the 70/30 principle: specifically, how the 70% figure was derived, what its clarity and balance are, and to what extent large-scale clear-cutting fulfills nature conservation objectives compared to 30% or 50% logging volumes, and whether it truly protects nature better than smaller logging volumes.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
The law establishes that 30% of the land and 30% of the sea shall be placed under protection, while 70% will remain designated as commercial forest, where higher-value areas may substitute for lower-value areas, thereby guaranteeing a clear conservation objective and sustainable forestry.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanks [the previous speaker] and asks Züleyxa Izmailova to ask a clarifying question.
Züleyxa Izmailova
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The question is whether only the Forest Act would apply to 70% of the forest land, meaning there would be no other restrictions, and whether this opens the door for the forestry industry to abolish logging volume limits or to establish large plantations.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that the issue of plantations has been in public discussion with the sector and nature conservation groups, and the distribution of forests is known—roughly 70% is commercial forest and 30% is under protection—and this does not mean shifting the global balance or that 70% will be clear-cut.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Chairman thanked [them] and announced that colleague Heljo Pikhof would pose the supplementary question.
Heljo Pikhof
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Heljo Pikhof drew attention to the fact that the compensated cessation of management in the special conservation zone and the restriction zone is modest, and the compensations are subject to income tax, the value of the properties decreases. She asks whether the government will ensure fair compensation and whether there is a plan to stop taxing these payments as support.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal confirmed that fair compensation resulting from nature conservation restrictions helps protect nature, the state will not force private owners to bear the burden alone, and the scope of compensation and the sums allocated for the buyback of private property will be increased. Additional measures will be introduced, such as Natura support and the acquisition of usage rights by RMK (State Forest Management Centre), and the Nordic model for the temporary acquisition of forest management rights will be considered, which would immediately provide people with more funds, while the burden increasingly shifts to state-owned lands.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar offered his thanks and announced that they would take one more question, noting that he was now concluding the discussion of the eighth item.