Governments of Nova Scotia and Finland Sign Forestry Agreement

The governments of Finland and Nova Scotia signed an agreement that will impact the forest and bioeconomy sectors in Nova Scotia. At the time of publication, the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables did not make a copy of the agreement available to Forest Nova Scotia.

According to a press release from the Government of Finland:

“Forest-based bioeconomy is a central theme of the action plan signed on 26 April 2024. New wood-based products have been developed in the past few years, some of them based on new production technologies and some on more efficient utilisation of materials such as forest industry side streams.”

The release continues:

“In the cooperation between Finland and Nova Scotia the aim is also to increase contacts between the research, development and education sectors of the two countries.”

Nova Scotia’s Minister of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions, Colton LeBlanc, signed the agreement on behalf of Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton.

“We’ve had many productive conversations and visits to further our joint efforts for healthy forests and to take full advantage of the valuable resource we have in sustainably harvested biomass. This action plan cements our good relationship and we look forward to this continued collaboration,” said LeBlanc in the release.

Finland and Forest NS

From left to right: Blair Dickerson, Vice President of Public Affairs for Paper Excellence; Stephen Moore, Executive Director of Forest Nova Scotia; Minister Ville Tavio, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade for the Government of Finland; Minister Kim Masland from the Government of Nova Scotia; and Ambassador Jari Vilen from the Government of Findland.

Forest Nova Scotia welcomed a Finnish delegation to its AGM in February 2024. The Finnish trade minister and Finland’s Canadian ambassador, as were several forestry experts and companies, were in attendance.

Attendees learned about the Finnish approach to wildfire management, the widespread adoption of biomass for electricity and heat, and the structures and networks that make its woodlots profitable and sustainable.

Nova Scotia Forestry Must Mobilize

According to Forest Nova Scotia executive director Stephen Moore, there is much to gain from ongoing cooperation with the Finnish forestry sector.

“We have nothing but respect and appreciation for our Finnish friends,” said Moore. “As an organization, we want to ensure the sector is ready to capitalize on the opportunities created by this agreement.”

Moore said that once Forest Nova Scotia has the full text of the agreement, the organization can work with other forestry groups to ensure the province’s sector maximizes its benefits.

“We want to mobilize to support this effort,” said Moore. We want all the forestry groups to sit at the same table to discuss how we can take action to help the sector grow.”