Press release 2.3.2026
The first national forest management standard based on continuous cover forestry has been approved and published today on the Association for Ecological Forestry Certification (AEFC) Website. The standard is designed for Finnish forest owners, group certifiers and timber value chains. It was prepared in four-membered Finnish National Standard Group that worked for two years. The draft was sent for consultation round to over hundred experts and stakeholders in December 2025, and finalized standard was approved by the AEFC Board on the 9th of February 2026.
The Board Chair, PhD Saija Kuusela is rejoicing on the outcome:
– The approved standard plus the audit training organized over the course of the spring enable us to carry out the first continuous cover, EverCover trademark-compliant logging in Finland. Very soon we are thus able to pilot the certificate system in practice.
The Finnish standard is based on the Global EverCover forest standard which was prepared in co-operation with Swedish, Finnish and Estonian experts and launched in September 2025 at the EU Parliament, Brussels.
– Interest towards continuous cover forestry is strongly increasing but the method is still not fully grasped. More comprehensive guidelines and fresh forest management standard are therefore needed, says the Chair of the Finnish National Standard Group, Adjunct Professor of Forestry Science
Yrjö Norokorpi.
In the national standard many important details, e.g. biodiversity key habitats that must always be fully preserved as permanent set-asides, are defined.
– What is most important is that the forest outside of set-asides is never clearcut, but it may remain and develop as a diverse ecosystem that it is, Kuusela points out.
The gap-size allowed in the standard is 0.1 hectares. The total cumulative area of small gaps per hectare must not exceed 0.3 hectares. Larger clearings must be approved separately by the AEFC, and they are granted only for a justified reason.
– Continuous cover forestry is guaranteeing that the forest is more resilient to damage and can recover in changing climate. Moreover, it is a profitable method for the forest owner, Norokorpi says and continues: – Also recreational or other non-timber economic value is preserved much better compared to clearcut forestry.
You can easily register for the pilot phase of the EverCover certificate through AEFC’s website. You can also contact companies that offer group certification directly, which are currently available in Finland and Sweden.
More information:
Yrjö Norokorpi
Chair of the Finnish National Standard Group
firstname.surname@pp1.inet.fi
tel. +358 40 5911 146
Saija Kuusela
AEFC Board Chair
firstname.surname@aeforest.org
tel. +358 40 1321 667