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Metsä aims to strengthen the biodiversity, vibrancy and climate resilience of forests in parallel with their economic value. The ambitious goals of regenerative forestry can’t be achieved alone. A common vision of the future was outlined at 15 discussions across Finland. The events organised from 28 March to 2 April were part of Kone Foundation’s Great Forest Dialogue Day. Source: Timberbiz As part of the Great Forest Dialogue Day, Metsä Group organised 15 events across Finland to discuss regenerative forestry. A large group of forest sector operators, including forest owners, media representatives, forest machine contractors and operators, hunters, representatives of environmental organisations, the authorities, artists, education sector representatives, scouts and representatives of the 4H organisation, joined the roundtable meetings as invited guests. The Great Forest Dialogue Day is a project of Kone Foundation’s Metsän puolella (“For the Woods”) initiative, the goal of which is to give greater visibility to the meanings and values associated with forests, introduce variety into forest-related discussions and support the transformation of forest-related activities. “The goal of the Great Forest Dialogue Day is to gain an understanding of what forests mean to people in Finland, and what hopes, and potential fears are associated with the current state and future of forests. “The forest industry is one of the most significant operators in matters concerning forests, and its societal role also generates a great deal of discussion. I believe that learning about people’s expectations and fears related to the forest can really benefit the forest industry and its operational development,” said Mari Pantsar, Change Manager at Kone Foundation’s Metsän puolella initiative. The goal of regenerative forestry is to increase forest biodiversity through various practical actions and to ensure the improvement can be measured. By doing so, it is also possible to safeguard the vitality of forests in a changing future climate. Measuring the progress and achieving the goals call for wide cooperation in which attention is paid to ecological, economic, social and cultural aspects. “The more than 90,000 Metsä Group forest owner members own around half of Finland’s private forests, giving them a key role in the implementation of regenerative forestry. However, we can’t achieve our goals alone – we need the involvement of all the operators across the value chain,” said Tomi Salo, SVP, Corporate Affairs at Metsä Group. Discussions play an important role in Metsä Group’s regenerative forestry initiatives. It helps create a common value base, a future vision and goals, all of which are required for joint practical action. Critical views that help develop operations are an essential part of an open dialogue. It may not always be possible to reach a consensus, but we can still build an understanding that reflects different perspectives.