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Future Forests was launched in 2010 as the largest forestry research program in Sweden. The state research foundation Mistra contributed SEK 55 million, almost the same amount coming from the forestry industry, including Sveaskog, Holmen and SCA.
King Carl XVI Gustaf took part in an excursion together with representatives of the forestry industry with Future Forests 2016 in Västerbotten and is quoted in the annual report:
– Future Forests is undoubtedly a very important research program.
In 2017, the program was run by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU.
Erik westholmEmeritus Professor of the City and Country Department of SLU, he himself participated as a researcher in Forests of the Future during the first four years. It states how he reacted to an alignment he experienced: a resistance to research that spoke out against mainstream forestry.
With economic historian Jenny Andersson, he has since studied the creation of the research platform. According to his analysis, in the book “The battle for the future – the role of research in the conflict between growth and the environment” (Editorial Santérus, 2019), the approach between the industry and SLU was agreed in advance: the climate issue . it would be used as an excuse to increase forest production.
Erik Westholm, Emeritus Professor of the City and Country Department of SLU.
Photo: SLU
For DN, Westholm describes how he interviewed directors of forestry companies who said it was “better if the arguments came from the university than directly from the companies.”
– It was worse than I could have imagined. The forest industry was concerned both by the environmental movement and by forest biologists who wanted to see more environmental consideration in the forest. By paying for forestry research, they wanted to recover the story that production should take precedence over environmental issues.
SLU does not want to comment on the information but refers to relevant researchers.
Another researcher at Future Forests was Jon Moen, now director of research and graduate education at Umeå University. He left the program after publishing a paper in Nature Communications in 2013, with results that contradicted modern monoculture forestry – the planting of a single tree species after felling.
– The data from the National Forest Assessment showed positive effects, among other things, on the growth of having various species. We have continued working on this; there is a clear effect of that kind. But those were partially controversial results.
Anonymous representatives of Future Forests claim in Erik Westholm’s book that the study did not fit the “template.”
– I was faced with a career choice, but criticism was a contributing factor to my decision to leave the show, says Moen.
King Carl XVI Gustaf on an excursion with then Future Forest manager Annika Nordin at Vindeln 2016.
Photo: Future Forests 2016 Annual Report
Annika Nordin was SLU professor and head of Future Forests. Between 2017-2020, he also sat on the board of Sveaskog. According to her, the accusations of influence have come out of nowhere.
– Many have blamed Future Forest research for having been bought from the industry. We do not agree with that. There are 500 published scientific articles. Researchers are very autonomous people. They are entrepreneurs, they belong to the university but they have to apply for their own money. Leading researchers is leading a horde of cats, almost so easy, they could never control.
Pelle Gemmel is Professor Emeritus of Forest Management at SLU and was Head of Forest Management at SCA 2007-2014. He represented SCA when the company was involved in funding Future Forests and claims that from the beginning it was difficult to convince the company to contribute.
– It is not really true that the investigation was controlled by the industry. Among other things, there were investigations that addressed conflicts, which did not directly benefit the forest industry. The forest industry and research have been close to each other since the 19th century and it has been useful to all of society, including questions about environmental considerations.
Master Ola Engelmark was the CEO of Mistra 2007-2010. However, according to him, the connection between forestry research and Swedish industry has consequences.
– It often becomes corporate policy for Swedish forestry research, he says.
He believes that this in itself constitutes a threat.
– The scientific membrane can become even thinner in situations where the forest industry is responsible for the money. The balance between research and practice is difficult enough. And a forestry vision to be able to handle the accelerating climate and diversity crisis, as well as the new needs of society, is becoming more and more urgent.
