Metsäsota ja rauha

The man who saw the forest for the trees

For more than 50 years, Erkki Lähde, Professor Emeritus of Forest Soil Science and Silviculture, has advocated for forest biodiversity and ecologically and economically sustainable forest management. As early as the 1970s, he began questioning Finland’s prevailing clear-cutting model and, with his research team, developed continuous-cover forestry as an alternative, seeking to combine biodiversity, carbon sinks and the economic use of forests.

Beyond Lähde’s story, the documentary also takes a broader look at the history of Finnish forestry, and forest policy, and at how the use of forests has changed over the decades. After the wars clear cutting became the dominant and for a long time virtually the only accepted method of forest management. When Lähde’s research challenged this approach, his work was halted and, according to the film, attempts were made to silence him and suppress his findings.

Now 88 years old Lähde turns his attention to younger generations: they have a future ahead of them. The decisions we make about forests today will shape the natural world and the future we leave for generations to come.